A Balanced Plan For Fairfield Hills

To the Editor:

The criticism by you and the Friends of Fairfield Hills about economic development at Fairfield Hills has me perplexed. On May 18, 1998, the Planning and Zoning Commission adopted the Fairfield Hills Adaptive Reuse Zone. Under section 4.23.200 of the regulation, the charge to the committee appointed by the Board of Selectmen reads as follows: “Submission of a master planned development proposal which shall provide the commission with an overall development scenario and shall include a description of the project’s phasing, potential impact on historic factors and natural resources and the existing infrastructure.” The plan as submitted fulfills this mandate.

Further along in the zoning regulation, section 4.23.300 deals with permitted uses. Any specific plans for reuse must be submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission for approval under the rules of a special exception. P&Z has the final say on what development projects are approved and which are rejected. There are 30 permitted uses under the regulation and 18 of them can be construed as economic development. The selectmen’s committee, of which I was a member, came up with a plan that has no more than 15 percent of the land area devoted to economic development. The plan anticipates sharing parking places to be used by prospective business tenants during the day with the people using the surrounding ball fields after business hours. Without any economic development the Park and Recreation Commission has estimated their need for 800 to 900 parking places.

The question of who is going to pay the bills for the ownership and operation of the site does not seem to concern those who totally oppose any economic development at the site. Any assumptions by the committee about economic development leans more toward office occupancies rather than retail or light manufacturing. The plan is very well balanced between the various needs in the community and it will serve the town well. I urge voters to vote Yes in the upcoming referendum.

Sincerely yours,

Richard L. Sturdevant

6 Westwood Terrace, Newtown  June 11, 2003