New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Zoning board approves two new beach homes
MILFORD — Two new beachfront homes will be constructed along the eastern shoreline, following unanimous Planning and Zoning Board approval at its meeting on Tuesday. Both applications required approval of the coastal area site plan review.
Inland Wetlands Compliance Officer MaryRose Palumbo issued a jurisdictional ruling for both projects to allow the work to take place. The ruling was required because the properties are within 100 feet of a waterbody in the South-Central Shoreline Watershed.
A new three-story house will be constructed on a 0.09-acre lot in the R-5 zone at 141 Hillside Ave., which is owned by Stephen and Jasmina Koban. This project also required a special permit, which the board approved, because the new house, located on shorefront property, is within 25 feet of the average high water line.
Plans call for demolishing the existing one-family two-story house from 1930, and replacing it with a new one-family threestory house on the same footprint. The first level will be parking beneath the house, which is placed on eight-foot tall pillars. The property is in the AE flood zone, meaning there is a 1 percent annual chance of flooding.
The other approval was granted to Richard and Robin Biagetti, owners of a 0.13-acre property at 7 Point Beach Drive in the R-7.5 zone. The first floor of the 3,300 sq. ft. house will be at 17.8 feet elevation for the property.
The lot is currently vacant because the previous house had been demolished due to damage from Superstorm Sandy.
Easement Request Supported
In other shoreline news, the board unanimously approved three separate motions to approve easement requests related to sidewalk construction along East Broadway near Walnut Beach, which took place this summer. The request was an
8-24 referral in which the zoning board acts in an advisory capacity to the Board of Aldermen on matters related to city-owned property. The aldermen will take up the matter at a future meeting.
City Attorney Jonathan Berchem told the board “a small space was needed to make the sidewalk consistent.”
The easements are on property owned by the following three owners: 0 East Broadway, Recreation Area No. 1, owned by Milford Beach Associates; 49-71 East Broadway, owned by Beachside Condominium Association No. 1, and 73-109 East Broadway, owned by Walnut Beach Condominium Association.
Office Parking Expanded
The board also unanimously approved a parking lot expansion for an office building at 440 Wheelers Farms Road, increasing the parking from 507 to 614 spaces.
SH Wheelers Farms Road LLC purchased the building for $4.5 million on Oct. 9, 2019. The 169,116 sq. ft. building was constructed in 1988 and is located on an 11.86-acre parcel in the Design Office-10 (DO-10) zone.
Project Engineer Ted Hart said SH Wheelers Farms Road LLC is renovating the office building, and is seeking additional parking. Hart said the zoning regulations require four spaces per 1,000 sq. ft. of building, which would result in a need for 677 spaces. He said this change gets the property closer to that number.
City Planner David B. Sulkis said the project was approved prior to the 2004 updates to the zoning regulations that increased the required parking.
Hart said the stormwater management system would be improved to handle the storm water from the additional impervious surface. He said the plan includes the addition of an outdoor patio with a seating area, a natural gas-powered generator, and new landscaping.