ZBA Reviews Developer’s Appeal On Condo Complex Site

By Andrew Gorosko

Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) members are considering a condominium developer’s appeal of a ruling last spring by the town’s land use enforcement officer, which puts in jeopardy the developer’s controversial proposal to build 23 condos on Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook Center.

At an August 2 ZBA hearing, attorney Ryan McKain representing Danbury developer Guri Dauti and Dauti Construction, LLC, charged that Land Use Enforcement Officer George Benson erred when he rescinded a lot line revision at the Church Hill Road site, which was granted to the developer by Zoning Enforcement Officer Gary Frenette in 2003. The developer is seeking to have the ZBA overrule Mr Benson’s action, which nullified the 2003 lot line revision.

The lot line revision issue bears on Dauti’s proposal to construct a mixed-income 23-unit townhouse style condominium complex on a 4.04-acre site at 95-99 Church Hill Road.

Mr Dauti owns 1.3 acres at 95 Church Hill Road, and has a purchase option to buy 2.7 acres at 99 Church Hill Road. The two parcels would comprise the site for his proposed Edona Commons, where seven units would be reserved for moderate-income families. The construction proposal has drawn heavy opposition from nearby residents, who charge that the site is an inappropriate location for such development.

ZBA member Alan Clavette, who served as chairman at the August 2 hearing, said that due to the legal complexity of Mr Dauti’s application, it will be referred to the ZBA’s attorney for review before the panel takes action on it.

Mr McKain told ZBA members that Mr Dauti has invested $165,000, so far, in seeking town approvals for the proposed condo complex. Mr McKain charged that Mr Benson did not have the authority to revoke the lot line revision that was granted in 2003.

The developer has vested rights in the matter because he has received a wetlands permit for the condo project from the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC), and has received a conditional approval for a sewer connection for the project from the Water and Sewer Authority (WSA), according to McKain.

Paradoxically, the developer has sued the WSA because it did not directly grant him approval for a sewer connection. (See related story)

The developer has invested time and money in the project, Mr McKain stressed.

In response, Mr Benson said that maps of the lot line revision that were presented to the town by the developer in 2003 did not present a complete picture of the consequences of the lot line change.

The 2003 lot line revision resulted in the illegal creation of a one-half acre lot in an area that has two-acre zoning, Mr Benson said.

Zoning permits, such as those granted for lot line revisions, can be revoked when they are found to be erroneous, he said.

Developers take a financial risk when they invest money in development proposals, Mr Benson said. The developer does not possess any vested rights in the construction proposal, Mr Benson said.

Mr Dauti does not own a majority of the 4.04-acre site where the complex would be built, Mr Benson said.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) was scheduled to meet on the night of August 3, after the deadline for this edition of The Newtown Bee, to discuss and possibly act on the Edona Commons construction proposal.