NEWINGTON - A moratorium on high density housing development in the Newington Junction CT FasTrak busway station area will get its public hearing at Wednesday’s Town Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, Commissioners have decided.

       Town Planner Craig Minor has drafted a tentative regulation that is similar to the one approved for the Cedar Street/Fenn Road station area, but with provisions added specifically to mesh with the Junction’s residential portions.

       On residential development-the issue that prompted the Commission to examine the regulations around its two Connecticut FasTrak stations-the plan is to allow a maximum of 10 units per acre.

       The regulation also requires any development to provide sidewalks-part of a pedestrian-friendly approach.

       The draft calls for mixed use development-similar to the Cedar/Fenn regulations-but without seeking biomedical research and/or advanced manufacturing facilities.

       Months ago, the Commission passed new regulations for the Cedar Street/Fenn Road station-the second Newington-based stop on CT FasTrak’s route.

       Under the new regulations, the area would maintain its industrial zoning, with a special permit process for developers looking to propose projects under a different use. Incentives-such as density regulation waivers-could be offered to projects determined to fit the community’s vision for development in the area, according to Town Planner Craig Minor.

       Minor has a similar vision for Newington Junction, but said that there will be some differences since the area is complicated by the presence of residential neighborhoods-a characteristic the other station area does not share.

       â€�"Obviously Newington Junction is quite different,” Minor said. â€�"There’s very little residential development in the Cedar Street area.”

       The Commission passed both moratoriums last year, in an effort to prevent having to hear housing development proposals until regulations could be established to align with the community’s vision for effective Transit-Oriented Development, (TOD).

       The moratorium for Newington Junction had expired a week before the June 22 TPZ meeting, according to Minor.