Presence Of ‘Affordable Housing’ At Fairfield Hills Debated

By Andrew Gorosko

The wisdom of allowing “affordable housing” as a permitted land use at the town’s Fairfield Hills core campus drew much public comment, both pro and con, at a January 6 Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) public hearing, which was held on the land use agency’s proposed zoning rules that would govern the redevelopment of the 185-acre site.

A number of residents who spoke at the hearing clearly believe that the town would be misguided in allowing affordable housing at the campus, while others believe there is a clear and pressing need for such residences there.

Affordable housing, as defined by state law, is designated for people who fall under certain annual income limits. The definition of “affordability” varies throughout the state, based on the median annual family incomes for given communities. Affordable housing is deed-restricted for that use.

As part of its proposed regulations on Fairfield Hills’ redevelopment, the P&Z is recommending that eight existing houses in the “West Meadow” section of the campus be designated as affordable housing.

It was that proposal that drew almost all comments at the public hearing.

The P&Z took no action on its proposed revisions to the Fairfield Hills Adaptive Reuse (FHAR) zoning rules on January 6. P&Z action on its proposed rule changes is expected at an upcoming session.

The town’s redevelopment of Fairfield Hills would be guided by a master plan. That proposed master plan will be the subject of a P&Z public hearing scheduled for February 17.

Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker said that the current FHAR zoning regulations would allow the construction of up to 550 units of multifamily housing at the Fairfield Hills core campus. The proposed rule changes would delete the regulation that allows such construction, she said.

Under the P&Z’s proposed rule changes, the only housing that would be allowed at Fairfield Hills would be the reuse of the existing eight single-family houses there as affordable housing, she said. Those houses were occupied in the past by state employees who worked at the former psychiatric hospital.

P&Z member Lilla Dean suggested that the proposed regulations be expanded to allow several existing brick duplexes at the campus to also be used as affordable housing.

Ms Stocker, however, pointed out that the proposed master plan specifies that those structures be reserved for commercial use.

Public Comment

Linda Dunn of Old Bethel Road told P&Z members that Fairfield Hills should be retained by the town as an open space area for passive forms of recreation. “I strongly oppose any housing at Fairfield Hills,” she said.

Ms Dunn suggested that Fairfield Hills be the site of a town arts center and a town senior center, and also serve as the location for future public schools.

Al Cramer of Partridge Lane told P&Z members that the eight existing houses at Fairfield Hills occupy about six acres of a 20-acre plot of land known as the West Meadow.

As a matter of public policy, the town should buy local open, undeveloped land as a way to retard residential development, because such development fuels property tax increases, Mr Cramer said.

Allowing housing at Fairfield Hills runs counter to that philosophy, he said.

Mr Cramer suggested that the eight houses be demolished to create an open space area.

“The best interests of the town are served [by demolishing] the eight houses,” he said. The open space area thus created by the demolition could then become a “land bank” for the town, he said.

But State Representative Julia Wasserman of Walnut Tree Hill Road pointed out that there is a local lack of suitable housing for people who live and work in Newtown, but who cannot afford to live in Newtown.

Mrs Wasserman urged P&Z members to consider creating zoning rules that would allow affordable housing at Fairfield Hills.

“I’m not talking about massive houses, or massive numbers of apartments, but I’m talking about some [housing],” she said. The core campus holds more than 1.5 million square feet of enclosed space, she noted.

There is a real local need for affordable housing for people who work in Newtown and want to live in Newtown, Mrs Wasserman said.

Michael Snyder of Megans Circle said that the eight existing houses at Fairfield Hills should be designated for affordable housing. Many children of residents cannot afford to live in Newtown, he said.

“We haven’t done anything for years for affordable housing,” Mr Snyder said.

“We see what happened on Queen Street…The people who took those houses, in my estimation, did a great job with them…We need that kind of stuff,” he said.

After the town bought a number of houses along the east side of Queen Street from the state, the town resold those houses to private individuals who refurbished and improved the aging structures. The houses originally were occupied by people who worked at Fairfield Hills.

Douglas Brennan of Antler Pine Road had a different view of what should happen to the eight houses at Fairfield Hills.

“These [eight] houses are ill-suited to be affordable houses,” he said, adding that they are too large to serve that purpose.

Each of the eight houses should be sold by the town at a market rate of approximately $300,000 apiece in order to raise $2.4 million, which could then be used by the town to acquire open space parcels elsewhere, he said.

Mr Brennan said that the eight houses should not be demolished, but also should not be the focus of a government-subsidy program to provide affordable housing.

Al Roznicki of Hanover Road, said, “The issue is ‘Do we want any housing at Fairfield Hills?’”

Based on the results of public opinion surveys, housing is a low-priority item, Mr Roznicki said.

The Fairfield Hills property would be better used for public education and various municipal needs, rather than affordable housing, he said. Affordable housing can be created elsewhere, he said.

Ruby Johnson of Chestnut Hill Road told P&Z members that Fairfield Hills is the wrong place for affordable housing. Allowing such a land use there would break up the area’s open space potential, she said.

“We really need to think of Fairfield Hills as a ‘land bank’ for 20 [or] 30 years,” she said.

“The value of Fairfield Hills is the land, not the houses, and not the buildings,” she said. “It’s this land that is so valuable,” she added.

The town did not purchase various open space properties in the past when it had the opportunity to do so, representing a lack of planning, she stressed.

Ms Johnson urged that the P&Z not allow the eight houses to be used as affordable housing. She suggested that the town sell the houses and then have the owners physically move those houses elsewhere. “It’s the land that’s valuable,” she said.

Kevin Fitzgerald of Old Farm Hill Road said public opinion polls have indicated that housing is a low priority at Fairfield Hills.

Andrew Willie of Butterfield Road said eight occupied houses at Fairfield Hills could translate into the presence of 16 children who require public education. The money that the town would gain from selling the houses could be depleted by the costs of public education, he said.

Mr Willie recommended that the town demolish the eight houses and then conserve the land that they sit on as open space. He said Fairfield Hills should serve as a “land bank” for future public schools. “Fairfield Hills should not be used for housing,” he said.

Robert Eckenrode of Wildcat Road urged that the town be a steward of the natural resources at Fairfield Hills. He urged that the area known as “High Meadow” there be permanently preserved as open space.