171 Main St Deep River, CT 06417-2057

VillageDistrict regulationsareintendedtoprotectandenhancetheuniquecharacterandscale of the Village Commercial (VCD), the Village Mixed Use (VMUD) and the VillageResidential Districts (VRD) as a small NewEngland village in accordancewiththegoalsset forth in the Town of Deep River Plan of Conservation and Development. TheseRegulations are intended to insure that new development or redevelopment of land ormodification of buildings within the Districts is consistent and compatible with existingstreetscapecharacterandconsistentwiththefollowing: (1) Maintaintheexistingvillagescaleby discouragingbuildingswhicharenoticeablylargerthan, or out of character with, the residential scale buildings which predominate thestreetscape; 73 (2) PreservethehistoricandsignificantstructureswithintheDistricts. (3) Promote the Districts as attractive commercial/residential areas which encouragepedestrianactivityandmovement. (4) Promoteandretainamixofcommercial andresidential usesintheDistricts. (5) Buffer areas surrounding the Districts from commercial activities that might causediminutionofvaluesorqualityofresidential life. (6) Encouragenon-repetitivestructureanddesigns. 7A.5.4 VILLAGEDISTRICTSOVERVIEW. Withintheareaof thethreeVillageDistricts, many of thebuildings-especially onMainStreet-at one time included both commercial and residential uses. Many today still do. Two-story,residentially-scaledstructurespredominateandopenporchesarecommon. Front yardsetbacksvary, but most areminimal withcloseaccesstopedestriantraffic, andwalkwaysandcrosswalksencourage pedestrian activity. Mature trees, especially on the side streets off Main Street,provideshadetothelandscape. Structuresarepredominantlywoodclapboardsidingwithbrickchimneys and shingled peaked roofs. Windowsareprimarily double-hungwithseparatepanesorlightsandlargeplateglasswindowswithoutmullionsarerare. Shuttersareacommonelementandtherearefacadeswithoutthesefeatures. IntheVillageCommercial District(VCD), homesdatefromlate1700’stothepresent. Small (10,000sq. ft) narrowlotsandstructureswithlittleornosidesetbacksexist. WithincloseproximitytoElmandRiver Streetsinthecenter of town, structuresare“built to” thesidewalk. Asonemovesawayfromthat central intersection, structuresarelocatedfurther andfurther back fromthestreetandhavemoreandmorespacebetweenstructures. Commercial buildingsnearestthecenteroftownwhich front on Main Street have moderately-sized plate glass windows. Wherestructuresexistfurther back fromthestreet, many havefront lawnswithmatureplantings;