EDC Urged To Focus Drive for Economic Development

By Andrew Gorosko

In view of town government officials’ general desire for a broadened property tax base, it is probably time for the Economic Development Commission (EDC) to update its strategic plan of economic development, according to Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker.

Ms Stocker’s comments this week follow a May 11 annual “roundtable” session sponsored by the EDC, at which about 20 town officials gathered to discuss ways to stimulate local economic development.

Based on comments made at that session, “It was pretty clear…the EDC needs to focus on marketing particular areas of town, including Hawleyville,” Ms Stocker said. Other areas requiring focused marketing include the town’s planned expansion of the Commerce Road industrial area, plus Curtis Corporate Park, off Toddy Hill Road, Ms Stocker said.

An updated strategic plan of economic development would aid in that marketing effort, she said. The EDC last updated that document in 1999, she said.

The nine-member EDC could include content from the Planning and Zoning Commission’s (P&Z) recently updated Town Plan of Conservation and Development in revising the strategic economic development plan, Ms Stocker said. The P&Z spent more than two years formulating the decennial revision to its plan.

The town’s planned acquisition of Fairfield Hills from the state holds the potential for future economic development, as well as providing for various community needs, Ms Stocker said.

The EDC is an advisory agency that promotes the preservation, expansion, and development of existing local businesses, as well as attracting new firms to town.

The EDC sponsored the May 11 discussion session to allow town leaders to directly exchange their ideas on future economic growth.

EDC Chairman Chet Hopper told participants the EDC’s three main goals are to broaden the local property tax base, to increase local employment opportunities, and maintain the town’s community character as economic development evolves. The EDC seeks to attract firms to town that require minimal public services and minimal infrastructure improvements, he said.

First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal said such discussion sessions provide a useful way for town agency members to directly express their views to one another and resolve any misunderstandings that may exist.

The town seeks to attract “desirable” economic development, Mr Rosenthal said, adding, though, that the definition of “desirable” growth may vary from person to person.

Residents broadly want economic development to occur in town, but when such development occurs near their residences, they may not view such growth as “desirable,” the first selectman added.

Mr Rosenthal urged that town agency members and staff members work to expedite economic development applications.

The first selectman said the town should strive to maintain the local quality of life and uphold the community’s character, while working to increase local property tax revenue through economic development.

Borough Warden Joan Crick asked how much economic development would be needed to make a “dent” in the local property tax rate.

Mr Hopper responded that any amount of economic development makes a “dent,” but only through attracting a large firm to town would a “hole” be made in the tax rate. The EDC strives to attract businesses to town that contribute more to the town in the form of property taxes than they require in the form of public services, he said.

Ms Crick noted that not much commercially zoned land remains within the borough for economic development. She stressed that borough leaders do not want so-called “big box” stores to locate there. Borough officials favor smaller-scale “New England style” development, she said.

The three-building, 17,154-square-foot commercial complex planned for the corner of Church Hill Road and Queen Street is the type of economic growth desired by borough officials, she said. The Borough Zoning Commission approved Church Hill and Queen, LLC’s, development project at a May 12 session.

Ms Crick said that land on the vacant corner of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard would be a good location for development on such a scale. Last June, the borough zoners rejected a 35,000-square-foot office building that had been proposed for that corner, stating that the project was too large and too intensive for its location.

Borough Zoning Commission Chairman Linda Shepard said the borough zoners’ passage of the Village District zoning regulations last year was intended to encourage smaller-scale commercial development within the borough. Those regulations limit the maximum size of individual new commercial buildings to 6,500 square feet. Borough zoning officials have hired an architect to serve as their expert in reviewing Village District zoning applications, she said.

The Village District regulations have attracted six court challenges from developers and property owners, who claim the regulations unfairly restrict the development potential of their properties.

Mr Rosenthal said he had initially questioned the wisdom of the Village District limitation on commercial building sizes to 6,500 square feet, but he now understands the logic behind that limit. The borough zoning rules previously had allowed commercial buildings as large as 40,000 square feet.

Ms Shepard said it will be interesting to learn the future use of the vacant former Grand Union supermarket located in the Eton Centers shopping center at 5 Queen Street.

What’s Desirable?

James Smith, the chairman of the town’s health district, said that warehousing would serve as a “clean” local industry. The town should simplify its land use application process to expedite local economic development, he added.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil said the presence of warehouses would not generate much local property tax revenue.

Mr O’Neil recommended that the EDC designate several sites that would be targeted for economic development that would generate high property tax revenues. He added, though, that other area towns are competing with Newtown in attracting large new businesses.

Mr O’Neil said the P&Z plans to review its zoning regulations with an eye toward making them more consistent, with a special focus on the commercial zoning rules.

Mr Rosenthal suggested that the town aggressively preserve open space land as a way to prevent such land from being developed with single-family homes. Such single-family housing creates a relatively larger drain on municipal services than other forms of development.

The town must strike a better balance between residential uses and other land uses in improving the structure of its property tax base, he said. In suburban towns such as Newtown, the vast majority of local tax revenue is provided by the owners of single-family homes.

It would require much economic development to appreciably affect the local property tax rate, he said.

Ms Stocker pointed out that only three percent of the local remaining developable land has been designated for economic development. That translates into approximately 450 acres of land set aside for such use, she said.

EDC member Robert Rau suggested that the town forge a close bond with state economic development officials to advance the town’s interests.

Mr Rosenthal, however, observed that the state economic development unit is a weak organization that has been ineffective in helping the town. The first selectman said that an attractive firm that was interested in locating a new facility at the industrially contaminated site of the former Charles Batchelder Company on Swamp Road in Botsford, instead decided to locate in Maine because the state of Maine provided that firm with appealing incentives to locate there, while Connecticut officials did not.

Connecticut economic development officials make it complicated for firms to obtain grant money, Ms Stocker said.

“We [town] have to help ourselves,” Mr Rosenthal said.

Ms Stocker added, though, that the town should maintain good relations with the state economic development unit.

Types of Growth

Ms Stocker said the town is especially interested in attracting three types of economic development: research-and-development firms, corporate headquarters, and manufacturers.

“It’s a very competitive arena,” she said of other municipalities’ efforts to also attract such firms.

With continuing growth in Newtown, there is worsening traffic congestion and growing motorist frustration, which can lead to road rage, said Police Chief Michael Kehoe.

“We’re becoming a very congested state,” he said. The town’s population increased by more than 20 percent from 1990 to 2000, rising to just over 25,000 residents.

“This area of the state is prime for development,” the police chief said.

Mr Rosenthal said the state has long-range plans to add one travel lane to each direction of Interstate 84 through the area as a way to alleviate the increasing traffic load on the highway.

Police Commission member Gerald Finnegan suggested that the town pursue buying the development rights to various undeveloped land to limit future potential residential growth. Purchasing such development rights would not require the town to own the land, but would allow the town to control the land’s future use.

Legislative Council Chairman Will Rodgers recommended that the EDC make some suggestions to the council regarding the type of tax incentive programs that would spur economic development.

Mr Rodgers said he considers the undeveloped land near Exit 9 of I-84 in Hawleyville as the prime location for future local economic development.

Mr Hopper said EDC members are studying various possible tax incentive programs. The EDC is seeking to learn how much the town could afford to offer a prospective firm in terms of an incentive program, he said. The EDC plans to submit an economic development incentive proposal to the council in about two months, he said.

Finance Board Chairman John Kortze said the EDC should define the type of economic development that it wants to occur in the Exit 9 area. “What do you want to see?” he asked. 

Mr Kortze urged a focused approach to marketing the town for economic development.

Technology Park

Mr Hopper said the town’s planned acquisition of 37 acres near Commerce Road from the state for industrial development will allow relatively small industrial building lots to be created there.

Mr Rosenthal, however, pointed out that the property, which is located near the joint town-state sewage treatment plant, contains extensive wetlands, which would place limitations of its potential development.

The first selectman said he initially had hoped that the site could yield 12 to 15 building lots, but considering the extent of the wetlands present, there will be somewhat fewer lots. The town will have land engineers gauge the site’s development potential. It is unclear whether the town would function as the developer of an industrial subdivision of land, which would be needed to develop the property, Mr Rosenthal later said.

In view of the limited development potential of that land, Mr Rosenthal said he was disappointed when the P&Z recently rejected an EDC request to relax its rules on calculating subdivision lot sizes for such industrial development.

The EDC had asked the P&Z to waive its rules concerning the presence of wetlands and steep slopes, in order to generate more building lots on the property than would be otherwise allowed. The P&Z, however, rejected that request on environmental protection grounds.

The town will acquire the 37 acres for economic development as part of its acquisition of the Fairfield Hills property from the state.