To foster discussion on the wisdom of creating “mixed-use” zoning covering a section of the town-owned Fairfield Hills campus, the town plans to soon hold two public sessions to explore the controversial topic.

The two sessions will be sponsored by three town agencies: the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), the Fairfield Hills Authority (FHA), and the Economic Development Commission (EDC).

The meetings are scheduled for 2 to 4 pm on Saturday, December 6, and from 7 to 9 pm on Thursday, December 11. Both sessions will be held at Reed Intermediate School’s library at 3 Trades Lane at Fairfield Hills.

Discussion will focus on possibly revising the town’s Fairfield Hills Adaptive Reuse (FHAR) zoning regulations to allow rental apartments in certain areas.

The town bought 186 acres and many buildings at Fairfield Hills from the state for $3.9 million in 2004. The site had served as a state psychiatric hospital until its closure in 1995.

According to a statement issued by George Benson, town director of planning, “The proposed mixed- use zoning regulations would include limited residential apartments above commercial uses, permitted only in the area where Newtown [Hall], Woodbury [Hall], and Shelton House are currently.”

The meetings will “provide an opportunity to share ideas on the proposed zoning regulations, so all viewpoints can be considered in a constructive and productive manner,” Mr Benson said.

Although potential developers have explored the possibility of extensively renovating the aging masonry buildings at Fairfield Hills for new uses, some have concluded that it would be effectively simpler and ultimately cheaper to raze the structures and use their sites for new construction.

While the current FHAR zoning regulations allow commercial uses at Fairfield Hills, such as office space and retail space, those rules do not currently allow residential uses.

Mr Benson said November 19 that no proposed zoning regulations have yet been drafted specifying the particulars of allowing market-rate rental apartments at Fairfield Hills.

The proposed zoning rules would specify certain limits on the relative amount of space that could serve as apartments, Mr Benson said.

After such proposed regulations are formulated, the P&Z would hold a public hearing on them in January or February, he said. P&Z action on proposed regulations typically follows such hearings.

Last June, the EDC endorsed allowing the creation of rental apartments located above commercial uses at future development projects at Fairfield Hills.

EDC members endorsed creating zoning rules that would allow residential uses at Fairfield Hills under certain conditions, and provided that the applicants met the terms of the P&Z’s special permit review process.

Although the town’s zoning regulations that were in effect in the past had allowed various residential uses at Fairfield Hills, the P&Z revamped its rules about a decade ago, eliminating such residential uses from the FHAR zoning regulations.

Past Controversy

In the spring of 2011, residents attending P&Z public hearings largely opposed a regulatory proposal from the P&Z that would have allowed the multistory 188,000-square-foot Cochran House on Mile Hill Road South at Fairfield Hills to be converted for use as an apartment building.

The P&Z had conducted those public hearings in light of an unspecified New York City firm’s interest in creating multifamily housing in Cochran House. The developer had proposed a 160-unit apartment complex, but had never submitted an application for the project because the zoning regulations did not allow such a use.

Following the heavy opposition, the P&Z withdrew its proposal to allow multifamily housing as a permitted use at Cochran House.

In November 2013, the P&Z approved an update to the Fairfield Hills Master Plan, which now allows local officials to “consider” and thus discuss the possibility of allowing housing at Fairfield Hills.

The revised master plan’s wording on housing concerns the consideration of rental apartments functioning as a secondary land use located above commercial space in construction designs in which the apartments are not the primary use of the development. The wording of the revised master plan does not have the regulatory weight of specific zoning regulations.

The concept of mixed-use zoning at Fairfield Hills surfaced last August when it was learned that a local development firm — Claris Construction — is interested in constructing a 30,000-square-foot new building at the current site of Woodbury Hall, which would include a combination of retail, office, and apartment space.