New Canaan P&Z lauds newly approved multifamily project on Burtis Avenue
NEW CANAAN — Calling it a fine example of how affordable housing should be built, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a 26-unit development with four affordable units this week.
The project, first seen in January during a pre-application review, will include five townhouses, one apartment building with 11 units and another with 8 units on .73 acres in a pie-shaped area on Burtis Avenue and Cherry Street. Seven primarily residential buildings, with a total of 72,627 square feet, will replace five commercial structures and parking lots.
The commissioners were very complimentary of the plan.
“If you compare this to other two, three applications for the low-income housing, here is an application, or a design, that really has not maximized the site, in the sense of overburdening the neighbors and the adjacent properties,” Commissioner Kent Turner said.
The commission is expected to make a decision in upcoming weeks on a 102-unit development at 751 Weed Street on 3.1 acres with 30 affordable units, as well as a 20-unit complex on .34 acres at 51 Main Street in the Historic District with six affordable units. The commission has also received plans for 93 units on 4.7 acres on Hill Street with 28 affordable units.
This project is “of moderate density and it’s less units than actually could be built on here,” said Commissioner Krista Neilson. “It’s the first project to successfully implement our inclusionary zoning regulations.”
In the project’s initial presentation, the plans called for eight home offices on the main floor that the commissioners referred to as “Zoom rooms.” The developers promoted the unique design as a way to create a sense of activity on the street level without adding new retail properties that would compete with the current real estate stock.
Commissioner John Kriz and others raised concerns with those plans, proposed by applicants Jacqueline O. Kaufman, Carmody, Torrance, Sandak and Hennessey, LLP, questioning if the plans had long-term viability.
“The commission expressed some hesitancy on that and there was a change including an addition of retail, which it was my personally belief was very appropriate for the site given adjacency to downtown, Kriz said.
The proposal will also provide affordable units in line with the affordable housing regulations, which call for 15 percent affordable housing in new residential buildings with more than five dwelling units. The affordable housing would be deed restricted for a minimum of 40 years.
Neilson appreciated that the plans use the town’s existing zoning regulations and in a creative way.
The approval also stipulates several conditions, including submitting a landscape maintenance plant plan, in which “ideally all plant materials should be native plants;” install a sign to warn of a hidden driveway on Cherry Street; and submit a finalized affordability plan consistent with local and state regulations.
“I was very encouraged by the application and the result is going to be some very nice houses, including accommodation for people with more modest gains, which is in keeping with our plan of conservation development,” Kriz said.