New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Abstention derails vote on development plan
WEST HAVEN — A planned two-building, mixed-use development intended to bring housing and commerce to vacant land between Campbell and Washington avenues was dealt a setback last week when a Superior Court judge sustained a neighboring business’s appeal of an Inland Wetlands Watercourse Agency decision.
In summer 2021, plans for 140 new apartments above market and cafe spaces riled residents in the area of the 215, 291 and 313 Campbell Ave. and 288 Washington Ave. site with concerns about flooding, traffic and property values. After the city Planning and Zoning Commission voted in favor of the project in September 2021, things went quiet as that decision faced a legal appeal for about one year. In December 2022, Judge Matthew Budzik dismissed the appeal against the Planning and Zoning Commission.
However, on Jan. 6, Budzik sustained a separate appeal against the Inland Wetlands Watercourse Agency of West Haven, rendering the Planning and Zoning Commission’s decision invalid as it was predicated upon a condition that now was unmet.
Budzik found that Inland Wetlands commissioners did not act within their bylaws by approving developer GLI Holdings and Shmuel Aizenberg’s application without a majority of affirmative votes. Although all five commissioners were present at the Aug. 17, 2021, meeting, only two commissioners voted in favor of the application. One commissioner abstained, another did not vote as he had missed a public hearing on the application and Chairman Bill Kane did not vote, as he stated his belief that a chairman votes to break a tie.
Budzik said in his ruling that the agency’s bylaws are clear that applications must be approved by a majority of members present comprising a quorum.
“(T)he court concludes that it was a violation of the agency’s own rules to approve GLI’s application, and, therefore, the agency’s approval of GLI’s application was improper,” he wrote.
Kane told the Register that he long has been under the impression that the chairman votes only to break ties. In a footnote in his ruling, Budzik wrote that Kane’s belief “appears to be mistaken,” as the bylaws indicate the chairman has the full privileges of a member of the agency, including discussing and voting on applications.
Richard Moore, owner of Amerfix, filed the appeal under an LLC controlled by his family. Both he and wife, Ellen, testified about the devastating flooding they encounter at 278 Washington Ave. and their concerns that the development would worsen the water damage they sustain at that location.
“I love the fact that somebody wants to build — that’s not my problem and that’s not where I’m coming from,” Moore said Wednesday. “I’m coming from, the city is not taking care of the potential and existing problems with the drain water. That is my biggest gripe,”
Moore said he hoped the judge’s ruling “may open somebody’s eyes” in the city.
Kane said that, as of Wednesday, he did not know what the developer’s next steps would be. An attorney for the developer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
At a Tuesday PZC meeting,
Vice Chairman John Biancur assured his fellow commissioners that they had acted within their bylaws when making their decision on the proposed development and Budzik’s ruling was not in response to any votes they had taken.
In his ruling dismissing the appeal against the Planning and Zoning Commission, Budzik said he was convinced that the development would serve the purposes of the Central Business District zone and a Village District Overlay zones by adding foot traffic and vibrancy to downtown city businesses.