State Senator Tony Hwang and State Representative Mitch Bolinsky addressed various concerns from local community members during a recent Town Hall and Legislative Update.
The Planning & Zoning Commission heard more revisions from the developer and public comments regarding the proposed Vessel Technologies multifamily housing development at 22 Oakview Road and 4 Berkshire Road.
A controversial 117 home subdivision at 20-60 Castle Hill Road is continuing to draw opposition, this time in the form of an attorney's letter challenging a town decision to discontinue a section of Reservoir Road that the development requires, as the Borough Zoning Commission continues discussions of the merits of the development itself.
One resident was displaced and five Newtown Police Department police officers received medical care after a health and welfare check turned into a fire call early Tuesday afternoon.
Josh knows ENOUGH about our community to understand that Newtown hasn’t met the state’s affordable housing threshold under 8-30g. Because we don’t meet that requirement, Vessel has the legal right to bypass local resistance and move forward, despite the obstructionist opposition. The commission has done us a disservice by opening the town up to litigation that we have no chance of winning. I am glad to see that Vessel continues to stand up to their rights as (potential) landowners. I wish more would have the ability and fortitude to stand up to the mob.
I suggest you look up the Town's May 2022 Annex to the 2022 Western Connecticut Regional Affordable Housing Plan. A family making Newtown's median household income would immediately be cost burdened if buying the median home in town, not to mention how unaffordable our community is for young teachers, PARAs, cops and bus drivers.
Josh Lev’s comments to the Bee about the need for housing in the area..Josh knows NOTHING about our community and is only interested in Vessel’s interests. They don’t care about the surrounding homeowners or the fact that they are overbuilding for the land. Vessel is actually stomping all over Newtown’s zoning regulations. Also, Tom Johnson they don’t own the property yet - it’s under contract per their application and they have no rights until they own the land. I am all for developers that follow local zoning rules and this is not the current case.
I'm glad you recognize that even a modest increase in the commercial tax base could help keep residential tax rates down. Remember when we invested in sewers and water infrastructure for Hawleyville, only to have the NIMBY mob push out a modest commercial development? That short-sightedness is still costing us today.
I remember when there was talk about building the community center—how it supposedly wasn’t going to cost us anything. Now, just a few years later, we’re raising taxes just to keep it open. One day, this town—and its voters—will hopefully understand that operating expenses don’t disappear once the ribbon is cut. Until then, I think it’s time we start voting no.
