Alternate Location Sought—

Hook & Ladder To Drop Firehouse Court Appeals

By Andrew Gorosko

Newtown Hook & Ladder Company, #1, the volunteer firefighting unit that is based in the town center, announced this week that it has decided to withdraw the court appeals it had filed over the Inland Wetlands Commission’s (IWC) and the Borough Zoning Commission’s (BZC) rejections of the fire company’s proposal to construct an 11,414-square-foot firehouse at 12 Sugar Street (Route 302).

Through the dual court appeals, the fire company had sought to overturn the BZC’s unanimous February rejection of the firehouse construction proposal, and also the IWC’s unanimous December 2010, rejection.

In a prepared statement, Hook & Ladder President Richard Camejo, said, in part, “Although we felt we could prevail, the legal process to do so could take years to foster a positive outcome, years the fire company cannot afford to forfeit.

“The need for a safe facility is immediate, so other alternative sites must be explored expediently to keep providing the same level of service to the community and also provide a safe environment for the men and equipment protecting the Town of Newtown,” Mr Camejo added.

“The fire company has spent in excess of three fund drives during the land use application/approval process, to which a successful outcome was not achieved,” he said.

“We would hope that if an alternative proposal is made, we could garner the support of the community for our initiative and not encounter resistance. A firehouse is a necessity to the community and needs good neighbors to support it,” Mr Camejo said.

Under the Sugar Street firehouse proposal, the Borough of Newtown Land Trust, Inc, and the R. Scudder Smith Family Partnership would have donated land for the project. Mr Smith is the owner/publisher of The Newtown Bee.

Contacted by telephone on October 19, Mr Camejo said the fire company has several possible locations in mind for a new firehouse, but that there is not yet any firm proposal for new fire facilities. He declined to disclose which properties are under consideration.

Fire company members decided that instead of spending yet more money on the Sugar Street firehouse proposal, they should pursue an alternate location for a new firehouse, Mr Camejo said.

The first selectman has been very supportive of the fire company’s need for a new firehouse to replace its existing deteriorated facilities, Mr Camejo said.

First Selectman Pat Llodra has had talks with Hook & Ladder officials about the prospects for the fire company acquiring new facilities.

Besides the possibility of building a new firehouse on town-owned land at 45 Main Street, near the fire company’s existing deteriorated firehouse, officials have been considering acquiring some privately owned South Main Street land for a firehouse. That 1.6-acre parcel at 35 South Main Street, at the corner of South Main Street and Borough Lane, is on the real estate market.

Considering that Hook & Ladder is dropping its two court appeals, local officials can now vigorously explore other potential locations for a new firehouse, Mrs Llodra said.

“The [facilities] problem hasn’t gone away,” she said. The existing firehouse is structurally unsound and the town is committed to helping the fire company get new quarters, she said.

The fire company has repeatedly attempted to get new facilities during the past 25 years, exploring many different locations for a new firehouse.

A new firehouse at some location would replace the aging, deteriorated town-owned firehouse now used by Hook & Ladder at 45 Main Street, behind Edmond Town Hall. The town has five volunteer fire companies. Hook & Ladder is the only fire company that operates out of a publicly owned building.

Although many people have recommended that Hook & Ladder construct new fire facilities at the town-owned Fairfield Hills campus, Hook & Ladder members have opposed such a site, saying that Fairfield Hills is not a suitable location due to its noncentral location in the Hook & Ladder fire district. 

Town officials have designated $1.5 million in capital spending toward the overall cost of a new Hook & Ladder firehouse.

The Sugar Street firehouse proposal drew stiff opposition from residents living near the site who objected to the project for multiple reasons.

Opponents complained about potential adverse effects on wetlands and watercourses in the area.

The opponents also raised zoning issues. The opponents contend that locating a fire station there is an inappropriate land use which would be out of character with the residential area, that a fire station would damage the area’s appearance and hurt nearby property values, and that firehouse-related traffic would worsen traffic congestion that occurs in the area during daily commuter rush periods.

Fire company members had maintained that 12 Sugar Street is a good place to build a new firehouse because it is centrally located within the organization’s fire district. Approximately one acre of the wet 9.4-acre site would have been developed with a firehouse and related facilities.