Deep River Zone Change Proposed for Former Clubhouse Property

By Charles Stannard

DEEP RIVER— A zone change proposal to be presented at a public hearing of the planning and zoning commission Thursday could open the door to a veterinary clinic in the former Clubhouse property at 171 Winthrop Road.

Cathy Jefferson, zoning enforcement officer, said the commission would consider a proposal to rezone the property from residential to commercial industrial park. The hearing begins Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in town hall.

The large house at 171 Winthrop Road, also known as Route 80, housed the Clubhouse child care program for several years earlier in the decade before the facility closed abruptly in November 2006. The Clubhouse program began in Essex in the early 1990s. The structure, owned by a bank, has been vacant for three years.

Jefferson said the bank is working with Christine Scruggs, an East Lyme-based veterinarian who is hoping to buy the property and open a clinic in the vacant structure. The use requires a zone change because town zoning regulations allow veterinary clinics only in commercial and industrial zones.

The back section of the 2.5-acre parcel abuts town owned property that currently contains an industrial park.
Jefferson said Scruggs would be required to obtain commission approval of a special permit for the clinic if the zone change is approved by the panel.

A separate public hearing would be required for the special permit application. “Instead of little kids it would be housing pets,” Jefferson said.