Date: Fri 19-Dec-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

land-use-Robert-Hall-P&Z

Full Text:

Many Of Newtown's Land Use Cases Bear One Attorney's Hallmark

(with cut)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

The rapid pace of development in Newtown has repeatedly brought land owners

and developers into contention with local land use agencies and citizens

groups, and as often as not, one man stands at the center of the controversy,

framing the questions for debate.

Attorney Robert Hall's success in this role has put him in great demand by

those trying to pass development projects through the crucible of local land

use regulation. He says he is drawn to the challenge naturally.

"I wanted to be a lawyer ever since I listened to the political conventions

for both parties in 1952." It seemed that virtually everyone who was running

for office that year except Dwight Eisenhower was a lawyer, Mr Hall mused in

an interview at his offices at 43 Main Street, the red wooden building which

also houses the historic Newtown General Store.

"I never had doubts about being a Republican," Mr Hall explained, noting he

was brought up in a Republican family in a Republican town -- Newtown.

The lifelong Newtown resident graduated from Newtown High School in 1957, from

Yale University in 1961, and from Harvard Law School in 1964.

He took undergraduate courses in political science at Yale but found he liked

history even more, focusing his studies on American and European history, as

well as how Western literature illustrates the lessons of history.

After graduating from Harvard Law School and becoming a member of the bar, Mr

Hall went to Manchester, N.H., where he did legal investigations for the state

of New Hampshire. He later worked as a legal clerk for Federal Judge Louis

Blumenfeld in Hartford.

In 1965, he began work with Carmody and Torrence, a major law firm in

Waterbury, where he was a litigator for 12 years and a partner for eight of

those years.

Mr Hall opened his own law office in Newtown in 1977, practicing general law

with specialities in litigation, planning, zoning, and estate planning. His

partnership with attorney Stephen L. Savarese is known as Hall & Savarese, PC.

Mr Hall is a fixture at local land use agency meetings, representing many

clients on a variety of zoning and planning applications.

If you attend meetings of the town's Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z),

Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation Commission, Borough Zoning Commission or

Borough Zoning Board of Appeals, you will probably see Mr Hall adroitly

representing a client.

Detail Oriented

Stephen Adams is an attorney who was a P&Z member for almost three years. Mr

Adams concluded his P&Z stint as the panel's chairman in 1996. During that

time he had a front row seat for Mr Hall's presentations.

"I always found Bob...to be very thorough, knowledgeable. He'd give a good

presentation," Mr Adams said of Mr Hall's work at P&Z meetings.

"He's absolutely detail-oriented and very thorough. I've always found Bob to

be pleasant," Mr Adams said.

Mr Hall has a deep knowledge of Newtown's real estate history, Mr Adams said,

and although some of his presentations were lengthy and complex, everyone

understood the local attorney was creating a "legal record" as the basis for

future court appeals.

Current P&Z Chairman Stephen Koch also noted Mr Hall's impeccable approach to

his land use cases. "I think he's very knowledgeable about the planning and

zoning regulations and he uses it to his advantage. (He's) very competent,

very knowledgeable, and very precise, almost to a fault," Mr Koch said.

"I compliment him for his skills," Mr Koch said. "But that's not to say I'm in

his corner," Mr Koch added.

Longtime P&Z member Heidi Winslow said of Mr Hall, "He always brings an

historical perspective to his presentations. He's always very well prepared."

Ms Winslow, an attorney, said, "It's a good thing to give the full story and

be well-prepared." Mr Hall knows Newtown and is well-versed in its land use

regulations, Ms Winslow said.

Economy Driven Work

Mr Hall explained that the volume of land use work he handles varies based

upon economic conditions. "As economic activity has picked up, there's been a

greater need for counsel," he said.

The lawyer's view of the P&Z dates back to at least 1967, when he began an

eight-year stint as the town attorney. While town attorney, Mr Hall reworked

the town's zoning regulations, subdivision regulations, and the regulations on

sand-and-gravel mining.

He attended P&Z meetings as the town attorney. It was to the P&Z's advantage

to have legal counsel attend their sessions, Mr Hall said, adding that it

would be helpful if the P&Z now had a lawyer represent it at all its meetings.

"They (P&Z) could have `early' counsel instead of waiting for the lawsuit to

come in," he observed. As a lawyer representing clients in controversial

applications, Mr Hall has filed many lawsuits against the P&Z in the past

several years.

The late Art Spector, a former P&Z chairman, was followed in that role by Ted

Whippie. Before becoming P&Z chairman, Mr Whippie had served as the

Conservation Commission chairman. In their leadership of the P&Z, both Mr

Spector and Mr Whippie functioned as if they were town planners, Mr Hall said.

Maybe it's time for the town to hire a formal town planner to improve the

lines of communication between applicants and the P&Z, he observed.

Controversial Cases

The development applications of several of Mr Hall's clients have proven

controversial. The attorney suggested that better communication might have

staved off the lawsuits which were filed against the P&Z following its

rejections of those plans.

Among those proposals were PSD Partnership's application for Whispering Pines

at Pine Street, Cherry Street and Narragansett Trail in Sandy Hook; M&E Land

Group's application for Tamarack Woods at Tamarack Road, Sanford Road and Echo

Valley Road; and M&E Land Group's application for Wedgewood on Taunton Hill

Road. The lawsuits resulted in P&Z approvals of less dense versions of

Whispering Pines and Wedgewood.

M&E Land Group is headed back to the P&Z for a public hearing on its fourth

version of Tamarack Woods. That project has drawn three lawsuits filed by

various parties. The fourth version of Tamarack Woods is less dense than

earlier versions.

"I have been mystified by why PSD and M&E projects... drew such opposition.

Why those three (subdivisions) became such lightning rods, I couldn't

understand," Mr Hall said.

Protests about those projects were framed by a group of residents that became

known as the Newtown Neighborhoods Coalition. Members of that ad hoc group

objected to the construction densities of the projects, increased traffic in

their neighborhoods, the possibility of depleted water supplies in existing

wells, the alteration of their neighborhoods' character, and the loss of local

undeveloped land, among other complaints.

The issue of water wells becoming depleted due to the construction of new

subdivisions is a "red herring," Mr Hall asserted. The charge that domestic

water wells will be depleted is an emotional claim that puts great fear in

people, he said.

People living in areas near development sites become accustomed to the

presence of open land nearby. When that open land is going to be developed,

those people become upset, Mr Hall said. Some people act as if they have a

right to leave that land undeveloped, although they don't own that land, he

said.

To illustrate the level of anti-development sentiment which existed among the

public last year, Mr Hall pointed to the intense controversy that was

generated by a local builder's application to resubdivide one building lot on

Fawnwood Road into two building lots. The P&Z rejected the resubdivision. The

developer then sued. The P&Z later approved the resubdivision in a modified

form.

Neighborhood coalition members have viewed various residential development

proposals in terms of their desires, not in terms of the legal merits of the

development applications, Mr Hall said. Emotional responses to development

proposals are not valid from a legal perspective, he stressed.

In some cases, P&Z members overtly sought to stop development by changing land

use regulations, Mr Hall said.

In one case, the P&Z sought to revise its rules on the "minimum square," a

planning device used to gauge whether it is practical to position a house on a

given lot in terms of septic system, water supply and building setback

requirements.

After heavy criticism from builders, subdividers, engineers and lawyers, who

charged that the proposed change would result in oversized building lots with

odd shapes, the P&Z relented, ending its consideration of the proposed minimum

square changes.

Avoiding Lawsuits

The developer of The Estates on Taunton Hill encountered a stumbling block due

to "dual frontages" on some proposed lots, Mr Hall said. That stumbling block

could have been prevented if the P&Z had had a lawyer representing it at a P&Z

meeting when the issue surfaced, he added.

That controversy led to the 19-lot subdivision's rejection by the P&Z, which

was followed by a lawsuit against the P&Z by the developer. In settling that

lawsuit, the P&Z recently approved a reconfigured version of the subdivision.

P&Z members have been very dedicated, but their workload has increased and the

complexity of issues they consider has grown, Mr Hall said. "By and large, the

commission makes the right decisions," he added.

The P&Z's use of attorney Timothy Bates to represent it in the controversial

Newtown Village 96-house condominium complex application was evident in the

P&Z motion rejecting the project, according to Mr Hall. The motion will be the

basis for the P&Z's defense of itself in a lawsuit filed by the applicant who

is now seeking to have a judge approve the project.

Riverview Condominiums, a 49-unit condominium complex recently approved by the

P&Z, wasn't very controversial, Mr Hall observed. Riverview will be built in a

relatively isolated area, however.

The very dense Newtown Village would be built at a site with nice homes in the

immediate vicinity, Mr Hall noted. The problem with Newtown Village is that

"affordable housing" is being used as a excuse to build a very high density

residential complex, Mr Hall said.

Community

Involvement

Mr Hall has been a member of the Republican Town Committee since 1968, plus a

member of the GOP State Central Committee for more than ten years.

He said he has helped campaign in every Republican first selectman's race

since 1968.

In alternate election years, Mr Hall works on campaigns for state and federal

office.

Mr Hall is married to Margot Hall, who has been Newtown's judge of probate for

seven years and was the probate clerk for 12 years before that. They have

three grown children, Stuart, Elinor and Marianne.

A former member of the Legislative Council, Mr Hall served on two past charter

revision commissions. Mr Hall was chairman of the charter revision commission

which proposed that the town create a legislative council.

Mr Hall, 58, has served on many ad hoc committees. He is a member of the

Newtown Congregational Church Board of Trustees. He is associated with Booth

Library and The Charles Ives Center for The Arts in Danbury.

An avid downhill skier, Mr Hall is a member of the Winterset Ski Club. He has

been a Rotarian since 1968.

Mr Hall enjoys working with machinery, making home improvements and repairing

automobiles, such as his blue 1987 Lincoln Town Car.

Mr Hall has run in six marathons, including the Boston and New York City

marathons.