The Legislative Council conducted a special meeting via teleconference on August 19 and approved the final wording for the referendum question about Fairfield Hills (FFH) that is anticipated to be on the November 3 ballot.

Over the last few Legislative Council meetings, much time has been dedicated to coming up with the best wording for the question. Multiple variations have been suggested.

At the start of the meeting, Legislative Council Chair Paul Lundquist read the then-current wording, which stated, “Should the Town of Newtown consider commercial development proposals at the Fairfield Hills Campus that include a housing component, provided that any given proposals that specify a housing component would be limited to no more than two of the existing buildings and that the development is consistent with the architectural vision of the property?”

Lundquist explained that there has been specific discussions around using the phrase “commercial development” or “commercial renovation.”

“I think there is agreement that commercial development was the more general and commonly understood phrasing of that and that renovation might imply something specific that would make people think there is a restoration or locking into the current buildings style structure that maybe isn’t necessary if we are taking a broad development view to make it worthy of residential over retail,” Lundquist said.

Legislative Council member Cathy Reiss reiterated that she still prefers the term “renovation,” because development could be confusing for people.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal offered that he thinks it is fine to initially use the phrase “commercial development proposal,” but that it would also be okay to include the term “renovation” elsewhere in the question.

The council members continued to streamline the ballot question, noting which words could be eliminated and still convey the message accurately.

Ultimately, the version that passed with a majority vote read, “Should the Town of Newtown consider commercial proposals at the Fairfield Hills Campus that include a housing component, provided that a housing component would be limited to no more than two of the existing buildings and that the renovation is consistent with the architectural vision of the property?”

There was no public participation at the start or the end of the meeting.

For more information about upcoming Legislative Council meetings, visit newtown-ct.gov/legislative-council.