On Thursday, September 17, Newtown Planning & Zoning Commission held a regular meeting to discuss application 26.16 by Newtown Planning & Zoning for a zone change “for a property located at 28A Glen Road, so as to change the Zone from M4 to SHDD to support Newtown Community Development Agency of 20 housing units for workforce housing.” Before starting the presentation, acting chair Connie Widmann sat Alternate Commissioner Don Mitchell.

John Voket, director of the office of Economic and Community Development, gave a presentation about the site and his hopes to repurpose it to the commission. He explained he first became aware of 28A Glen Road when he was the editor at The Newtown Bee and was “very motivated to find a productive use for the parcel.”

The parcel is 1.6 acres and had a residential family home on it in 1834. By the 1930s, the Watkins family added industrial buildings to the lot and started metal machining on cast iron and steel. From 1974-1990, the operations expanded to include welding and brass wire drawing and annealing. Then, the property became vacant and was foreclosed.

The site that was left behind had industrial contamination that resulted in “town-led hazardous material abatement” and demolition. Voket described several types of materials that were left behind on the site and the results of two environmental site assessments, one in 1992 and another in 2016.

Voket said that in 2022, the Legislative Council approved $850,000 in bonding for the “remediation and demolition project.” Cleanup and demolition began in 2024 and the “bonding segment of the project was completed” in the spring of last year.

“There [is] still remediation remaining to be done,” Voket told the commission. Voket’s office worked with Naguatuck Valley Council of Governments (COG) to apply for a $70,000 grant from the Regional Brownfields Partnership to complete a “limited two/three environmental site assessment and a remedial action plan.” Voket worked with the UConn Technical Assistance for Brownfields (TAB) New England unit and was able to produce a report that was given to the commission and is public in the meeting minutes.

“That report sought to determine the highest and best use of the property, which was deemed to be residential,” Voket explained. “I was challenged by the governor himself to ‘Find me a workforce housing project on a brownfield site, and I’ll help you get it built.’”

Voket shared that he was “shocked” at how expensive it was to train municipal employees, noting that Newtown saw an “intense period of municipal staff turnover.” He noted that it was not just the cost of onboarding and training, but the “ripple effects” losing employees had on other departments. Voket then went over the costs to taxpayers of losing municipal employees. Voket thought “why not” if the governor will help get a “modest residential complex” that offers “below-market workforce rentals.”

“We may not always be able to compete on a job-by-job basis with other communities on salary and benefits,” Voket said, “but establishing what would likely be the first municipally supported municipal staff housing project in Connecticut would send a message that Newtown values its employees and wants to keep as many staff members as close to home as long as possible.”

Voket’s department has “nearly” $200,000 of the $218,000 projected to complete the cleanup to bring 28A Glen Road back to residential standards. Naugatuck Valley COG said that Newtown could qualify for grant funds to get the cleanup completed. Voket said he is “hopeful” to turn this parcel into a “reality” and noted that it is no longer suited for the M4 zone, which is what it is zoned now. Extending the Sandy Hook Design District (SHDD) would allow the site to have “the maximum flexibility to see it utilized to its highest and best potential.”

Commissioner’s Questions

Following Voket’s presentation, Commissioner Barbara Manville asked if remediation still needed to be done. Voket answered yes. Manville then asked if the town would be the “landlord” for the building. Voket said that “none of that’s been determined yet.” He added that it is “about not wedging an M4 permitted use back onto that property.”

Mitchell then asked how many residential units would be in this proposal. Voket answered 20 units, two buildings with ten units each. Mitchell said he can see changing this from a “heavy manufacturing zone” to Sandy Hook Design District because of what is around the property, but that zone would not allow for that many units. Mitchell suggested submitting an 8-30g application to allow for more units in the area.

Director of Planning & Land Use Rob Sibley said that Mitchell was correct, but Voket was looking to get the property zoned residential first. The applicant would have to come back to provide specific site plans at a later time. Right then, the application was just for a zone change.

Voket said that the projection for the remediation is less than 18 months. Mitchell pointed out that formerly contaminated sites have stricter limitations around children. Voket said that the property is being brought up to the “highest, cleanest standards, not necessarily a scholastic level of children on the site, but for residential.”

Alternate Commissioner Charlie Gardner asked for clarification as to who the applicant is, and Sibley replied that it is the town. Widmann then asked if, at this time, the grant money for the final cleanup is available.

Voket said, “The town money is there to do the cleanup. It’s the remaining bonded funds.” He added that Naugatuck Valley COG thinks there are grants Newtown can apply for to get the site cleaned up.

Commissioner Roy Meadows asked if there are any developers interested in this project. Voket said the nonprofit Connecticut Housing Partners expressed interest in the project.

Widmann then opened the floor to the public.

Public Comment

Robert Kaiser was the first to speak. He said that he has lived directly across the street for over 30 years and has seen “all the transitions” and “degradation” of the property.

“It’s been an eyesore for many years. I’d just like to publicly say that I’m in favor of development,” Kaiser told the commission. His only concern is with water in the area.

Jennifer O’Neill spoke next. She agreed with Kaiser, saying the property has been an “eyesore.” She added that “industrial doesn’t fit” with the rest of the Sandy Hook Design District. O’Neill said that workforce housing would be a “twofold” good thing. She also noted that she is fine with the proposed 20 units and knows a possible development will be “built to a certain standard.”

Michael Burton, president of Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity (SHOP), was the last to speak. He was transparent and let the commission know he owns 24 Glen Road, which is next door to 28A Glen Road. Burton said SHOP is supportive of housing because it helps the district and businesses in the area, especially with pedestrian access. Burton added that SHOP is supportive of this zone change and agreed with the other neighbors that the property has been an eyesore.

Widmann then made a motion to close the public hearing, which passed unanimously.

Commission Deliberates

Mitchell noted that if the property moves forward with a housing development, the town probably will not want to become a “landlord” for the property. He thinks it may cause another wrinkle, but noted that the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) does call for more housing.

Widmann asked Sibley what he thinks may happen to the property, if it would be for sale or a long-term lease. Sibley said he “can’t even begin to speculate on that.” He reiterated that the request is only for the zone change.

Meadows asked if the commission could think of any “downsides” to making this zone change. He said he did not think there were any and he did not hear any. Manville and Widmann agreed.

Widmann asked for a motion to approve the zone change. Before the vote was cast. Sibley said he “appreciate[s]” the resolution and that it will assist in any grant opportunities that mention workforce housing.

The motion passed unanimously.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.