The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
PZC to consider motion to deny over-55 housing plan
TORRINGTON — When the Planning & Zoning Commission meets on Sept. 9 it will review a motion crafted by the city’s Land Use Administrator Martin Connor to deny an application to build an over-55 housing development.
“It was basically the consensus of the commission that I draft a motion of denial,” Connor said. “Commission Vhairman Greg Mele asked each member of the commission, one by one, what they thought, and at that point, it was basically stated that I would draft a motion to deny, and they would consider that motion at their meeting on Sept. 9.
“With a major application like this, it’s an accepted way of the commission, to have me do that,” he said.
The application for a special exception permit to build the 120-unit development near Greenbrier Estates has been the focus of public hearings since February. Hearings with public comment were closed in
July. Last week, the commission discussed the application, and part of that discussion included a memo from Connor, who raised a number of points, including on the proposal’s age restriction.
Commission members who spoke at the Aug. 12 meeting said the development wasn’t right for the area, concurring with residents of the Greenbrier Estates’ homeowners association, who have said in the past that the impact of such
a project would bring more traffic to Greenbrier’s already busy streets. Others said that construction and added paving and grading would cause their own properties to flood, and that the housing development would lower their property values.
The proposed development, labeled as active adult housing, would offer four buildings with a total of 120 one- and two-bedroom apartments for people age 55 and over, and was presented by TDF Enterprises.
Connor said the commission’s responsibility is to decide whether the applicant can meet the general requirements for a special exception application. Their denial would have to include specific reasons for their decision. In his memo, Connor pointed to the many ways TDF has met the requirements, while taking public opinion into account.
“The application was very complete, and there is a lot of information for the commission to go through,” Connor said. “It really came down to the fact that the specific requirements were
met, but the commission didn’t feel the general requirements were met. The commission has general discretion on that part of the decision. When the commission got to the general characteristics, they decided it wasn’t right for that area.”
On Aug. 12, commission member Jim Bobinski raised a number of questions and concerns, including the impact traffic would make on the neighborhood during construction. Large trucks hauling material in and out of the neighborhood, he said, would make a negative and dangerous impact, especially because there are no sidewalks.
Also during the Aug. 12 meeting, commissioner Donna Greco said she was concerned about traffic. “It seems that there could have been a better design for this,” she said. “I have gone through the area (of Greenbrier Estates) a number of times, and I realize how detrimental the traffic is . ... It has become a throughway. It is, to me, in my opinion, a dangerous situation for the people who live there. People drive fast.
“It’s obvious that it can be a very dangerous situation,”
“It’s obvious that it can be a very dangerous situation. It’s not perfect . ... (The project is) just out of character for that area.”
Donna Greco, commissioner
Greco said. “It’s not perfect. ... (The project is) just out of character for that area.”
In his Aug. 12 memo, Connor raised a number of points for members to consider when they make their final ruling. He said the proposed development conformed with the city’s specific zoning requirements for an R-15 Zone, or multi-family. A traffic report provided by the applicant said added traffic could “readily be accommodated by the existing roadway network,” according to Connor’s memo.
Another concern raised by the opponents to the project was whether or not the development could be restricted to residents older than 55. Connor said that if the project were approved, all residents would have to comply with those requirements. Connor also pointed out that the Inland Wetlands Commission has approved the site plan, and that the opposition has appealed that decision in court.
In his memo, Connor also noted that Attorney Peter Olson, on behalf of Greenbrier’s homeowners association, has filed an intervention against the application, saying that it is “reasonably likely to have an effect of unreasonably polluting, impairing, or destroying the public trust in the air, water or natural resources of the state.”
“The applicant’s experts testified that the proposed project is not likely to have an effect of unreasonably polluting, impairing or destroying the public trust in the air, water or natural resources of the state,” Connor wrote. “The commission will need to include in any motion ... A finding that the application complies with applicable statues and regulations.”