Neighbor Complaints of Toyota Dealer Light Spillage Dominates P&Z Discussion of Application

At Tuesday’s P&Z meeting the Toyota dealership at 75 East Putnam Ave in Cos Cob requested both a map amendment/zoning line change and site plan/special permit.

The applicant was represented by Eric Brower, who said Toyota wants to rezone 15,234 square feet of their total 70,682 square foot parcel from the former P (parking) zone to the LB (local business) zone, and to construct a 1,024 square foot addition and interior renovation of the customer waiting area, restrooms, break room and sales area as well as an 852 square ft enclosed service drop-off area.

However, most of the lengthy discussion and public comment focused on light intrusion from Toyota’s inventory parking lot on the adjacent residential neighborhood.

In some places the lights are pointed in a direction that can be seen from parts of Loughlin Park, and the Loughlin Park Community sent in photos including one taken from the park to illustrate their concern.

Commissioner Peter Lowe referred to the lights having a “arguably Klieg light quality” and questioned whether the lights were necessary for security. He requested data on thefts or vandalism.

Mr. Brower said he would provide information on stolen vehicles or ones that have had their wheels stolen.

Ms Alban suggested using infrared lights and cameras to better to catch suspected thieves and vandals.

She noted that there was another car dealership in Greenwich with much more expensive cars that are not illuminated at night.

Commissioner Nick Macri said, “It seems to me you’re just lighting this for basically showing off.”

Lighting the Sidewalks

Mr. Brower said his client was amenable to the request about lighting, but he went on to have a disagreement with the commission about illuminating the sidewalk in front of Toyota.

Mr. Brower said the extra sidewalk lights were necessary.

“No,” Mr. Macri said, adding there are streetlights to illuminate the sidewalks.

“We don’t need extra lighting for the sidewalk,” Ms Alban said.

“What we need to coordinate into the lighting plan is to assure that without those  lights, there is adequate light on the sidewalks,” Brower said.

“No,” Macri said. “You don’t need to do that.”

“It’s not your job,” Alban said.

Mr. Brower said, “Your own regulations do address that in instances where there are adjacent right-of-ways, that the amount of lighting takes into account for safety and travel on those sidewalks.”

Mr. Macri said the applicant would have to eliminate their sidewalk lighting.

Mr. Brower said the applicant’s lighting plan was designed to comply with the town’s lighting regulations, and would account for lighting onto the street.

“You do need to make sure there is adequate lighting on the sidewalk. That’s not subjective,” Brower said. “I don’t think you want an unsafe condition.”

“One Shot At This”

Ms Alban said she feared the commission had “only one shot at this.”

“I’m going to ask that we not grant a C/O until we are satisfied with the results,” she said. “Toyota has been asked for countless years to reduce the lighting, without success.”

Alban said she wondered if the town had the expertise to evaluate the lighting plan to ensure no intrusion of lights onto residential properties.

She said she was concerned the regulations could be met, but still result in spillage to neighbors because of topography.

“It’s how to ensure when you’re sitting at your kitchen table, as in the picture, that you’re not staring at spotlights,” Alban said. “Those houses were in way before the Toyota dealership.”

Dennis Yeskey suggested conditioning the approval to require a phased approach, in order to require Toyota to fix the “most egregious” lighting issues first.

“We really want to see them to fix the lighting totally before they get what they want,” Yeskey said.

Landscape Plan

Ms Alban reminded the applicant of previous requests to remove the fake grass strip along the sidewalk.

Mr. Brower said the AstroTurf would be removed and replaced with grass.

Eric Zambell from Granoff Associates said that the grass strip might not have been included in their drawings because the area is in a right of way, but he confirmed it would be added.

“To be honest with you Mr. Zambell, that AstroTurf makes me cringe every time I walk or drive by it. It is just cringe worthy, except for possibly the plastic daffodils at a certain service station down the road. And it’s always in really bad shape,” Alban said.

Mr. Brower said ARC had asked for grass and it would be provided.

He also said existing chain link fence would be replaced with stockade fencing.

He said he’s spoken with both Clint Steen from Toyota and Don Conway, a residential neighbor, about improved fencing and staggered evergreens.

The commission shared photos provided Tuesday by members of the Loughlin Park community who wrote to the commission, “As of today, at least 25 properties and 30 households, given a few of the properties are multi-family, are negatively impacted by the lights from Toyota of Greenwich. These properties can be found along Sachem Lane, Cross Lane and Salem Street, and includes one owned by Greenwich Communities. The light trespass occurs all night long, every day of the year, and as you can see from the attached images below, is significant. The light trespass is not only an issue for the handful of directly adjacent residential properties, but negatively impacts dozens of families across the neighborhood. In addition, neighborhood families are also worried about noise. The external intercom noise can currently be heard from neighboring properties during operating hours, and we do not want to see this noise worsen.”

During public comment Ryan Rockwell from 47 Sachem, directly behind the dealership, said he was a electrical engineer with experience working on heavy industrial facilities involving intense lighting studies.

“The current situation has been quite a pain for us over the years,” he said. “Despite the lumen plan that shows no spillover, the angle which I’m at which is 10 feet below the dealership would still be looking up at the lights.”

Mr. Rockwell’s neighbor Don Conway said the mature Pine trees should be removed.

He said they were about 40 to 50 ft high, with shallow roots and could be a hazard to his property in a storm. He recalled that the trees, which are on top of a wall that collapsed in the 1970s after several days of rain because the ground was saturated.

“Those trees, if they come down, they’ll take out my hard and the Rockwells’ wall and part of their house, and possibly their cars,” Conway said.

Another neighbor, Rick Holz, said plantings on top of the wall had value for screening of his view of Toyota, and he cautioned about removing them without replacing them.

Kate Dzikiewicz from the Greenwich Tree Conservancy said her organization was disappointed by the landscape plan that would remove the few existing trees from the property and replace them with 38 trees including 2 Red Maples, 11 Eastern Hemlocks that require regular chemical treatments to survive, and 25 Arborvitae that provide screening, but doesn’t form a canopy to create shade.

She said the site would benefit greatly from the addition of more large canopy deciduous trees such as more than the two Red Maples proposed. She said Red maples are more effective in reducing surface temperatures, improving air quality and creating a more visually appealing environment that is more in line with Greenwich’s aesthetics.

After public comment Mr. Brower said the applicant would finalize the lighting plan to demonstrate it would not encroach or spill regardless of fence height, and that the goal would be to provide screening of parking for the neighbors, but also look at tree varieties.

The application was left open.

See also:

P&Z Watch: Toyota Proposes Alterations and Additions in Cos Cob

Oct 30, 2024