P&Z Again Rejects Finished Basement Proposal

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has unanimously rejected a requested zoning rule change to allow finished basements in elderly housing complexes.

In a 4-to-0 vote on April 3, P&Z Chairman William O’Neil, and members Lilla Dean, Daniel Fogliano, and Jane Brymer voted to deny the controversial requested rule change from Walnut Tree Developers, Inc. The firm has built Walnut Tree Village, a condominium complex for people over 55 on Walnut Tree Hill Road in Sandy Hook.

In its rule change request, the developers sought to have the P&Z modify the town’s zoning rules to allow one room and a half-bathroom to be finished space in the basements of homes in EH-10 (Elderly Housing) zones. Walnut Tree Developers has sought that rule change several times.

If the P&Z had approved the rule change, the revised regulations would have applied to all existing complexes in town that have an EH-10 zoning designation. Besides Walnut Tree Village, that includes The Homesteads at Newtown on Mt Pleasant Road in Hawleyville, Nunnawauk Meadows on Nunnawauk Road, Ashlar of Newtown and Lockwood Lodge on Toddy Hill Road, and Liberty at Newtown, which is now under construction on Mt Pleasant Road in Hawleyville. A rule change also would have applied to any future EH-10 complexes.

In 1995, Walnut Tree Developers received P&Z approval to build Walnut Tree Village as an 80-unit condominium complex for people over 55. In 2000, the P&Z granted the developers approvals to expand the complex to 190 units. Design changes have resulted in the developers now planning to construct a total of 189 units there. The developers are now expanding the complex.

Walnut Tree Developers aired its proposed rule change for finished basements at a P&Z public hearing in January, stating that many residents at Walnut Tree Village want such facilities in their dwellings. The firm presented a petition bearing the signatures of 35 Walnut Tree Village residents who favor allowing finished basements.

But the developers’ application drew criticism from some Walnut Tree Hill Road area residents, who opposed the proposal for various reasons.

Criticism focused on the potential for finished basements becoming bedrooms, reflecting an increased population density and increased traffic in the neighborhood. Opponents said finished basements would create a dual-level living situation for the elderly, contradicting the P&Z’s intent for single-level living at such facilities. Also, critics said finished basements would make such housing more expensive, among other complaints.

At the January session, Mary Burnham of 24 Walnut Tree Hill Road told P&Z members that 28 condo units in the 80-unit initial phase of Walnut Tree Village contain “walkout basements,” adding that when it approved the expansion phase of the project, the P&Z expressly prohibited such walkout basements. The construction of walkout basements during the 80-unit first phase of the project, without prior P&Z approval, has been a sore point between the developers and the P&Z for several years.

Since its inception in the mid-1990s, Walnut Tree Village has proved to be a controversial complex, with Walnut Tree Hill Road area residents often protesting various land use applications from its developers.

P&Z Rationale

In their motion to reject the developers’ request for finished basements, P&Z members explained their reasons for denying the application.

Modifying the zoning regulations would generally encourage developers to build elderly housing that contains finished basements, the P&Z decided.

Increasing the amount of living space that a housing unit contains “would potentially increase the purchase and resale prices” of the units, P&Z members reasoned.

“The apparent original intent of the EH-10 regulations, to provide lower cost units for the elderly, would be lost if the proposed amendment were approved,” P&Z members added.

 “The Planning and Zoning Commission is desirous of stable zoning regulations that do not change to favor one developer over another. There is no present condition that demonstrates the need to incrementally change the EH-10 regulations at this time,” according to the P&Z.

The P&Z also decided that allowing finished basements in EH-10 units would be inconsistent with the 1993 Town Plan of Conservation and Development.

At a February P&Z discussion session on Walnut Tree Developers’ request for finished basements, Mr O’Neil noted that the P&Z has revised its elderly housing zoning regulations in the past, relaxing certain aspects of those rules.

The intent of the town’s elderly housing regulations is to provide affordable housing for residents over age 55, he then said. Age-restricted condo complexes, which have been built or are now under construction, “are getting very expensive,” he then noted. Allowing finished basements in elderly housing complexes “would be opening Pandora’s box,” Mr O’Neil then said.

The P&Z created the EH-10 zoning designation for housing for the elderly that has all of its living facilities located on a single level.

The P&Z formulated the EH-10 regulations in the 1970s to create a mechanism for the construction of Nunnawauk Meadows, a government-subsidized rental housing complex for the elderly on Nunnawauk Road.