Zoning Rules Altered To Accommodate 5/6 School

By Andrew Gorosko

Following lengthy discussion, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have modified the zoning regulations to allow the town to construct a school which is taller than had been permitted by applicable zoning regulations.

The rule change approved by the P&Z January 4 allows the public school system to construct a Grade 5/6 school on a sloped site at Fairfield Hills in which the elevational difference between the highest point of the building and the lowest point of the building at ground level is 60 feet.

Because the school is planned for a sloped site, the building would not stand 60 feet tall at any one place. In the design proposed by the school board, the section of the building which would be the tallest would be the media center, where the building would rise 47 feet from ground level to the top of a tower.

School Superintendent John Reed told P&Z members that until several weeks ago, school officials had not realized that the school design did not meet the town’s zoning regulations concerning building height.

“Everybody is operating in total good faith here,” he said.

The height of the proposed school stems from the decision to have a pitched roof instead of a flat roof on the building.

Architect Jim LaPosta of Jeter Cook Jepson, the school’s architects, said the design specifies a pitched roof for health, safety, and maintenance reasons.

P&Z member James Boylan said, however, that if the P&Z were to change its building height regulations to accommodate the Grade 5/6 school design, it could open the door to private developers who would seek to build 60-foot-tall private buildings on flat land.

But P&Z member Lilla Dean pointed out that public buildings and private buildings fall into different regulatory categories.

Mr Boylan said he did not want to change the zoning regulations on building height.

But P&Z chairman Daniel Fogliano pointed out that the zoning regulation change under consideration by the P&Z pertained to public school buildings, not private buildings.

P&Z member Robert Poulin suggested that the school system pursue height approvals for its school design through some other avenue, such as a variance of applicable zoning regulations from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).

But Mr Fogliano maintained that what school officials were seeking from the P&Z, in terms of a zoning regulation change, posed no problems.

“Time is money,” Mr Fogliano said, noting that it would cost the town additional money to have school officials seek an approval for the school design from the ZBA.

Dr Reed told P&Z members that school officials hope to put the school construction project out to bid by early March. School officials estimate project costs at almost $34 million. The proposed school is intended to alleviate school system crowding.

Delays in getting an approval for the building’s height could push back the construction schedule and increase construction costs, Dr Reed said. It would not be prudent to conduct a referendum next summer on funding for the school project, he said. School officials have been planning for a late spring referendum.

Elizabeth Stocker, the town’s community development director, told P&Z members she supports modifying the building height rules to allow the Grade 5/6 school to be built as designed.

 Mr Poulin suggested that the P&Z generally rewrite its building height regulations instead making certain changes to accommodate the Grade 5/6 school project.

“I’m interested in moving the school [project] along and having the town prosper,” Mr Fogliano said.

The building height issue facing the P&Z is not a big issue, he said, stressing that the proposed zoning regulation change for the Grade 5/6 school does not pertain to private developers constructing 60-foot-tall buildings. Delaying action on the rule change requested by school officials would not be in P&Z members’ best interests, he said.

Mr Boylan pointed out he favors the school’s design, but would like to have some mechanism, such as a zoning variance or special exception to the zoning regulations, put in force to allow the school to be built.

“I don’t think we’ll be looking at an onslaught of 60 foot [tall] buildings popping up across Newtown, “ Mr Fogliano said.

P&Z member Anthony Klabonski noted that the specific issue facing the P&Z concerned the height of public schools.

In eventually unanimously approving revisions to the building height rules, P&Z members narrowed the scope of the regulatory change which they were considering. The members specified that the relaxed rule pertain only to public schools and not to other municipal buildings, as had been initially proposed.

In their motion, which allows the Grade 5/6 school to be built as designed, P&Z members stated the revised rule would permit greater flexibility in the design of public schools on sites with slopes. Also, the rule change would allow schools to have efficient designs, they agreed.

P&Z members also agreed that they changed the building height rule in the public interest of protecting and preserving the character of the community. Members decided that the modified height rule is consistent with the town’s plan of conservation and development.

The P&Z’s complex regulations on building height have caused extended discussion at past P&Z meetings when the height of buildings has become an issue in development applications.