Upzoning Draws Fire From Property Owners

By Andrew Gorosko

Property owners who would be affected by the Planning and Zoning Commission’s (P&Z) proposal to “upzone” many densely-built residential sections of town told P&Z members at a December 2 public hearing they fear that increasing minimum zoning standards will damage their properties’ development potential and thus reduce the value of their land.

At the session attended by about 25 people, the P&Z outlined its rezoning proposal intended to protect water quality in the Pootatuck Aquifer and preserve local groundwater quality in general. The comprehensive upzoning proposal covers an aggregate area of more than four square miles, or an area greater than 2,500 acres. The sweeping rezoning proposal affects approximately 2,315 residential properties in south-central Newtown and the several lakeside communities situated along Lake Zoar. About 1,986 of those properties have dwellings on them. 

The proposed upzoning does not affect properties in the Borough of Newtown, which has its own zoning designations and regulations.

The proposed changes are intended to bring the town’s zoning map into conformity with the tougher set of development regulations for the Aquifer Protection District (APD), which the P&Z approved last June. The current P&Z has been considering upzoning certain residential sections of town since 1996 as a water quality protection measure. Upzoning would decrease potential residential construction densities. 

Under the proposal, some areas with existing one-half acre residential zoning would be upgraded to either one-acre or two-acre zoning, and some areas with existing one-acre residential zoning would be upgraded to two-acre zoning.

The underlying issue behind upgrading residential property from a one-half acre to a one-acre minimum standard is ensuring that building lots are large enough to safely provide adequate space for both a septic system and a domestic water well.

To better protect water quality within the APD, the minimum residential zoning there would be increased to two acres.

In 1993, the town health department recommended that minimum residential lot sizes be increased to at least one acre for public health reasons, said Elizabeth Stocker, the P&Z’s staff planner.

The rezoning proposal is intended to prevent future groundwater contamination, and to avoid the need to extend the municipal sewer system and the public water supply system, she said.

 Also, in tightly built areas, such as the lakeside communities, any new construction that would replace demolished buildings would be subject to stricter zoning requirements as a public health measure, she said.

Public Comments

Attorney Gregoire Sideleau of Bridgeport, representing property owner Richard Haight, said Mr Haight has secured an agreement with developer Louis DeFilio concerning the extension of a public water supply from the Walnut Tree Village condominium complex to Mr Haight’s 3.7-acre property at 99 Church Hill Road.

After Mr Haight’s property has access to public water, the premise behind the proposed upzoning will not apply to Mr Haight’s property because it will have both public water and sewer service, Mr Sideleau said.

Rezoning Mr Haight’s property as part of the P&Z’s upzoning proposal would “gut” the property’s development potential, the lawyer said, stressing that the Haight property need not be upzoned.

 Property owner Carmine Renzulli of Norwalk, who owns land along Walnut Tree Hill Road, told P&Z members his land has access to water, sewer and natural gas service. He asked why the agency wants to rezone it from its current one-half acre designation to two-acre zoning. Mr Renzulli said he bought the property because it had the potential to be four building lots, but under the rezoning plan it would potentially be only one building lot.

P&Z Chairman Daniel Fogliano said the land is proposed to be rezoned to a two-acre minimum standard because it lies in the APD.

Mr Renzulli asked if local property taxes would decrease if the development potential of the land decreases. If properties are devalued by an upzoning, would their owners be compensated, he asked.

Property owner Barry Southard of 31 Cold Spring Road told P&Z members that he and family members have bought real estate in Pootatuck Park and along Narragansett Trail with its development potential in mind. Some of that property has one-half acre zoning, he said.

If septic systems are properly installed on one-half acre lots, wastewater can be properly renovated, he said. Mr Southard urged P&Z members to reconsider the upzoning proposal in light of the development restrictions and limitations it would place on some of his property.

Developer, builder and property owner Kim Danziger of 5 Stonewall Ridge Road questioned the legal advertising the P&Z did to notify the public of the hearing.

Mr Danziger said that when he applies to the P&Z for a subdivision, he must specifically and formally notify all nearby property owners of the subdivision’s public hearing by mail, but the P&Z only placed a legal advertisement in a newspaper listing the approximately 170 streets that would be affected by the upzoning plan.

The upzoning plan would make an incredibly large number of properties “non-conforming” to the zoning regulations, he said. Property owners whose holdings would be affected by an upzoning should have been directly notified by mail by the P&Z, Mr Danziger said.

 Attorney Robert Hall, who owns property at 8 Huntingtown Road, represented himself before the P&Z. Mr Hall questioned whether the P&Z can legally substantiate the need for an upzoning project.

Mr Hall, a former town attorney, said that in 1969 the town based a major upzoning of property on poor soil conditions. The attorney pointed out that the P&Z is now proposing an upzoning for areas over the Pootatuck Aquifer that have good soil.

The lawyer objected that various technical documents upon which the P&Z is basing its upzoning proposal were not available for public review at the town land use office before the public hearing. He said he wants to read those documents to prepare himself to comment on the proposal.

P&Z members plan to reconvene the hearing in January.

Resident Jeff Washburn of Algonquin Trail asked P&Z members if they have evidence of tainted wells in the areas proposed for upzoning.

“I don’t know of any, but do we have to wait [for wells to become contaminated]?” Mr Fogliano asked.

Mr Washburn responded that he wants to review a list of pollution problems in the APD in light of the rezoning proposal.

Resident Edward Lundblad of 155 Lakeview Terrace told P&Z members he owns property that is designated for septic system installation, but the proposed upzoning undercuts his property’s development potential. “You’re pulling the rug out from under me,” he said.

Mr Lundblad asked if any P&Z members live in the areas proposed for rezoning and learned that they do not. The proposal amounts to “shortsightedness,” he said.

Resident Anthony DeAngelo of 18 Cedarhurst Trail pointed out to P&Z members that Cedarhurst, one of the areas proposed for upzoning, contains little remaining developable land. He said the P&Z should strictly enforce existing land use regulations instead of upzoning land.

“Does this proposal conflict with affordable housing? I think it does, yes,” he said.

In June 1998, in response to a query from the P&Z about the prospects for rezoning land for public health reasons, the P&Z’s lawyer, Robert Fuller, responded, in part, “The most significant problem with upzoning is that it will create undersized non-conforming lots. While this factor does not prevent upzoning, particularly where there are health considerations involved for doing so, the town’s zoning enforcement officials and the Zoning Board of Appeals will then have more specific cases to consider and rule upon.”   

Residential areas where minimum zoning would increase from one-half acre to one acre include a strip of land extending along the western side of South Main Street from Borough Lane to Orchard Hill Road, as well as the lakeside communities of Shady Rest, Pootatuck Park, Riverside, Cedarhurst and Great Quarter, plus an area north of Interstate-84, near Exit 10.  

 Residential areas where minimum zoning would increase from one-half acre to two acres include properties along the western end of Riverside Road and along Washington Avenue, as well as some properties along Botsford Hill Road.

Residential areas where one-acre zoning would increase to two-acre zoning are bounded by Black Cherry Lane on the north and extend southward along Toddy Hill Road to Botsford Hill Road, as well as a section of Route 34 extending eastward to Sugarloaf Road. 

Documents describing all the properties that are affected by the upzoning proposal are available for public review during business hours at the town land use office at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills.