Residents Oppose Increasing

Elderly Condo Limit

By Andrew Gorosko

Proposed revisions to the town’s zoning regulations that would sharply increase the number of condominiums allowed in certain new age-restricted housing complexes have drawn strong opposition from residents living near the site of the proposed development off Route 302.

Several dozen Route 302 area residents attended a November 20 Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) public hearing on a development firm’s proposal to increase the limit on the number of dwellings in such complexes from 150 units to 250 units.

Developers KASL, LLC, and IBF, LLC, want to build an age-restricted condominium complex on approximately 160 acres. The property proposed for condominium development has the addresses 16 and 17 Robin Hill Road. The site is bounded on the north by Scudder Road, and on the south by Route 302.

The firms have not yet submitted development plans for town review. Such a venture would be the largest local residential development project in years.

KASL’s proposed change to the EH-10 (Elderly Housing) zoning regulations would apply to the entire town, not just to the KASL site, explained P&Z Chairman William O’Neil. The P&Z is expected to act on the rule change proposal at an upcoming session.

The site eyed for development currently has R-2 (residential) zoning, which is designated for single-family housing on lots of at least two acres. In order to develop its steep, wet, rugged, wooded site for high-density, age-restricted multifamily housing, KASL also would need P&Z approval to change the property’s zoning designation from R-2 to EH-10, plus “special exception” and “site development plan” approvals from the P&Z. The project also would need wetlands approval from the Conservation Commission. Such elaborate projects typically take many years of planning and construction before completion.

 

Proposal

Stephen Wippermann is the vice president of KASL and its spokesman. Mr Wippermann told P&Z members that the presence of such a age-restricted housing complex places no financial burden on the local public school system.

Mr Wippermann said that although KASL is seeking to increase the condo limit to 250 units on properties of at least 100 acres, the firm is only seeking to build 200 condos. The condo limit on properties smaller than 100 acres would remain at 150 units, under the KASL rule change proposal. In the past, the P&Z placed a 150-unit limit on such complexes in response to residents’ concerns about the negative effects of high-density development.

Mr Wippermann said the proposed complex’s water usage would be “light,” peak traffic flow would be “light,” and the roads within such a complex would be privately owned.

“In Southbury, there are 2,200 units at Heritage Village and it seems to have worked pretty well for that town,” Mr Wippermann told P&Z members. The presence of an age-restricted complex, such as the one envisioned by KASL, would improve the town’s property tax base, he said. Mr Wippermann said such a complex could generate $1.5 million annually in local taxes. That figure notably is based on average annual tax payment of $6,000 by the owners of each of 250 condos. KASL projects that it would be at least two years before any condos are available for sale.

P&Z member Daniel Fogliano pointed out that that there is no sanitary sewer service or public water service in the area proposed for development.

Mr Wippermann responded that it would be possible to extend a public water supply westward along Route 302 to serve a complex.

P&Z member Sten Wilson noted that although the people over age 55 living in a condo complex would not require public school system services, they would require some public services.

Mr Wilson asked Mr Wippermann about the broad implications of a rule change. Noting that the rule change would clearly benefit KASL, Mr Wilson asked, “How would your [rule] change benefit the town as a whole?”

P&Z member Lilla Dean noted that after the P&Z approved the age-restricted Walnut Tree Village condo complex for Walnut Tree Hill Road in Sandy Hook and that project was built, nearby residents raised many concerns about the peripheral effects of such high-density development. The P&Z then placed a 150-unit limit on condos in such complexes, she said. Walnut Tree Village will have 189 units, when completed.

Public Comment

In a letter to the P&Z, Shirley and Charles D. Ferris, III, of the Ferris Acres dairy farm wrote of the KASL proposal, “We agree with the idea of developing an elderly housing project there. However, we are opposed to raising the number of units from 150 to 250 for that property.” Ferris Acres on Route 302 is the last commercial dairy farm in Fairfield County.

The Ferrises expressed concerns about such a development’s effect on area groundwater. All houses in that area use wells, which are supplied by groundwater. “The development of that many units is almost certain to have an adverse effect on our water supply. Also, the potential for a failing septic system would be heightened, leading to the endangerment of the purity of our water,” the Ferrises wrote.

The couple also expressed concerns about traffic safety in the area where traffic exiting a complex would enter Route 302, in the vicinity of Scudder Road and Robin Hill Road.

At the November 20 session, Robert Shohet of 51 Scudder Road offered the P&Z numerous criticisms of the KASL proposal to increase the condo limit from 150 to 250 units. Mr Shohet’s comments appeared to resonate with the audience, as the points he made generated sustained applause. Increased development density is burdensome to the land, he said, adding that the long-term effects of KASL’s rule change proposal are unclear.

Roads in that area are not designed to handle high-density development, Mr Shohet said. Such growth raises questions about traffic volumes, pedestrian safety, and snow removal, he said.

Mr Shohet questioned Mr Wippermann’s claim that the people over age 55 living in a condo complex would require only minimal public services.

Mr Shohet suggested that KASL turn its developmental attention to a property such as The Homesteads at Newtown on Mt Pleasant Road in Hawleyville, where there are unoccupied age-restricted units and where development approvals exist for as-yet unbuilt dwellings.

“We don’t need more [EH-10 units]. We’ve already got an overcapacity,” Mr Shohet said.

Edward Walsh of 4 Longview Heights Road promised the P&Z that the residents from his neighborhood would attend every P&Z session on KASL’s development proposal in order to oppose it. The development proposal runs counter to the town’s community character, he said.

Linda Jones of 16 Walnut Tree Hill Road, who lives next door to Walnut Tree Village, said, “I’m very much opposed to this zoning [rule] change.”

Ms Jones added, “I hope we’ve learned from our previous mistakes,” she said, in reference to Walnut Tree Village.

Kirk Blanchard of 8 Plumtrees Road termed the KASL proposal a “bad idea.” The proposed wording of the zoning rule change would encourage developers to amass 101 acres of land so that they would then have a construction limit of 250 units, instead of 150 units, he noted.

In response to the many negative comments about the KASL proposal, Mr Wippermann said the presence of such a complex would create “net plus” tax result for the town.