P&Z Considers Revising

Fairfield Hills Housing Rules Proposal

By Andrew Gorosko

Following discussion on the wisdom of a controversial proposal to create zoning rules to allow multifamily housing at Cochran House at Fairfield Hills, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members on October 6 opted to reformulate that proposal for discussion at an upcoming session.

P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean said that the results of a recent public poll conducted by the Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review Committee (MPRC) indicated a lack of public interest in allowing housing at Fairfield Hills.

Last April and May, the P&Z conducted public hearings on proposed zoning rule changes that would allow Cochran House to be converted for use as an apartment building, provided that at least ten percent of the dwellings there are designated as “affordable housing.”

Those proposed zoning rule changes also would allow the reuse of eight existing single-family houses at Fairfield Hills as affordable housing. Affordable housing, also known as workforce housing, is designated for moderate- and low-income families.

Under the P&Z’s proposal for the zoning rule changes, the regulations would be revised to allow housing through the P&Z’s special permit process, which would provide the agency with much latitude in approving a project.

The current Fairfield Hills Adaptive Reuse (FHAR) zoning regulations do not allow housing at Fairfield Hills, a 186-acre former psychiatric hospital which the town purchased from the state for $3.9 million in 2004.

From a town planning perspective, allowing housing at Fairfield Hills should be reviewed, Ms Dean said.

Ms Dean noted that the P&Z had postponed discussion on that housing issue for a long time, having waited until after the MPRC disclosed the results of its report. P&Z members initially had planned to discuss and act on the FHAR zoning rule change proposal last June.

P&Z member Daniel Cruson said he favors putting the proposed regulations into effect, but added that doing so would be in conflict with the poll results included in the MPRC report. However, having such rules in place would provide for the future possibility of housing at Fairfield Hills, he said.

P&Z member Robert Poulin said that in view of the strong public opposition to allowing housing at Fairfield Hills, he opposes allowing housing there.

P&Z member Jane Brymer said the town does not have sufficient affordable housing available, adding that Fairfield Hills has been identified as a prime location for affordable housing by a planning consultant.

P&Z member Robert Mulholland observed that the residents attending the P&Z’s spring public hearings and also the residents responding to the MPRC poll said they do not want housing at Fairfield Hills. Thus, he does not agree with changing the zoning regulations, Mr Mulholland said.

Ms Dean said she expects that the scale of a conceptual plan to create a 160-unit apartment complex within the 188,000-square-foot Cochran House “scared people” about allowing housing at Fairfield Hills. The P&Z had held the public hearings in light of that concept proposed by a New York City developer.

More Modest Development?

Ms Dean suggested that that the P&Z create zoning regulations that would allow perhaps 50 dwelling units, or some smaller number, on the entire Fairfield Hills campus.

The chairman suggested that the presence of dwellings at Fairfield Hills might “jump start” desired commercial development there. She said she expects there is public support for housing at Fairfield Hills, but not on the scale of a 160-unit apartment complex at Cochran House.

Mr Mulholland said that if some developer has a concept for housing at Fairfield Hills, the P&Z should discuss the idea with that person. He added, however, “It’s not our job to make a [zoning rule] change before a [development] request comes in.”

The public does not favor allowing housing at Fairfield Hills, Mr Poulin said.

Ms Dean responded that she wants to have the P&Z again consider creating zoning rules that would allow Fairfield Hills housing with a limitation on the number of dwellings allowed to possibly 50 units.

She said she has felt strongly about the housing issue for the past decade. She added, that perhaps the P&Z should seek to foster such multifamily housing elsewhere in town.

“I’d like to give our brains a little rest on this,” she said.

Ms Dean said that P&Z members should consider the planned 26-unit Edona Commons and planned 24-unit River Walk condominium complexes in Sandy Hook Center in terms of the advisability of allowing such multifamily development at Fairfield Hills. Each of those two complexes would have eight units of affordable housing.

Ms Dean said the P&Z should again address the issue of allowing Fairfield Hills housing at its December 1 meeting. At that session, the P&Z would consider some revised proposal to allow housing in the FHAR zone at Fairfield Hills.

George Benson, town director of planning and land use, said October 12 that P&Z members would be reviewing the text of the MPRC report and also the record of the April and May P&Z public hearings on the Fairfield Hills housing issue before again publicly discussing the matter on December 1.

At the April and May P&Z public hearings, residents’ opposition to allowing housing at Fairfield Hills focused on high-density housing there being an undesirable land use that would create traffic/parking problems, impinge on the use of adjacent youth baseball fields, and prevent the potential reuse of the land now occupied by Cochran House as future open space.

In response, Ms Dean has said that allowing a local diversity of housing types provides people who are beginning their careers with suitable places to live.

The FHAR zoning rules for Fairfield Hills are intended to permit the conversion and reuse of buildings in a manner in harmony with the campus and the surrounding neighborhood.