Document Brings More Focus To

Fairfield Hills Development Debate

By Steve Bigham

It was a document considered so important, the Newtown Police Department actually hand delivered it to Legislative Council members last week. Other copies of the document were dropped off by the First Selectman. And before being released to the public late this week, the 16-page document was the subject of legal scrutiny and referred to as a “Trojan Horse.” Some even felt it contained the framework for a master plan for Fairfield Hills.

To First Selectman Herb Rosenthal and his advisors, the document in question is nothing more than a standard “request for proposal” (RFP) draft. These documents are designed to attract builders who may be interested in making a bid to develop a particular site. In this case that site is Fairfield Hills, which, in all likelihood, will be purchased by the town in the near future. The town is still awaiting an asking price from the state’s Office of Policy and Management (OPM).

To some on the Legislative Council, however, the document was something much more than that. Council Chairman Pierre Rochman called the document a “Trojan Horse” with a process that allows the selectmen to set the agenda and keeps the Legislative Council out of the Fairfield Hills planning process.

“I wanted to have the Legislative Council involved in the process all along. What we have here is a process that the Board of Selectmen came up with, and at the end of the line, they decided to ask our opinion. And they didn’t promise they were going to listen to us,” Mr Rochman said.

On Wednesday, the council entered into executive session to discuss the proposed RFP only to have the discussion continued for later this month. It was 10:30 pm by this time and Mr Rochman felt it was too late to get into a substantive debate.

Mr Rosenthal accused Mr Rochman and council vice chairman Melissa Pilchard of “stonewalling” the process. He believes they do not have the votes to stop the RFP from going through.

The first selectman released the document to the press Thursday morning, but he pointed out that it is not in its final form since the council has not discussed it.

“It may never come to bear,” said Mr Rosenthal, who only released it because of a commitment he made with The Bee earlier in the week. At that time, Mr Rosenthal, going on the advice of Town Attorney David Grogins, declined to release the document, saying it was a working document and disclosure could jeopardize future bids and contracts.

Questions were raised, however, about the document’s legitimate status as a confidential document. The Bee had pressed the first selectman earlier in the week to release the document. The newspaper concluded the RFP was a public document under provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. It cited previous FOI Commission rulings on similar documents to Mr Rosenthal, including a 1993 ruling that forced Newtown’s Planning and Zoning Commission to release a development plan it had tried to keep confidential. It was in the context of these discussions with The Bee that Mr Rosenthal agreed to release the RFP after the Legislative Council meeting this week.

Mrs Pilchard, Mr Rochman, Ruby Johnson, and Doug Brennan referred to the 1993 FOI case this week as they tried to get discussion of the RFP taken out of executive session and into the public domain. However, after an hour-long debate, they lost a bid, 8-4, and talks resumed behind closed doors.

It was there that it became clear that Fairfield Hills had turned into a power struggle. First, Mr Rochman indicated he did not want Elizabeth Stocker, the town’s community development director, to sit in on the meeting. Although some wanted to discuss the RFP, Mr Rochman and Mrs Pilchard insisted that the meeting be continued.

“It’s tyranny by the minority,” Mr Rosenthal said, pointing out that Mr Rochman had done a 180-degree turn, first stating that the RFP should be discussed in public, then stating that it should be kept private until the council makes modifications.

“They make me out to be the bad guy and then they don’t want to release it,” Mr Rosenthal said. “I’m sick and tired of this being made out to be some sort of secret.”

The first selectman reminded the council that the development of the master plan falls under the purview of the selectmen, according to the town charter. The Legislative Council, the Planning & Zoning Commission, and the taxpayers of Newtown, however, will make all final decisions.

“We haven’t taken the decision-making process away from anyone,” he said.

“You’ve given us a done-deal – a fait accompli,” Mr Rochman replied.

The framework of the RFP – created by Harrall, Michalowski Associates of Hamden – is based on the general recommendations of the Fairfield Hills advisory committee. Those recommendations call for town ownership of all 185 acres and mixed uses such as municipal offices, recreation facilities, playing fields, open space, and commercial uses, such as offices and small shops.

The RFP directs developers to use the Reuse Plan developed by the Fairfield Hills Advisory Committee as a guide for their plans.

On Wednesday, some residents criticized the advisory committee’s findings, saying they are not necessarily the will of the people. That study was conducted long before the town was serious about buying the state-owned campus. People now have a clearer vision of what they want, many say.

“I don’t think that as many people were aware of Fairfield Hills as they are now,” said resident Andrew Willie of the advisory committee’s year-old study. “This is too big of a project to say we did it once, let’s not do it again.”

The comments drew the ire of Michael Floros, who chaired the advisory committee. He reminded the council that his committee did hold public hearings, though they were lightly attended.

The Proposed RFP

The RFP, now in the public domain, addresses the town’s needs and interests while allowing some flexibility for the creativity of the professional development community. Mr Rosenthal called the document specific and “much more targeted” to Newtown’s interests than the state RFP process of two years ago.

 Specifically, it requires that development not exceed the 1,231,453 square feet of enclosed space currently at Fairfield Hills. No more than five percent of that space should be devoted to retail uses, according to the RFP, and no more than 200 residential units and/or beds should be in the development plan.

The proposed RFP also calls for 32,000 square feet of space to be allocated for town offices in addition to a building for recreational purposes.

Outside of these uses, 125 of the 185 acres of the site should be reserved as open space, with 90 acres of that total for passive recreation, and 35 acres for five to seven playing fields.

The RFP also directs potential developers to be sensitive to environmental issues, including protection of the underlying aquifer and limiting the negative impact of traffic on local streets.

The document also sets basic design principles for development at Fairfield Hills to encourage a continuation of the current campus environment at the site. Exterior renovations and new construction should be visually compatible with the existing architecture, according to the proposed RFP, and the “visual relationship” between the campus and the open space should be maintained. The purpose of these design principles is to encourage the preservation of the “sense of place” that Fairfield Hills now enjoys.

Mr Rosenthal said he plans to use the RFP process to find out if there is a market for the reuse of Fairfield Hills as envisioned by the residents of Newtown.