Neighbors: Norden Park plan ‘would destroy this neighborhood’
NORWALK — A family-run property management business is eyeing a long-unused property at Norden Park as the site of a new warehouse and distribution center, but some residents and city officials are worried the project could bring more traffic to East Norwalk.
Benerofe Properties
applied for a special permit in June to convert 330,000 square feet of existing property at 10 Norden Place — otherwise known as Norden Park — into a warehouse and distribution facility.
The East Norwalk property once housed one of America’s foremost military technology companies, Northrop Grumman Norden Systems. But since the military giant completed its move in 2014, the 32- acre property has had only a handful of tenants.
Benerofe representatives Thursday presented the Norwalk Zoning Commission a plan to revamp the property with a renewed parking lot that could accommodate large trucks and add six new loading docks to the existing 13 docks on the property. All additions would be built onto the existing structure, according to the proposal.
Craig Benerofe, a partner at Benerofe Properties, said the development, if approved, would house two or three new tenants. He estimated these tenants likely would bring around 100 new employees to the property.
Attorney Carolyn Cavolo, representing Benerofe on behalf of Shipman & Goodwin LLP, claimed the proposed use of the “long vacant” property would be “less intense” than other activities allowed under zoning regulations.
A traffic study conducted by Tighe and Bond estimated that trucks would average approximately 198 trips to and from the property and about 574 total vehicle trips per day.
Traffic engineer Craig Yannes estimated the development would generate 65 trips during morning peak hours (7:15-8:15 a.m.), and 67 trips during evening peak hours (5-6 p.m.). But he also pointed out that previously approved uses in the zone have generated nearly 1,300 and 3,700 trips per day in the past.
“What we’re talking about is a significantly less amount of traffic than what these other uses would be,” Yannes said.
But some zoning commissioners weren’t convinced.
“What concerns the neighbors is that there is going to be 200 truck trips to that site every day. That sounds like a lot of vehicles,” Zoning Commission Chairman Louis Schulman said.
In addition to volume, Schulman also raised concerns about the proposed truck route to and from the site.
According to Yannes, trucks would have trouble driving the most direct route to Interstate 95, which is down Fitch Street, because of difficult turns. He instead identified a route that would take trucks down Strawberry Hill Avenue to Westport Avenue as the primary access point.
That raised the issue of how those vehicle trips could affect traffic along Strawberry Hill Road and the traffic caused by the three public schools along the road.
“You’re going to have more truck traffic, during the time, particularly in the afternoon, when children are coming home from school,” Schulman said. “That’s an instance where that additional truck traffic during the day may not be a good thing at all. It may be more of a hazard to schoolchildren.”
Yannes claimed the traffic analysis found that the development would not have a “significant impact” on traffic in the area.
However, Commissioner Nick Kantor pointed out that the Tighe and Bond traffic study only focused on the immediate area surrounding Norden Place and didn’t account for any effects on the nearby schools.
“It didn’t appear the traffic study took into account the primary route up to where there is already a ton of traffic in the community,” Kantor said.
The Zoning Commission also received more than 30 letters and emails from East Norwalk residents concerned about the
effect a distribution center could have on the surrounding residential neighborhoods.
Diane Cece, a board member of the East Norwalk Neighborhood Association, urged the commission to reject the application, citing serious concerns about truck traffic.
“All three of the recommended truck routes are not capable of accommodating 198 or more tractor trailer or other large trucks and 376 additional cars without impacting our community quality of life, and possibly without serious safety concerns,” Cece wrote.
Amy Sornatale wrote that the
facility is “completely wrong” for the area.
“Air quality, noise pollution, and traffic hazards would destroy this neighborhood and the surrounding area,” she wrote. “Please say no to this proposal don’t let the further destruction of our city continue.”
The project is expected to be built-out in late 2021 and occupied in early 2022.
The city now is expected to undertake its own peer-reviewed traffic study on the proposal, which Planning and Zoning Director Steve Kleppin said could take weeks.