As Westport debates the Hamlet at Saugatuck proposal — and with it, related issues like affordable housing, density and more — Marti Lametta checks in from neighboring Fairfield.
Both towns have a “community feel,” she says. She has been a member of Christ & Holy Trinity Church for 0ver 40 years. She works in Westport, as director of operations for Keller Williams. Marti writes:
I have not heard anyone argue against adding affordable housing — not one person.
I do hear people wanting real solutions to meet the needs of low/moderate income residents, but developers’ proposals are not doing that.
Luxury apartment developments are solving the developers’ needs for high profits, with little relief towards the desperately needed worker housing. As in trickle-down economics, the money stays at the top, while the less profitable issues are not addressed.
Like Westport, Fairfield has changed its zoning regulations at developers’ requests. Multiple impactful developments have been approved by our Town Plan and Zoning (TPZ) Commission, a body that continues to ignore sensible alternatives and residents’ concerns.
441 Post Road in Fairfield, presently the Circle Inn and Diner, is a 6-acre site that backs on a tidal salt marsh. Zoning regulations been have changed for the site, as requested by the developer, and 2 different options have been approved by the commission in record time.
Fairfield’s published zoning regulations allowed for a hotel with 90 rooms. Those regulations have been changed, with the approval of the first application.
The first approved application is for a 278-unit apartment block surrounding a 6-story parking garage, plus a new 110-room hotel with the existing diner remaining.
One proposal for 441 Post Road, Fairfield.
The second approved application is for 2 massive apartment blocks that are 6 stories tall with 478 apartments (it’s under the 8-30g law, so 140 apartments are affordable according to state standards), and a 7-story garage with parking for 687 cars.
This development would be twice the size of Bridgeport Hospital (even the first application was larger than the hospital). Traffic would exit into the circle that contains the McDonalds, with its already dangerous F-rated and congested traffic patterns.
The site backs onto Turney Creek, into which the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the town are allowing stormwater from the site to be piped. Ecosystems will be forever destroyed.
Second Fairfield proposal, near the McDonald’s traffic circle.
We have banded together as the Fairfield Circle Neighbors for Responsible Development, and said we’ve had enough!
We are appealing these TPZ approvals, with Joel Green as our attorney, in Bridgeport Superior Court. Through fliers, newsletters, social media and personal networks we are working to spread awareness of the projects, and raise funds to cover the costs of the appeals process.
At some point we need to all stand up and say that this cannot continue. If Westport residents have the same concerns that we have in Fairfield, please “say no to more out-sized development,” and file the appeals.
I hear the argument that appeals are a waste of time. The argument is not a good one. I work in Westport, and most days go home through Saugatuck. Need I say more?
Stand up and fight back! If you want to follow us along the way, click here to sign up for our newsletter. I hope your Planning & Zoning commissioners listen your concerns.
(“06880″‘s Opinion pages are open to all. Email 06880blog@gmail.com with submissions.)
=================================================
Meanwhile, in another Fairfield County town, CT Mirror reports:
“In a victory for advocates of Connecticut’s affordable housing law, a Superior Court judge last week ruled that the New Canaan Planning & Zoning Commission improperly denied a proposal to build a 102-unit apartment complex that included 31 affordable units.
“The 98-page decision refuted concerns commonly raised by opponents of such developments and emphasized that all towns bear some responsibility for meeting housing needs in the state.
“The ruling, issued in Superior Court in Hartford, says that the planning and zoning commission must approve the construction after the developer makes a couple of minor tweaks to the proposal to build on Weed Street in New Canaan.
“The property is in a residential neighborhood, less than half a mile from the New Canaan train station. It previously had a 10,000-square-foot single-family home and separate pool house, which have been demolished. The current property owner first applied in 2022 to change the zoning and build apartments and made several adjustments to the plan. It was denied in November 2022.
“The developer contested the denial under a Connecticut affordable housing law commonly known by its statutory name — 8-30g. That law allows developers whose affordable housing proposals are denied to sue and force local officials to prove that they declined the proposal for health or safety reasons.
“Towns are exempt from the law if at least 10% of their housing is designated affordable, and they can apply for temporary reprieves as they make progress toward that goal.”
