Date: Fri 15-Jan-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Queen-St-property-vote

Full Text:

Town To Vote On Queen St Property Deal

(with cut)

A town meeting to vote on the proposed purchase of a $1.25 million strip of

state property on Queen Street will be Tuesday, January 19, at 7 pm, in the

middle school auditorium.

If approved by the voters, the purchase would secure for Newtown six houses

and eight lots which were once part of the Fairfield Hills Hospital campus.

The homes once housed staff members who worked at the former mental

institution. Last spring, the state offered the town right-of-first-refusal on

the land.

The Legislative Council unanimously approved buying the land and recommended

it be financed through short-term, tax-exempt municipal bonds.

The purchase has also been endorsed by the Board of Selectmen and Planning &

Zoning Commission.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal believes purchasing the homes would enable the

town to exercise control over future building that may occur there. The area,

he said, is somewhat vulnerable to higher density housing since Queen Street

is hooked to both municipal sewer and water facilities.

The town has made no final decision on what it plans to do with the land.

However, the selectmen have discussed a few options. One scenario calls for

the construction of a ballfield on an open lot across from Lovell's Lane. Some

Queen Street residents oppose the ballfield plan, hoping the town will simply

maintain the land as open space or for future residential use.

As for the asbestos-ridden houses, the town may decide to sell them "as is."

If so, they would be sold with deed restrictions, Mr Rosenthal said.

The buildings are all in poor condition, according to Tom Paternoster, the

town's chief building inspector.

The town has indicated it may hold on to the land at the lower end of Queen

Street for the possible construction of a municipal building.