Borough Zoning—

Neighbors Continue Opposition To Newtown Hook &Ladder Firehouse Proposal

By Andrew Gorosko

The proposal for a new firehouse at 12 Sugar Street (Route 302) from Newtown Hook & Ladder Company, Inc, #1, drew figurative fire at a Borough Zoning Commission (BZC) public hearing this week, as some residents living in that area objected to the project, charging that the residential section is an unsuitable place for a volunteer firehouse.

BZC members on Tuesday, October 19, spent about three hours listening to Hook & Ladder’s firehouse proposal and also fielding public comments on the project. The BZC hearing will resume on November 16 for further discussion.

As the BZC considers the construction proposal, the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) is reviewing the wetlands/watercourses protection aspects of the project. An IWC public hearing on the matter is slated to resume at 7:30 pm, Tuesday, October 26, at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) on October 7 endorsed the firehouse proposal to the BZC, provided that the IWC grants a wetlands/watercourses permit for the project.

The volunteer fire company wants to build a two-story, 11,414-square-foot firehouse at 12 Sugar Street to replace the aging, deteriorated town-owned firehouse at 45 Main Street, behind Edmond Town Hall. 

The site proposed for a new firehouse is on the north side of Sugar Street, northwest of Sugar Street’s intersection with Elm Drive. The site lies west of the major intersection of Sugar Street, Main Street, Glover Avenue, and South Main Street. The property has extensive wetlands. The undeveloped site is lightly wooded and contains heavy undergrowth.

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

Public Comment

Public comment on the firehouse proposal was mixed, with some residents favoring the Sugar Street site and others opposing it.

Herbert Rosenthal of 70 Main Street, a former first selectman, spoke in favor of the firehouse project.

Constructing a firehouse at 12 Sugar Street would mean change for that neighborhood, but the proposed building is intended for public safety, he stressed.

All five local volunteer fire companies support the firehouse proposal, he added. Mr Rosenthal urged the BZC to approve the project.

But Edward Terry of 18 Lincoln Road had a very different view of the proposal.

Mr Terry termed the proposed structure a “Taj Mahal-type clubhouse” where firefighting equipment would happen to be housed. He stressed that Sugar Street is not as wide a road as Main Street where the current Hook & Ladder firehouse is located.

Mr Terry said he often encounters problems with traffic congestion near the Sugar Street firehouse site.

“It’s the most congested spot there is in town… The traffic problem is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous,” he said.

Constructing a firehouse at 12 Sugar Street would mean a loss of open space land in the area, he said.

The $1.5 million that the town has designated as a share of firehouse construction costs would be better spent refurbishing the existing firehouse, Mr Terry said.

“I expect you to do the right thing…Down with this proposal…Crush this ridiculous idea…I’m hoping you do your job,” Mr Terry told BZC members.

However, James McInerney of 24 Lake Road said that the Sugar Street site is as good a location as Hook & Ladder is likely to find for a new firehouse.

“I fully support this,” he said, adding that people in his neighborhood also support the proposal. Lake Road is at the northern end of Hook & Ladder’s fire district.

Robert Olah of 34 Sugar Street told the BZC, “The only people who are in favor of this firehouse are people who live somewhere else.”

‘Inappropriate Site’

A firehouse on Sugar Street would negatively affect the residential area, he said, terming the location an “inappropriate site.” The presence of a firehouse would damage property values, decrease the quality of life, and increase traffic congestion, he said.

There eventually would be a need to install more traffic signals in the area, he said. 

The reasons why the Borough Zoning Board of Appeals (BZBA) rejected a previous Hook & Ladder firehouse proposal for the site are still pertinent, he said.

In August 2009, the BZBA unanimously rejected the fire company’s request for a zoning variance for 12 Sugar Street for firehouse construction. That action came amid stiff neighborhood opposition to granting a zoning variance to allow the fire company to build a firehouse closer to the street than the zoning regulations would normally allow.

In their motion to reject the requested zoning variance, BZBA members cited three basic reasons for turning down the application. They decided that a firehouse would not be in harmony with the general character of the residential neighborhood; the presence of a firehouse and its related fire vehicle traffic would create traffic hazards in the congested area; and that a firehouse’s presence would damage property values in the neighborhood.

Mr Olah acknowledged that Hook & Ladder needs new facilities, but added that 12 Sugar Street is not the place to build it.

Linda Manna of 67 Head O’ Meadow Road told the BZC she favors the firehouse proposal. “It’s not a luxury. It’s a necessity,” she said.

Curt Riebeling of 21 Sugar Street said that the presence of a firehouse would adversely affect the neighborhood’s character, in urging the BZC to reject the proposal.

The structure’s presence would urbanize what is a suburban area, he said. “It would create a traffic nightmare” generating traffic congestion at the nearby major intersection, he added.

A new firehouse should be built near Edmond Town Hall, he added. A firehouse on Sugar Street would create disruption and potential hazards, he said.

 

Compliance Questioned

Attorney Catherine Cuggino, representing resident Francois de Brantes of 13 Sugar Street, told BZC members that the firehouse proposal does not comply with applicable borough zoning regulations. The proposed parking lot would violate those regulations, she said. The site plan is improperly designed, she added. The site is near a busy intersection, she said, in urging the BZC to reject the project.

Mr de Brantes said the obvious place for a new Hook & Ladder firehouse is at its current location.

A Sugar Street firehouse would be out of physical scale with the surrounding houses in the neighborhood, he said. The firehouse site would hold a large concrete-block retaining wall, he said. Trees would be cleared from the area, he added. Earthmoving required for the project would damage the appearance of the neighborhood, he said. The project would damage property values, he said.

The view of the firehouse would contain an elevated lot, a large wall, and a massive building, he said, adding that the construction would “deface” the neighborhood.

Due to traffic congestion on Sugar Street, it would be time-consuming for firefighters to reach the firehouse to get to their fire vehicles, he said.

Mr de Brantes urged the project’s rejection, saying that the current firehouse proposal is worse than the proposal that was rejected by the BZBA in 2009.

Alan Shepard of 1 Glover Avenue raised concerns about the firehouse proposal.

Mr Shepard is the husband of Linda Shepard, who is the BZC chairman. At the start of the October 19 session, Mrs Shepard disqualified herself from participating in the application’s review, saying that she lives near the 12 Sugar Street site.

Mr Shepard asked, “Is the site adequate for the [proposed] use?” He asked whether there would be some future use for the remainder of the site, such as added parking. Firefighters have proposed creating 21 parking spaces.

The firefighters have proposed using about one acre of the 9.4-acre site for the project.

Mr Shepard, who is a civil engineer by training, asked for technical details on the ability of fire trucks to maneuver on the site.

He said that the proposed retaining wall would amount to a 320-foot-long concrete structure in a wetland. He urged the BZC to review the plans for such a retaining wall.

Also, Mr Shepard asked whether a firehouse would be adequately buffered from adjacent properties. 

BZC member Douglas Nelson, who served as BZC chairman on the firehouse application, said that the public raised many issues that will need to be addressed when the BZC hearing resumes on November 16.