Stamford’s Planning Board OKs Marijuana Shops, Change of Zoning Downtown

STAMFORD – True to its function, the Planning Board this week signaled likely revisions to the city’s landscape.

Board members approved a zoning change that will allow redevelopment of a busy corner in the heart of downtown, and they cleared the way for two more marijuana dispensaries that would bring the city to its limit of five.

The Planning Board considers applications and votes to recommend whether the Zoning Board should approve them. 

So the Planning Board sets the table.

The first request involved the 120,000-square-foot freestanding building at Broad and Summer streets that has been a retail anchor since the 1960s. For decades it was a Caldor discount department store, a downtown landmark. Now it’s a Burlington clothing store.

The plan for the site is unclear. Land-use consultant Rick Redniss went before the Planning Board seeking conformity for what he called a “split zone” – regulations now allow building heights of 150 feet in one section of the property and 75 feet in the other.

Redniss requested a zone change to permit 85-foot buildings in the second section. It complies with the recently updated building code, Redniss said, and the property-wide 85-foot height “is important to how this whole site lays out.” 

Redniss offered no details about what is planned for the corner, but Planning Board Chair Theresa Dell asked him about a possible apartment building. 

Dell wanted to know whether the required Below…