For qualified residents, it is an chance to clear any questionable aspects of their property title or to reduce outdated right of ways crossing their own land.

For the town, it is a way to add to the tax base, enhance zoning conformity and improve the Health District’s ability to administer critical aspects of well and septic system installations.

Deputy Planning and Land Use Director Rob Sibley reported that it all happens as a result of lot line revisions, which the Legislative Council learned July 15 provide more benefit to the town than the inconsequential financial impact of conveying microfractions of public land to adjoining private property owners.

But first, the council received its annual update on activities and developments overseen by the Fairfield Hills Authority, which began with a drone video tour of the campus.

Authority Chairman Thomas Connors, joined administrative assistant and grant writer Christal Preszler, Economic Development Coordinator Betsy Paynter, and Planning Director George Benson for the briefing. Mr Connors first pointed out to the council that the Fairfield Hills that thousands of visitors every season enjoy mostly for recreational and municipal functions is far from the Fairfield Hills envisioned when the town acquired the former state hospital complex 11 years ago.

The authority chairman acknowledged the town’s approval of future capital spending to accelerate the demolition of buildings — an initiative that would incrementally increase both public safety and enhance the potential for future, tax-generating economic and community development projects.

To that end, and with the likelihood that some type of community center facility will be built on the southwestern sector of the campus, Mr Connors said the authority’s focus has shifted to prioritizing the vacant and deteriorating Kent and Canaan House buildings for demolition.

He also detailed ongoing and future plans for beautification measures and streetscape improvements that would include further infrastructure work and, ideally, some sort of eventual water access on the expanding trail system for users and their canine companions if logistics and budgets permit. Mr Connors said the authority and Economic Development Commission and planning officials are actively marketing Stratford Hall, which he said is ideal for a food service or other public gathering place with its vaulted ceilings and high windows.

The authority and town are also pursuing other ideas for revenue generating and community activities on site, to help offset improvements and operating expenses. Mr Connors noted that representatives of a New York development firm had toured the campus recently, talking about how they might try to conserve some of the original structures.

“They loved the historical elements,” the chairman told the council, adding that the firm’s representatives’ “most viable idea was mixed use.”

“If we don’t move in that direction, it will reduce the ability for economic development,” Mr Connors said, affirming feedback from the prospects.

He detailed various campus maintenance improvements underwritten through the authority’s budget, which is primarily now derived from common charges collected from campus users and leaseholders. Among the expenditures were: tree work at $30,000; $40,000 for streetscape enhancements; $10,000 for a Kent Hall drainage project; and contributing $20,000 toward razing Danbury Hall.

US HealthVest Concerns

Councilman George Ferguson initiated a discussion on the merits of trying to attract a US HealthVest behavioral health facility to the campus.

“I think this is the right place,” Mr Ferguson said, referencing a commitment made by US HealthVest CEO Richard A. Kresch, MD, to absorb the cost of demolishing one of the existing campus buildings to build the new health care complex. But Mr Benson said he believes the US HealthVest proposal was “not a good fit” for the campus.

The planning director countered that while it is the town’s and the authority’s job to introduce possible developers to Fairfield Hills, they are also tasked with showing those prospects to any location in town that might be appropriate for their project. As a result, the town also recommended a possible site in the Mt Pleasant/Stony Hill neighborhood referred to as the “medical mile” for all the health-related projects and developments in the area.

“It’s an option for them if things don’t work out at Fairfield Hills,” Mr Benson said of a ten-acre parcel abutting the Hollandia Garden Center.

First Selectman Pat Llodra, who was attending, said selectmen were very supportive of the HealthVest concept and possibly bringing what would be the company’s largest facility to Newtown. But she said after initial news the company was considering Fairfield Hills, there was a reaction from residents and campus users about the planned proximity to the trail system and Reed Intermediate School.

“We see a need for this service in town,” she said. “We value what [Dr Kresch] does.”

Councilman Ryan Knapp pointed out the planned development would be a secure local facility that would ultimately service those with heightened needs from the community, while creating in excess of 100 jobs.

“When The Bee ran an article about it, I was surprised to see how many comments [it generated] supporting the idea,” Mr Knapp added.

Lot Line Lesson

Turning to Mr Sibley, the council heard and eventually unanimously approved his request to convey three microparcels of public land to their three respective private property owners through the lot line revision process. He said while the eventual result is the loss of those tiny slivers’ property value to the town, conveyance to qualified adjacent property owners — in one case on Sweetbriar Lane — erasing a common right of way between two properties — does generate fractional property tax benefits back to the town.

Following the meeting, town sanitarian Ed Knapik clarified that in some cases former cottage and small residential lots are so small they may not meet certain criteria for expediting plans for structural additions, improvements, or for any well or septic upgrades.

Those affected revisions were approved for 94 and 8 Waterview Drive, and 2 Sweetbriar Lane.

On July 15 Mr Sibley was also seeking and received council approval to accept three open space parcels, one adjacent to Al’s Trail off Walnut Tree Hill Road, and several others in Sandy Hook. Mr Sibley told the council that acquiring those three nonadjoining parcels in the area of Laurel, Hemlock, and Oak Trail would still add strategic public land mass which extends through steep elevations above Lake Zoar northwest of the Rochambeau Bridge.

By adding to the existing public passive recreation area, the town is also moving to preserve a thin soil condition common to the area while increasing a natural sound buffer between residents and adjacent Interstate 84.

Another conveyance to the town was requested and approved for a 2.98-acre strip of land off Valley Field Road North, that would also enhance access to public and private open space and passive recreation.

The land use official had previously received approval for these actions from the Boards of Selectmen and Finance, as well as the Planning & Zoning and Conservation Commissions.