Glover Avenue housing stalls
NORWALK — A significant development planned along the Route 7 corridor hit a roadblock on Wednesday night.
Building and Land Technology’s proposal to build 1,305 new apartment units along Glover Avenue was called into question by the city’s Zoning Commission over concerns of increased traffic at already frequently congested intersections.
Zoning Commission Louis Schulman recommended the city take a “slow and deliberate” approach to the developer’s application after a recent traffic study found an issue with traffic along the Route 7 corridor.
The study, conducted by
engineering consultant DeCarlo and Doll, found that four of the five major intersections in the area are already rated at the lowest possible grade during peak morning and afternoon hours.
According to the study, these intersections — Grist Mill at Route 7, Grist Mill Road at Main Avenue, Main Avenue at Glover Avenue and Creeping Hemlock Road and Main Avenue at the Route 15 southbound off-ramp — were graded at ‘E’ or ‘F’ during peak morning and afternoon hours, which translates to waits as long as two and two-anda-half minutes for some cars.
Schulman recommended that, before moving ahead to public hearings on the application, the city should seek out more information on the effects the development could have in the area.
“I just don’t see how we can approve a master plan unless we have some professional opinion
that the traffic infrastructure can handle it at a level of service better than an ‘F,’” Commissioner Roderick Johnson said in agreement.
One possible solution to the traffic woes is a host of improvements pending at the state level.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is eyeing projects that would improve flow of traffic at the Merritt and Route 7 interchange and the Merritt and Main Avenue interchanges, but those improvements are tentatively scheduled for 2025 and are not set in stone.
“If none of these improvements have taken place in time, at that time and the levels of service are an ‘F,’ how can the commission consider this at that time? That’s what I’m having a little difficulty wrapping my head around,” Planning and Zoning Director Steve Kleppin said.
The argument, however, raises a “chicken or egg” dilemma, Commissioner Nicholas Kantor said: Should the city try to force DOT’s hand to make improvements prior
to greenlighting the expansive development, or should they OK the project to put pressure on DOT to make the improvements?
“Does the state take this situation seriously without something pending to force their hand? To date, one would argue that they haven’t really done much about the issue,” Kantor said.
David Waters, general counsel for BLT, suggested that, by approving the North Seven project, the city could put more pressure on the state to move forward with these projects more quickly, or even to resume stalled projects, such as the planned realignment of Route 7 interchange at Grist Mill and improvements to Main Avenue, which could improve traffic in the area.
“The fact is that when you have something on the books that can be said to improve economic development and is an important thing for this area, now it becomes something of importance for DOT to look at,” Waters said.
BLT has three pending applications with the Zoning Commission.
The first is a special permit application related to the proposed North Seven apartment complex. The proposed development would add 1,305 units, as well as 27,865 square feet of retail space, across eight buildings ranging from five to 15 stories.
The proposal includes plans for 3.5-acre park in the area and a host of other improvements, such as a potential “town square” area and walkway connecting the area to Merritt 7 buildings and Main Avenue.
In addition to seeking a special permit, BLT is seeking to shift its properties, which include parcels at 67, 69, 79, 87, 111, 117, 129 and 201 Glover Ave. and 2 Oakwood Ave., to an exclusive Executive Office zone.
The developer is also seeking to amend regulations for Executive Office zoning to allow height restrictions to move from eight stories and 100 feet to 15 stories and 150 feet. The amendment would also reduce density restrictions from 1,650 square feet of lot per unit to 500 square feet per unit, and would lower the requirement for parking spots per unit from 1.5 for studios and two for two-bedroom apartments to 1.3 parking spots per unit, regardless of size.
BLT already has a vested interest in the Glover Avenue area with The Towers office complex, the One Glover apartments near the base of the avenue and The Curb, a threebuilding apartment complex with 760 units, on the east side of Glover just south of Grist Mill Road.
“Our goal in all of this is to really create a community of the whole area, rather than just a development of our area,” Waters told Hearst Connecticut Media in June. “Rarely do you get an opportunity to plan an entire community like we did at Harbor Point . ... The idea here is to draw it into becoming public space because that is how you create a desire for other people to actually come and be part of the area.”
Waters has estimated the project could take as long as 10 years to finish.