FFH Land Reconfigured

To Protect Brook, Benefit Taxpayers

By John Voket

A legislative amendment proposed by State Representative Julia Wasserman would allow the town to reconfigure the permitted uses of three deeded parcels of land between Wasserman Way and Queen Street. If approved, the proposal would form a greater natural buffer of protection for Deep Brook while creating more viable development parcels off Commerce Road.

The latter part of the plan would greatly enhance and expand developable space in the area by minimizing exposure to wetlands and making access to the commercial lots more viable. Town officials said the action, if approved, would allow for either somewhat larger or more plentiful developments.

According to Newtown Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker, the reconfiguration would help attract much needed commercial entities to benefit Newtown’s tax base and reduce the financial burden on local homeowners. From an environmental standpoint, the proposal would nearly double the depth of open space between commercial lots and Deep Brook, one of Connecticut’s last natural trout breeding areas.

The proposal is moving through its processes rather quickly because Rep Wasserman hopes to include the amendment in a statewide conveyance bill. She told The Bee earlier this week that the conveyance bill is typically one of the last acted upon in the closing days or hours of each legislative session, so there is still adequate time to move the amendment successfully.

“What we have is a [34.44-acre] parcel of open space conveyed to the town by the Department of Agriculture in 2003 for passive recreation and open space, and another [37.6-acre] parcel extending roughly from the Mile Hill railroad crossing past the Commerce Road treatment plant,” Rep Wasserman said. “That land was conveyed for commercial use several years ago.”

The proposal also factors in an additional 21.66-acre parcel deeded from the state to the town as part of the Fairfield Hills purchase last year.

In a draft of the proposal forwarded by Rep Wasserman’s office, she notes that some of the land that was supposed to be used for open space is more suitable for development, and the amendment would simply allow the town to use the combined parcels in a way that would be most suitable while continuing to reserve about the same amount of land, 34.44 acres, for recreation and open space.

Ms Wasserman said Newtown Economic Development Commissioner and Developer Kim Danziger approached her about the reconfiguration idea late last summer.

“Kim has already taken the concept through all the local channels for the necessary reviews and endorsements,” she said. “I wouldn’t have touched the proposal without having all the local boards’ and agencies’ assurances that they would view the action favorably.”

If the current legislative session plays out as planned, the state approval could be delivered in about a month, she said.

In an April 29 letter from Mr Danziger to the Newtown Board of Selectmen, he wrote: “…we have received unanimous endorsement from the Economic Development Commission, department heads in the [Newtown] Department of Public Works and Engineering, as well as the full Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Conservation and Open Space Task Force.”

Mr Danziger noted the reconfiguration would create a greater “open space corridor, which will extend current and proposed trail systems and provide for a larger buffer along Deep Brook.”

Contacted Wednesday, Mr Danziger remained upbeat about the plan.

“It’s not that often we get a real win-win situation when it comes to combining environmental and economic development projects,” he said.

On May 2, the Board of Selectmen unanimously moved to submit a formal request to Ms Wasserman to propose the amendment. In the letter signed by First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, he notes the action would also preserve state access for its agencies and lessees to lands east and west of these parcels via the railroad crossing and bridge over Deep Brook.

Ms Stocker said Tuesday that while the addition of up to two extra lots through the action would bring Newtown closer to the goals outlined in its Plan Of Conservation and Development, it would still leave the town a few thousand square feet short of its goal. In a May 17 memo to the Economic Development Commission she outlined a new analysis of the developable commercial land assuming the amendment passes the state legislature.

“A review of the existing buildings on Commerce Road shows that the two-acre lots (zoned M-5) support buildings ranging in size from 5,000 square feet to almost 30,000 square feet,” she wrote. “Applying the same range to the six lots in the technology park, we can expect the six lots to yield any where from a total of 30,000 square feet to 180,000 square feet of building area.  The average (15,000 square feet) would be more like 90,000 square feet of building area on the six lots. 

“If we succeed with the land swap, the 10 lots could yield between a total of 50,000 square feet to 300,000 square feet with an average of 150,000 square feet.  Either way, the development potential for this land falls short of the 306,000 square feet estimated in the Plan of Conservation and Development,” she concluded.