Date: Fri 11-Apr-1997

By ANDY GOROSKO

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Affordable-housing-Riverview

Full Text:

Town Officials Review Preliminary Plans For Affordable Housing Near Sand Hill

Plaza

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

A development firm is proposing construction of a 49-unit housing complex on

an 18-acre site in a wooded area behind Sand Hill Plaza.

The project would be considered under the town's "affordable housing"

regulations by the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z).

Representatives of R&G Riverview, LLC, met Wednesday with town technical staff

at the town offices at Fairfield Hills.

The meeting was closed to the public. Five town residents attempted to attend

the session but were told they would not be allowed in the meeting room.

Brian Robick of Stamford of the development firm had no comment on the

construction proposal after the hour-long session.

The land eyed for the construction project is an 18.8-acre site owned by

Marilyn Matthews of Port Chester, N.Y.

Extensive concrete foundation work was done there in 1992 in preparation for

construction of a nursing home, but those plans fell through. The land is off

Washbrook Road, about 500 yards off South Main Street. The entryway to the

site is a narrow dirt road, just north of Sand Hill Plaza. The site is across

the Pootatuck River from Resurrection Cemetery.

The residentially-zoned property would be supplied with public water by United

Water.

Resident Debbie Johnson, who went to the town offices in hopes of attending

the staff meeting, said she is concerned about the construction of a housing

complex because it could lead to overcrowding of town schools and a drop in

the quality of public education.

The other women mentioned public safety concerns, construction densities,

access to the site, and the site's location on the Pootatuck aquifer as

concerns. They said they want more information of the Riverview proposal.

Following the staff meeting, Elizabeth Stocker, the town's community

development director, said the developers may submit a formal application to

the Conservation Commission for wetlands and watercourses review as soon as a

month from now.

All units on the site would contain two bedrooms, she said. Some buildings

would be duplexes and others would be fourplexes, she said. Units would range

in size from 1,100 to 1,300 square feet. The cost of the units was not

revealed.

A plan presented for town staff review depicted the units arrayed in a large

arc of approximately 250 degrees overlooking a broad slope.

Ms Matthews applied to the town's Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) last year for

a variance to allow affordable housing on the site. Based on a legal

interpretation of the P&Z regulations on affordable housing, the ZBA's

attorney ruled that the site qualifies as an affordable housing location.

Following the ZBA's ruling to allow affordable housing there, P&Z members

rewrote the affordable housing regulations to more strictly limit where such

complexes can be built.

Besides approval from the Conservation Commission, the Water Pollution Control

Authority, and the P&Z, the developers need to negotiate a road work agreement

with the selectmen.

R&G Riverview, LLC, has received state Department of Environmental Protection

(DEP) tentative approval for community septic system construction. Riverview

would discharge 14,700 gallons of wastewater daily into a large septic system.

The DEP previously approved a discharge permit for the nursing home once

proposed for the site.

The application for septic system construction is available for inspection at

DEP in Hartford. The DEP would hold a public hearing on Riverview's septic

system application if it receives a petition on the matter.

Riverview is the second affordable housing complex proposed for Newtown.

The controversial Newtown Village, a 100-unit housing complex proposed for

Sandy Hook, will be considered by the P&Z under the affordable housing

regulations. Newtown Village has gained Conservation Commission approval.

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Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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Date: Fri 11-Apr-1997

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