Hearing Slated January 6—

P&Z Describes Fairfield Hills Redevelopment Process

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has scheduled a public hearing for Thursday, January 6, to air its proposed zoning rule changes governing the redevelopment of the town-owned Fairfield Hills core campus, plus the various land uses that would be allowed at Fairfield Hills.

The hearing is slated for 7:30 pm at the town land use offices at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills.

The proposed zoning regulations would modify the town’s Fairfield Hills Adaptive Reuse (FHAR) zoning rules, which the P&Z approved in April 1998. The proposed rules would create a regulatory mechanism for the site’s redevelopment.

The town purchased the Fairfield Hills core campus from the state last summer. Until December 1995, Fairfield Hills had been a state psychiatric hospital.

Due to the site’s “unique circumstances,” any redevelopment proposal for the area would require “multiple steps and approvals,” according to the P&Z.

The P&Z would review and take action on a master plan of development for Fairfield Hills to be submitted to it by the town. Harrall-Michalowski Associates, the town’s planning consultant, is now putting some finishing touches on the master plan before it is submitted to the P&Z.

That master plan would include an overall scheme for redeveloping the site, a description of redevelopment phasing, plus the potential impact of a redevelopment project’s effect on the site’s historic aspects, natural resources, and its infrastructure.

The master plan would include an environmental impact study concerning redevelopment’s effects on the environment in general, on the underlying Pootatuck Aquifer, and on the character of the core campus.

The master plan would include plans for vehicular and pedestrian circulation, as well as vehicle parking areas. Redevelopment planning will be keyed to creating a well-integrated traffic and parking design for the campus and nearby areas.

The master plan also would include landscaping plans for redevelopment.

After it receives a proposed master plan from the town, the P&Z would hold a public hearing on the document. The agency would then approve the plan, approve it with modifications, or reject it.

In deciding which action to take on the master plan, the P&Z would consider the suitability of the proposed redevelopment scheme and the general layout of redevelopment.

Criteria for approving the master plan, and for any subsequent changes to the master plan, would include that: the plan be consistent with the FHAR zoning regulations, the Conservation and Agriculture (C&A) zoning regulations, and the Aquifer Protection District (APD) zoning regulations, all of which affect Fairfield Hills.

According to the P&Z, the master plan: must not cause unreasonable congestion or traffic hazards on neighboring streets; must not substantially impair property values in the neighborhood; must not create a health or safety hazard for people or for property on the campus or off the campus, and must be consistent with the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development.

Review Process

After the P&Z approves some version of a Fairfield Hills Master Plan, it would follow certain steps in reviewing and acting on specific redevelopment proposals.

A redevelopment project would be subject to the approval of a site development plan. When such redevelopment lies within the APD, the project would then require a special exception to the zoning regulations, which entails stricter review criteria than a site development plan.

Site development plans that are inconsistent with the master plan would be rejected.

The creation of outdoor recreational and sports fields would require a site development plan approval. If such facilities were to be located in the APD, those proposals would require special exceptions to the zoning regulations.

Interior renovations and the reuse of existing buildings at Fairfield Hills that are consistent with the tenets of the master plan would not require site development plan submissions.

Also, the P&Z would consider proposed modifications to the Fairfield Hills Master Plan, and would consider those proposed changes under its formal review process.

Permitted Uses

The P&Z has specified a long list of permitted land uses for the Fairfield Hills core campus. Permitted uses that are not listed would be prohibited.

Permitted uses would include the reuse of existing single-family houses for “affordable housing.” Such dwellings would be restricted to families meeting certain income guidelines.

Other permitted uses include: indoor and outdoor recreational and sport facilities; museums, art galleries, and cultural centers; theaters for the performing arts, and public libraries.

Also allowable would be: town halls and governmental uses, excluding dumps, incinerators, waste recycling centers, waste transfer stations, garbage disposal areas, garbage handling areas, municipal garages, and public works storage yards.

Also permitted would be educational facilities, accessory housing and sports facilities; shops and stores for retail sales with a maximum of 10,000 square feet per tenant; shops offering personal services including beauty salons, barber shops, day spas, and dry cleaning businesses, which do not conduct on-site dry cleaning. Also allowed would be facilities for gymnastics, fitness centers, shoe repair shops, tailors, dressmakers, photography studios, photocopy centers, rental services, and counseling services.

Permitted uses would include restaurants that have outdoor service, but not drive-through facilities.

Other allowed uses would include: banks and financial institutions; general, professional and municipal offices; medical and dental offices; research and development facilities; corporate headquarters for one or more corporations; publishing establishments; hospitals; conference centers and meeting halls; and child day care centers and elderly day care centers.

The regulations would allow nurseries and greenhouses, provided that they are incidental uses to a permitted land use. Crop farming would be allowed in open space areas.

Also, parking structures, such as parking garages, would be allowed, provided that such parking is incidental to a permitted use.