Upzoning Plan Draws Fire

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission’s (P&Z) controversial proposal to “upzone” extensive residential sections of town, with the aim of protecting groundwater quality, has drawn organized opposition from residents who say they are unconvinced the move is necessary.

About 40 residents attended a February 3 P&Z public hearing on the sweeping upzoning plan, many of them expressing reservations about the proposal, which would tighten residential zoning requirements in many densely built sections of town.

The underlying goal of upzoning is protecting groundwater quality, both in the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD), which lies atop the Pootatuck Aquifer in south-central Newtown, and also in the several lakeside communities in Sandy Hook lying on the eastern edge of town along Lake Zoar, including Shady Rest, Pootatuck Park, Riverside, Cedarhurst and Great Quarter.

The comprehensive rezoning proposal covers an aggregate area greater than 2,500 acres. It affects approximately 2,315 properties, almost 2,000 of which have dwellings on them. The proposal affects properties on about 170 streets.

Under the proposal, areas with 1/2 -acre residential zoning would be upgraded to at least 1-acre zoning, and in some cases to 2-acre zoning, depending upon their location. 

Upzoning would increase minimum development standards for affected properties, especially for certain properties in Sandy Hook Center in the APD, where current 1/2 -acre minimum residential zoning would increase to 2-acre zoning.

The APD holds two separate well-based public water supply systems. Rezoning the APD would bring land-use zones in that area into compliance with the revised, stricter aquifer protection regulations, which the P&Z approved last June.

The P&Z proposes rezoning the lakeside communities to prevent existing groundwater pollution problems there from worsening. That proposed rezoning is intended to reinforce the town policy of “sewer avoidance.”

The proposed upzoning anticipates “knockdowns” in the lakeside communities, in which old buildings are knocked down to provide sites for new buildings. Rezoning those areas would reduce future allowable construction densities to prevent the intensification of groundwater pollution problems.

The underlying issue in increasing minimum residential lot sizes to at least one acre is ensuring that building lots are large enough to safely provide adequate space for both a septic system and a domestic water well. In 1993, the town’s health department recommended that minimum lot sizes be increased to at least one acre.

Upzoning would create undersized, non-conforming lots, resulting in increased activity by the zoning enforcement officer and Zoning Board of Appeals.

The P&Z’s upzoning proposal does not affect the Borough of Newtown, which has separate zoning regulations.

 

Opposition

The public criticism leveled at the upzoning proposal February 3 comes in the same vein as the opposition that the proposal drew at a December public hearing. In December, property owners told P&Z members they fear that increasing minimum zoning standards would damage their properties’ development potential, and thus reduce the value of their land.

The proposed rezoning seeks to reduce future potential construction densities in the most densely built neighborhoods. Most of the land proposed for rezoning already has been developed. 

The upzoning proposal comes at the end of a decade during which the town experienced rapid residential growth. From 1990 through November 1999, the P&Z approved 1,516 new house lots. The town issued 1,785 building permits for new houses. The town received 160 subdivision applications during that period. Residential development occurred on 6,328 acres, which includes 520 acres of open space land. Development resulted in 44 new streets, according to Elizabeth Stocker, the town’s community development director.

Petitions Submitted

Resident Richard Haight of 99 Church Hill Road presented two petitions to the P&Z from residents concerned about the upzoning proposal.

One petition signed by 56 people stated their opposition to the upzoning project. More than half of those signing the document listed Sandy Hook addresses.

The other petition signed by 125 people called for the P&Z to send certified mailings to residents whose properties would be affected by rezoning. Most people signing that petition listed Sandy Hook addresses. Many of those have residences in the lakeside communities, especially in Cedarhurst, including Lakeview Terrace, Cedarhurst Trail, Mohawk Trail and Algonquin Trail.

At the December public hearing on upzoning, the P&Z drew criticism for providing only a basic description of its upzoning proposal in a legal advertisement in a newspaper, instead of sending certified mailings to all property owners whose holdings would be affected.

In a letter to the P&Z, Mr Haight wrote that the soil-based rezoning, such as that proposed by the P&Z, is not practical in areas with public sewers and public water supplies.

Property such as his at 99 Church Hill Road is near land zoned for elderly housing, and does not warrant being upzoned from 1/2 -acre to 2-acre zoning, he stressed, adding that such a move could prompt a court challenge from him.  Eliminating 1/2 -acre residential lots in an area such as Sandy Hook Center, where a public water supply is planned to be added to existing public sewers, appears to be “exclusionary zoning,” Mr Haight wrote.

“Protecting the aquifer is an absolute necessity. However, a regulatory application this large is clearly a technique only an anti-development regulatory agency could love,” he added.

 Mr Haight called for an unbiased study to document the environmental benefit of upzoning.

 Resident Stacy Daves-Ohlin of 34 Beacon Drive in Riverside suggested that instead of increasing minimum residential zoning from 1/2 -acre to 1 acre in the lakeside communities, sanitary sewers should be installed. She said the proposed rezoning could work against families who want to build house additions in those areas. Increasing minimum lot sizes will not solve the groundwater pollution problems, she said, adding that certain practical problems prevent engineered septic systems from being installed there to rectify pollution problems. Installing municipal sewers is the long-term solution for groundwater pollution problems in the lakeside communities, she said.

Carmine Renzulli of Norwalk, who owns real estate on Walnut Tree Hill Road and Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook, questioned the need for upzoning. Mr Renzulli told P&Z members the potential for new residential development in the APD is relatively small when compared to the broad scope of the upzoning proposal.

Citing public documents, Mr Renzulli said public water supply wells in the APD do not have any record of contamination. He suggested that the lakeside communities be sewered, a comment which drew applause from the audience.

Of the residential upzoning proposal, Mr Renzulli said to P&Z members, “What you’re doing is not really realistic.”

Resident Richard Spillane of 15 Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook said people who now have access to sanitary sewers in that area would be penalized by upzoning.

Resident Edward Lundblad, who owns real estate on Lakeview Terrace in Cedarhurst, told P&Z members that increasing the minimum zoning requirements in the APD is not justified based on the small number of potential new building lots there.

Mr Lundblad said that if his Cedarhurst real estate is upzoned, the value of property that he leaves to his heirs will be diminished.

Septic systems in Cedarhurst are not failing, he said.

“This is a wonderful place to live. Don’t steal my future,” Mr Lundblad said.

 Resident Anthony DeAngelo of 18 Cedarhurst Trail said he does not understand why upzoning is needed in Cedarhurst, considering that the area already has been developed. He urged the P&Z to provide financial incentives to residents to regularly pump out their septic systems and to have their water wells tested. He asked why the P&Z is seeking to avoid installing sanitary sewers.

 Resident Jill Chop of 1 Cedarhurst Trail stated her opposition to the upzoning proposal, saying the policy of sewer avoidance is unfair. Upzoning would make life more difficult for people in the lakeside communities, she said.

 Resident Lisa Cascella of 32 Poplar Drive in Riverside asked P&Z members why they want to place more restrictions on people who want to build additions to their houses.

P&Z Chairman Daniel Fogliano pointed out that rezoning would not necessarily prevent the construction of house additions. The building setback regulations are the same for land in 1-acre and 2- acre zones, he said.

Properties which would be most directly affected by the upzoning are those where minimum zoning requirements would increase upward from 1/2 -acre to either 1-acre or to 2-acres.

 Mr Fogliano said P&Z members will consider comments made at the two public hearings when discussing and acting on the upzoning proposal at a future session. Because the P&Z originated the upzoning plan, there is no time limit for P&Z action.

 Residential areas where minimum zoning would increase from 1/2 -acre to one acre include a swath of land extending along the western side of South Main Street southward from Borough Lane to the vicinity of Orchard Hill Road; the lakeside communities of Shady Rest, Pootatuck Park, Riverside, Cedarhurst and Great Quarter; plus sections of Sandy Hook Center.

Minimum residential zoning would increase from 1/2 -acre to 2 acres in sections of Sandy Hook Center, including properties along the western end of Riverside Road and along Washington Avenue, as well as some properties along Botsford Hill Road in Botsford.

 One-acre residential zoning would increase to 2-acre zoning in a broad area which is bounded by Black Cherry Lane on the north, and extending southward generally along Toddy Hill Road to Botsford Hill Road, as well as a section of Route 34 extending eastward to Sugarloaf Road.

Detailed documents and maps describing all properties affected by the proposed upzoning are available for public review at the town land use office at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills.  

The P&Z’s upzoning proposal to increase minimum residential lot sizes comes on a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission Advisory Task Force, an ad hoc citizens group which meets to find ways the town can better regulate growth and protect the quality of underground drinking water supplies.