Judge delays Edgerton property plan

Neighbors: Agreement for Cedar Grove Avenue location is ‘spot zoning’

New London — A New London Superior Court judge has declined to immediately sign off on an agreement that would help clear the path for construction of a 72-unit housing complex at the site of the former Edgerton School.

Neighbors of the 120 Cedar Grove Ave. property, where the complex would be built, testified in court Thursday that the agreement amounts to spot zoning and argued against the process that led to the agreement.

The agreement, or stipulated judgment, between the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission and attorney Mathew Greene was signed in June and reached as a compromise in response to Greene’s lawsuit against the commission.

The lawsuit was an appeal of the commission’s earlier denial of proposed zoning changes that would have allowed for construction of a 124-unit affordable-housing complex at the same site.

“This (agreement) flies in the face of the decision made by the Planning and Zoning Commission. This is spot zoning.” DAN MCSPARRAN, ELM STREET RESIDENT

Cedar Grove Avenue property owners Peabody Properties and Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative originally bought the property as part of a partnership with the New London Housing Authority to find replacement homes for the families at the troubled federally subsidized Thames River Apartments.

The move would have helped satisfy a stipulated agreement reached as the result of a class-action lawsuit from tenants complaining of unsafe and unsanitary conditions there.

Greene, who represents Peabody, had expressed confidence in a judge signing the agreement. The scaled-back version of the plan had addressed housing density and parking concerns raised by neighbors, he said.

Peabody, working on a tight timeline, already is involved in a process that would lead to the start of construction on the project as early as next year.

Judge Timothy Bates, in court on Thursday, asked that Greene and City Attorney Jeffrey Londregan write up legal briefs in apparent defense of the agreement. Greene declined to discuss specifics of the judge’s request.

“The judge reserved the right to make a decision at a later time,” Greene said. “He suggested filing briefs to present our positions and alleviate his concerns.”

Dan McSparran, an Elm Street resident who has fought the development since it was first presented last year, said from his point of view the judge saw serious problems with the agreement. McSparran attended the hearing with Dow Street resident Katherine Goulart and testified against the agreement.

The property in question, he said, is not zoned for residential housing.

“This (agreement) flies in the face of the decision made by the Planning and Zoning Commission,” McSparran said. “This is spot zoning.”

The property is in a C-2 zone, or commercially zoned area, that prohibits residential developments. The agreement approved by a 5-2 vote by the Planning and Zoning Commission, however, would require that the planned development meet zoning regulations in the city’s R-3 or multifamily medium-density residential zone.

Goulart said the judge had questioned whether or not a public hearing was held specific to the commission’s agreement with Greene. It had not. She said her concern is mostly aimed at the process that led to a judge potentially signing an agreement that “circumvents the zoning process.”

“Every step of the way it seems our law director has not been looking out for the city and adjacent neighbors but rather greasing the wheels for these developers for some reason,” Goulart said. “It’s a tough pill to swallow.”

Because of delays in establishing the new affordable-housing complex, the Housing Authority has moved away from reliance on the Edgerton property as a replacement site for Thames River Apartments tenants and instead applied to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for Section 8 vouchers that will allow residents to move elsewhere.

The two sides will be back in court on Aug. 17 as part of the administrative appeals docket in New London Superior Court.