Vote August 12, 6 am To 8 pm––

Town Will Have Its Say On Fairfield Hills Master Plan

By Jan Howard

Two years after the town voted to purchase the 189-acre Fairfield Hills campus, Newtown voters are being asked to endorse a master plan for the development of the site in an advisory referendum Tuesday, August 12, from 6 am to 8 pm, at the Middle School on Queen Street.

The August 12 referendum is only to vote on the master plan. No additional funding is being sought.

The referendum question reads as follows: “Shall the Town of Newtown adopt and implement the Master Plan for Fairfield Hills campus, dated July 1, 2003, approved by the Legislative Council on June 18, 2003, and approved by the Board of Selectmen on July 7, 2003?”

(Copies of the master plan are available in the selectmen’s office, the C.H. Booth Library, and on the town’s website at www.newtownct.org/FFHILLS.ivnu.)

In June 2001, citizens of Newtown voted overwhelmingly in favor of spending $21,850,000 to purchase the campus, provide space for municipal offices, build athletic fields, and demolish or renovate certain buildings at the Fairfield Hills site, in addition to renovations, improvements, and code compliance updates to Edmond Town Hall and reconstruction of playing fields at Newtown High School.

The Legislative Council, Board of Selectmen, and the Fairfield Hills Master Plan Ad Hoc Committee have unanimously approved the master plan.

A Yes vote on August 12 would send the plan on to the Planning & Zoning Commission; a No vote will put great political pressure on town leaders to review and revise the plan.

Debate regarding the Fairfield Hills Master Plan continues even as the plan moves forward to a vote. While First Selectman Herb Rosenthal urges a vote in favor of the plan, his opponent in the November election, Bill Sheluck, last week called for voters to vote No.

Members of the grass roots group Friends of Fairfield Hills have been passing out flyers urging the public to reject the plan.

Letters both in support and opposition to the plan have been appearing in The Newtown Bee, including several in this week’s issue.

The master plan approved by the town agencies allows additional office space for the Town of Newtown and recommends a three-story, 40,000-square-foot town hall and athletic fields. The majority of the 189-acre site is proposed to be land banked, open space, and recreation fields. The land-banked portions of the site are comprised of the west, east, and high meadow areas. The specific use of these areas will be decided over several decades. These areas include 134 acres or 72 percent of the campus. An additional six acres of open space is within the core for a total of 140 acres or 75 percent of the campus.

The master plan also proposes locations for road changes and parking areas and proposals for sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and water systems to serve the campus.

The master plan also identifies activities that may be implemented in the future that would require town approval. It recommends a course of action for every building on the campus, including demolition, land banking, and town or private commercial use.

Of particular interest to the community are Shelton House, which has been considered as a possible renovated town hall, and Plymouth and Bridgeport halls as possible sites for community needs, such as a senior center, cultural programs, recreation programs, and special community events, such as the Friends of the Library Book Sale. The master plan envisions the development of both buildings through possible town partnerships with private interests (for Bridgeport Hall) or a nonprofit agency (for Plymouth Hall).

The Board of Selectmen voted in July to adopt modifications the Legislative Council had made to the master plan. The council voted June 18 to approve modifications to the document made by the selectmen and added four other amendments, addressing the status of “in-fill” commercial development on the site, building and use-specific responsibilities, conflict resolution, and the proposed Fairfield Hills Authority.

The in-fill amendment was included to clarify that such development was not part of the master plan. The first selectman told the Legislative Council that the only new construction proposed for the near-term would be for a new town hall and possibly for an academy proposed by the Board of Education.

 The “Building and Use-Specific Responsibilities” amendment outlines the Fairfield Hills Authority’s responsibilities, which will vary based upon specific use of buildings and property, and how these responsibilities are shared with the town.

The “Conflict Resolution” amendment was designed to allow the authority to request a joint advisory opinion from the Legislative Council and Board of Selectmen to seek advice as to whether any action is within the scope of its authority or in furtherance of the master plan.

The “Fairfield Hills Authority” amendment discusses the administrative procedures of the authority, written procedures for conducting business, and how income would be used.

Earlier changes to the plan by the Board of Selectmen included a recommendation that the new town hall building not be placed across the northern entryway to Fairfield Hills and that the town lease, and not sell, any buildings for private use, concerns that had been raised by the friends group.

One of the issues being raised is whether to build a new town hall or renovate an existing building, such as Shelton. The town meeting vote that approved the bond resolution of $21,850,000 for purchase of Fairfield Hills, in addition to other projects, included funding for additional town office space at Fairfield Hills. The master plan anticipates costs of $8.8 million for a new town hall.

Mr Rosenthal said last week that he hopes the decision on whether to renovate or build a new town hall will not be a determining factor in how voters make a decision on the master plan. “The plan is bigger than one issue,” he said. He also noted that the master plan proposes a new town hall, but does not require it.

“If people want us to look at it again, we will,” he said. “We’re not going forward immediately. We’re not going to do anything until the economy is right.”

In response to the issue regarding a town hall, the Board of Selectmen this week voted unanimously to adopt a resolution, “That before constructing municipal office space, including Board of Education offices at Fairfield Hills, the design architect to be selected for the project will compare new construction to renovating Shelton House to confirm that we have made the best choice from the standpoint of cost, initial construction and future maintenance, quality of the finished product, and efficiency of operations.”

The master plan has also come under fire from the Friends of Fairfield Hills, members of which are opposed to appointment of an authority to manage Fairfield Hills, use of the property for commercial uses, and placement of playing fields, in addition to other issues.

In May, the friends group presented a petition signed by 727 residents that stated, “I will support a master plan for Fairfield Hills that protects our quality of life by preserving the present open space for passive recreation and using the core campus for the municipal, cultural, recreational and educational needs of Newtown.”

The Fairfield Hills Authority would govern private uses at Fairfield Hills. It would not be created until purchase of the property from the state was completed. The Special Act Creating a Fairfield Hills Authority has been in limbo in Hartford, awaiting passage of a state budget. With the passage last week of a budget, State Sen John McKinney (R-28) and State Rep Julia Wasserman (R-106) hope to attach the special act to a budget implementer bill.