Board to take up revoked permit for 177 apartments
BRIDGEPORT — Nearly three months after city officials revoked the zoning permit for construction of a 177-unit apartment complex at the former Testo’s restaurant site, the city will host a series of public hearings this week on whether that project should be allowed to proceed.
The zoning board of appeals in an unusual move is scheduled to convene Wednesday and Thursday just to hear testimony for and against the North End development, an indication of an anticipated sizeable turnout.
“That is surprising,” Stephen Bellis, the New Haven-based attorney hired by developer Amit Lakhotia and his Avon Commons limited liability corporation, said Monday. “I didn’t request that . ... I’m kind of concise and to the point.”
The opposition, on the other hand, may not be. City Councilwoman Jeanette Herron said she and her colleague Aikeem Boyd, have been pushing to boost turnout at the City Hall meetings, which will each begin at 6 p.m.
“I’m trying to get that place full if we can,” Herron said. “The North End is no longer going to have things stuffed down our throats.”
At issue is the July 27 decision by Paul Boucher, head of the municipal zoning department, to revoke the authorization his office issued last October for Lakhotia’s development, located at Madison and Westfield avenues.
The original permit was sought and obtained by Bridgeport-based contractor John Guedes, and prior restaurant owners Mario Testa, longtime Bridgeport Democratic Party chairman, and Testa’s nephew, Ralph Giacobbe, with representation by the local Russo & Rizio law firm.
That zoning application was submitted in late 2021, before new, more restrictive citywide land-use regulations took effect the following January that would limit the proposed four-story building’s height to three and require ground floor commercial tenants.
The sale to Lakhotia and subsequent closure of Testo’s were announced last November, although that $3.5 million deal did not close until April. It included a handful of neighboring vacant residential properties owned by Testa and Giacobbe.
Soon after, fencing and a sign advertising the future apartments were erected around the site,
raising questions about whether such a large redevelopment would require a public hearing and subsequent vote by the city’s zoning commission.
In early May Mayor Joe Ganim’s office told Hearst Connecticut Media the zoning application from December 2021 had met the regulations in place at that time and had been issued. Guedes remained involved as Lakhotia’s contractor.
As a result, neighbors of Testo’s and elected officials and activists from that North End area pressured Ganim’s administration to intercede and either reduce the development’s size or stop it altogether.
Ganim, a Democrat running for reelection and
a close ally of Testa’s, in early May announced he agreed with critics of the project and asked the municipal law department to analyze the situation.
Boucher based his July 26 revocation on a municipal legal opinion also released that same day that found deficiencies in the approval process attributed to zoning department staff and the applicants.
But by that point not only had the zoning permit been in place for several months, but the building department had issued an authorization for a foundation in midMay and demolition permits July 17.
The loss of the zoning approval resulted in the foundation permit also being revoked. But the demolition of Testo’s and the vacant homes continued.
Bellis in mid-August filed an application with the zoning board of appeals, the first stop before Lakhotia can take Bridgeport to court.
As previously reported, Bellis is asking the appeals board to consider the legal concept of “municipal estoppel” as one reason for allowing his client to move ahead with construction. Estoppel is a legal argument against “alleging or denying a fact because of one’s own previous actions or words to the contrary.”
“That kind of prevents a town from pulling the rug out from somebody once they’ve already issued an approval,” Bellis said in August.
“Especially if the person had nothing to do with the application (but) relied on that approval and then spent time and money after getting a letter saying the project was approved.”
He at the time continued, “I represent an innocent purchaser of the property. (He) did his due diligence and a letter was written by the zoning department saying he had approvals and he goes ahead and purchases the property for over $3 million and gets a $14 million construction loan based on those approvals.”
The application Bellis filed with the zoning board of appeals also claims “there are vested rights to build under a building permit and the municipality is not allowed to revoke the permit by making a different interpretation of the regulations ... particularly where on faith of it the owner has incurred material expense and substantial liabilities.”
The board is made up of volunteers appointed by the mayor and City Council. According to its website, four of the seven members’ terms have expired and a fifth’s expiration date is not listed.
Herron believes the board will “do the right thing” and deny the appeal.“I am confident,” she said.
Bellis acknowledged the possibility that board members might be swayed by vocal opposition to the apartments even if his legal arguments are sound.
“But I don’t know that to be true. Maybe not,” he said. “It’s always a concern that attorneys have with any application, not just this one in particular.
“... That’s why if we’re not successful you can then go to the Superior Court. That’s your remedy.”