Date: Fri 28-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Fairfield-Hills-advisory-panel

Full Text:

New Panel Weighs Towns Future Role At Fairfield Hills

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Members of a citizen's advisory panel are pondering whether the town should

buy the core campus of Fairfield Hills, a 185-acre tract with more than 100

buildings which the state wants to sell to a single buyer.

The Fairfield Hills Advisory Committee met for the first time August 20 and

mulled the prospects of the town acquiring the parcel and buildings which

formerly served as the state's psychiatric hospital for western Connecticut.

First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal chairs the panel he appointed. Its members

are Karen Blawie, Brian White, Joseph Borst, Winthrop Ballard, Walter Motyka,

George Jamison, Michael Snyder, Alan Martin, Moira Rodgers, and Ian Engelman.

The status of the group as a public agency was unclear this week. Mr Rosenthal

said that because he selected the ten members of the Fairfield Hills Advisory

Committee, the panel isn't subject to the state Freedom of Information (FOI)

law which concerns the posting of meeting agendas and keeping of meeting

minutes.

No agenda for the August 20 session was posted in the town clerk's office.

Mr Rosenthal said it is the town attorney's opinion that the advisory panel's

actions don't fall under the FOI law.

Eric Turner, the state FOI Commission's director of public education, said

Tuesday it appears that the advisory panel is a public agency and thus subject

to the FOI law. A definitive answer on the matter would stem from an FOI

Commission ruling on a formal complaint, Mr Turner said.

Mr Rosenthal said Wednesday David Grogins, the town attorney, will contact the

FOI Commission to learn if the advisory group is subject to FOI rules.

The Hills

If the town opts against purchasing the Fairfield Hills core campus, the

advisory panel's role would then become advising the eight-member Fairfield

Hills Selection Committee on choosing redevelopment proposals for the site

submitted by private developers.

Mr Rosenthal pointed out that if the town bought Fairfield Hills from the

state, the town would find itself in the position now faced by the state --

finding a private developer or developers to create new uses for the property.

The state is paying Tunxis Management Company more than $1 million annually to

manage the largely vacant Fairfield Hills, Mr Rosenthal said. If the town

bought the property, it would have to assume such costs, according to the

first selectman.

Also, if the town acquired the property, the town would lose some of the

Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) funds in receives from the state due to the

presence of state facilities in town, Mr Snyder noted.

Mr Snyder urged that advisory panel members review the 1994 report of the

Fairfield Hills Task Force, an ad hoc panel which studied possible future uses

of the property.

Under state law, the state must provide the town with the first opportunity to

buy Fairfield Hills. If the town opts against a purchase, private development

of the site would be pursued.

To facilitate the redevelopment of the property, the Planning and Zoning

Commission (P&Z) has created what is known as the Fairfield Hills Adaptive

Re-use Zone (FHAR) for the core campus.

FHAR zoning allows much redevelopment flexibility, but excludes heavy industry

as a permitted land use in such areas, Mr Rosenthal said.

"Most things that are allowable here (FHAR zone) would be beneficial to the

town," he said.

Other Town Land

Besides the 185 acres the state wants to sell, the state has agreed to give

the town more than 40 acres plus two buildings at Fairfield Hills. Also, the

town is negotiating a long-term, low-cost lease of 37 acres of state land near

Commerce Road for industrial development. The town would have an option to buy

that property.

The state has decided to retain the 50 acres adjacent to the Fairfield Hills

core campus that contains a power plant, firehouse, horse barn, and old sewage

treatment plant.

"Price is not the primary motivation on the state's part," Mr Rosenthal said,

explaining that rather than trying to maximize the money it will receive

through a sale of its Fairfield Hills holdings, the state prefers that

suitable uses be found for the core campus.

Fostering local economic development, creating jobs, and generating revenue

for the state are more important than obtaining a maximum sale price, he said.

Depending upon the extent of asbestos removal that a developer would perform

on core campus buildings, price estimates for the property have ranged from $1

million to $10 million.

The state wants a financially strong developer to redevelop the core campus,

Mr Rosenthal said, noting it will even be fairly expensive to have developers

prepare master plans for the property.

The advisory panel should compose a list to clearly identify the advantages

and drawbacks of a town purchase of Fairfield Hills, Mr Motyka said.

Panel members should decide which of the several possible redevelopment

scenarios of the property are the most favorable ones, Mr Ballard said.

"This is a long-term project..It's going to take time" to redevelop Fairfield

Hills, Mr Borst added.

So far, Fairfield Hills' availability has generated significant interest among

developers, Mr Rosenthal said. Developers' suggestions for the property have

included a golf complex, a residential complex, a hotel, a resort,

manufacturing facilities, and a college, he said.

"We're not looking for single-family houses" on the site, Mr Rosenthal said.

He urged that Fairfield Hills site be used to enhance local economic

development.

Mixed Uses

Arthur Andersen, LLP, of Hartford, the consultant retained by the state to

study Fairfield Hills' potential new uses, suggests that a private developer

redevelop the 185 acres with mixed uses.

New uses suggested by Andersen for the 185 acres include: health care, office

space, retail sales, housing, educational facilities, a hotel, resort, spa,

conference center, golf course, and recreational facilities. In seven

mixed-use redevelopment scenarios, Andersen proposes various combinations of

those land uses.

In proposing new uses for the property, Andersen has sought to avoid excessive

land use. Also, Andersen kept in mind local concerns about protecting the

area's environmental quality.

In analyzing the reuse of the property, Andersen assumed the property's master

developer will rehabilitate buildings that fit into the redevelopment program

and demolish buildings that are not needed. The consultant's suggestions

involve a mixture of partial demolition, rehabilitation, and new construction.

In assessing the advantages and disadvantages of the Newtown site, Andersen

found advantageous: the property has good access to Interstate-84; sanitary

sewers are in place on the campus; a public drinking water supply is

available; the town is a stable community; and the site has flexible zoning

regulations.

Disadvantages of the Fairfield Hills site include: it is developed with many

single-purpose buildings; there are one million square feet of existing

enclosed space; environmental problems on the site must be addressed,

including asbestos removal which will be costly; some demolition work will be

needed; and the property is listed on the state's historic registry, placing

some limits on the flexibility of redevelopment.

The advisory panel's next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 3, at

7:30 pm at Town Hall South.