Guidelines Define Appearances For FFH

By Kendra Bobowick

Months of fine-tuning have come to an end.

“We have a final draft,” said Fairfield Hills Authority Planning Subcommittee member Amy Dent. The decision follows months of flipping through draft landscape design guidelines and paging through chapters with cross-outs and corrections.

The subcommittee and Stantec Architecture (formerly Vollmer Associates LLP) can now answer specifically if a curb is asphalt or granite, or whether a park bench is wrought iron or stone.

Details are determined for the lighting, landscaping, and even the style of trash bins. Ms Dent said the final draft “simplifies things” for tenants — including the town — who will move into the buildings and grounds slated for commercial development. As she has expressed in the past, the design guidelines will set the standards for the former state hospital campus’s overall appearance. Her subcommittee’s intent has always been to avoid a patchwork of different appearances when a doctor’s office, corporate suites, or other occupants hang signs, plant around a building, or place lighting outside the entrance door.

“I hope they’re glad [the design guidelines] are there,” Ms Dent said this week.

Built in the late 1930s, the former state hospital has become a familiar site for residents traveling across town.

“This doesn’t change what the campus looks like; we took what we have and made it as familiar as possible,” Ms Dent said. The design guidelines’ specifications will maintain the rural, sprawling campus atmosphere. The parklike setting created by quiet streets and large, multilevel brick buildings will not be altered.

“It will keep the style and feel that it has now,” Ms Dent said. “The old gas-light feel, like Sandy Hook Center.”

The subcommittee approached the guideline process with an open mind. Ms Dent said, “We have listened to what people have to say as the process goes along.” No surprises await tenants who may flip through a final draft. “There is nothing shocking, it’s pretty vanilla.”

 

A Few Details

Future lights placed throughout the campus will follow the example of the existing lights supported on cast-iron bases and fabricated columns. All lighting, new and old, will be painted black.

One aspect of the posts proved to be a sensitive feature.

“They are dark-sky certified,” said Ms Dent. No light pollution will dilute the evening sky. The lights will be directed downward opposed to spilling light up…so you can still see the stars.”

Landscaping and plant materials can be selected from a native species list approved by Newtown’s Conservation Commission. Originally Stantec’s advice had included many ornamental trees and shrubs, but native species made more sense, as suggested by town Conservation Official Rob Sibley. Natives are more deer-proof, drought resistant, and generally heartier in the region.

Fencing throughout the campus will serve several purposes. Chain-link will enclose the 90-foot baseball diamond, which will sit on the land currently occupied by Fairfield House. The building is now being prepared for demolition. Other areas will see post-and-rail fencing. According to the guidelines, “The fence defines a property line, creates a landscape border, and functions as a circulation guide.” The fence will not surround the entire campus, Ms Dent explained. Tenants may also use brick fencing topped with wrought iron. The iron decoration should be blunted or rounded.

Signs around campus also have a dress code. “They will be standardized in burgundy and maroon to fade into the brick background.” Welcome signs and campus map locations have not yet been determined, Ms Dent said.

Benches may be black iron or granite. “It’s the most durable,” she said. Black iron is also the choice for trash bins and bike racks. “It’s overall uniformity so things don’t become an eye-sore.”

All design aspects will be in accordance with Planning and Zoning regulations.