Alternate Location Considered––

Hook And Ladder Appeals ZBA Firehouse Decision

By Andrew Gorosko

The Newtown Hook and Ladder Volunteer Fire Company has filed a court appeal, challenging a recent Borough Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) decision that affects the prospects of the fire company’s controversial proposal to expand its firehouse at 45 Main Street, behind Edmond Town Hall.

Simultaneously, Hook and Ladder is pursuing an alternate proposal to build a new firehouse on Sugar Street, about one-half mile to the south, near Town Hall South.  

In the administrative appeal filed June 6 in Danbury Superior Court, the fire company, represented by attorney Robert Accomando, raises various objections to the Borough ZBA’s May 15 actions concerning a zoning variance that was requested by the fire company.

In those decisions, the Borough ZBA ruled that the fire company does not need a “side-setback” zoning variance for a Main Street firehouse expansion, and thus denied that requested variance. Additionally, the Borough ZBA decided that if the fire company wants to expand its Main Street firehouse, it would need to return to the agency for a zoning variance concerning vehicle parking regulations.

To improve its facilities, the fire company wants to demolish one existing garage bay on the eastern side of its Main Street firehouse and replace it with a brick, three-bay garage covering 2,750 square feet. The firehouse has structural problems, which has required interior bracing to be installed there.

The fire company encountered stiff opposition to its Main Street firehouse expansion proposal from the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers and from some Main Street residents.

The town hall managers say it is unclear how a firehouse expansion would affect a planned Edmond Town Hall improvement project, which includes the installation of an external elevator shaft at town hall in the vicinity of the firehouse. The town hall and firehouse share common parking lots and driveways at 45 Main Street.

Main Street residents have expressed concerns that if the firehouse were to expand, commercial properties along Main Street might also seek expansion projects. Other issues raised by Main Street residents include traffic safety; decreased property values; and the visibility of an expanded firehouse from Main Street, which is in a historic district.

Appeal

In its court appeal, the fire company states, “At no time during the public hearing did the [Borough ZBA] question the fire department regarding whether the proposed development required additional off-street parking.” The proposed firehouse addition would contain three garage bays and would not add any meeting space, it states. Applicable zoning regulations require additional vehicle parking when meeting space is constructed, it notes.

As a result of its decision, the Borough ZBA has impaired the fire company’s ability to use the firehouse, thus impairing its ability to provide fire protection and local emergency responses, the legal papers state.

The fire company charges that the Borough ZBA’s actions were illegal, arbitrary, and an abuse of discretion.

In the lawsuit, the fire company asserts that it had the legal standing to file a side-setback zoning variance request, although the Borough ZBA found that the fire company had no legal standing to do so. The fire company adds that it has legal authority over the land that would be affected by the proposed firehouse expansion, stressing that the construction does not require any additional parking under the terms of the borough zoning regulations.

As a remedy, the fire company asks the court to order the Borough ZBA to alter its May 15 decision to allow the fire company to use the property for a firehouse expansion as it has proposed.

If the fire company receives Borough ZBA approval for its firehouse expansion project, it would still need construction approval from the Borough Zoning Commission.

Mike McCarthy, the fire company president, said June 11 the court appeal protects the fire company’s legal rights.

Mr McCarthy said he expects that the fire company will approach the Borough Zoning Commission to learn whether that commission would accept a firehouse expansion application for review.

If that commission accepts an application for review, the fire company would then proceed along that course, Mr McCarthy said. If that agency would not review a firehouse expansion application, the fire company would then pursue its appeal of the Borough ZBA decision in court, he said.

Alternate Location

 Mr McCarthy noted that a potential alternate location for a Hook and Ladder firehouse has recently surfaced.

Helen W. and R. Scudder Smith have offered to donate a parcel of land at 4 Sugar Street to the fire company as the site for a new firehouse, Mr McCarthy said.

The fire company will hire experts to check the physical suitability of the 3.6-acre site for firehouse construction, Mr McCarthy said. The property contains wetlands. The property is located on the north side of Sugar Street, immediately west of the Sugar Street driveway leading to Town Hall South.

If the site proves to be a promising place for firehouse construction, the fire company would seek borough land use approvals to construct a facility there, Mr McCarthy said.

Mr McCarthy stressed that the prospects of building a new firehouse on Sugar Street are preliminary.

A new firehouse containing six truck bays might cost $1.5 million or more to construct, he noted. A major aspect of building a new firehouse on Sugar Street would be raising the money to pay for construction, he noted. That money might come from a combination of town sources, grants, and fundraising activities, he said.

Although the town owns the Hook and Ladder firehouse at 45 Main Street, the fire company has said that it would cover the estimated $250,000 expansion costs for that building.

With the proposed expansion of the firehouse at 45 Main Street now the subject of a court appeal, and the alternate proposal for the construction of a new firehouse a 4 Sugar Street being a possibility, the fire company is “running parallel courses” in terms of getting new fire facilities, Mr McCarthy said.

Mr McCarthy termed expanding the Main Street firehouse the prime option, and called building a new firehouse on Sugar Street an alternate proposal.

Mr Smith said June 11, “We have offered this [Sugar Street] property to Hook and Ladder, if their proposal for expansion at the [Edmond Town Hall] site fails. We would like to see the fire company have a new ‘stand-alone’ facility, without being encumbered by the traffic problems and congestion that sometimes exists behind Edmond Town Hall. Our property on Sugar Street is very close to the geographic center of the Hook and Ladder district, and would seem to be an ideal spot to relocate.”