The Hamden Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously decided Tuesday night it would not require the university to seek town approval of QU’s five-year master plan.

Instead, the commission will consider whether to make the university submit a master plan for review to the board.

When the Hamden Planning and Zoning Commission said late last year that it wanted to approve the university’s master plan, Quinnipiac decided to withhold the $1.23 million payment to Hamden that the university originally promised the town.

The decision to withdraw the proposed amendment that would have given the commission the authority to approve or disapprove of the university’s building and academic plans came after the commission sought legal advice from former judge Robert Fuller. Fuller told the commission its proposed amendment would not hold up in court. Connecticut law does not give the commission the authority to approve a master plan through Special Permit, according to Fuller.

Now, the commission will work to draft another amendment that would require the university to submit a master plan with its Special Permit applications, but would not give the commission approval power over the plan.

The master plan would have to include various information to help the commission understand Quinnipiac’s future intentions, such as a “Statement of Institutional Aims and Objectives” and an explanation of how this helps the university’s goals. The university would have to provide a description and maps of their construction plans, the current and projected enrollment numbers and information related to on and off-campus housing.

The university declined to comment on this story.

Read the Editorial on this article here: https://www.quchronicle.com/2015/02/time-for-hamden-to-embrace-quinnipiac/