Room For Vast Improvement
This letter has been updated with information provided by the author after publication to clarify certain points.
To the Editor:
There are many reasons to support a “Yes” vote for the Fairfield Hills question. This step is a small one to help move this property forward for us all and what will be a great enhancement for Newtown.
After much work, the Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review committee was disbanded but the final recommendations document is available at https://www.newtown-ct.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif3546/f/uploads/2018_ffhmpr_committee_recommendations.pdf.
The FFHMPR Committee (talented resident volunteers who care greatly) recommends that the plan be modified to allow commercial proposals that include a housing component provided that the proposal is for no more than two existing buildings and that the commercial component is consistent with the vision of the property.
Videos are available at: https://www.newtown-ct.gov/board-selectmen/pages/fairfield-hills-forums prior to the town vote on Tuesday.
The FFHMPR Committee recommends that a site-use overlay plan should be developed that provides better guidance for potential development of existing buildings. We understand and they also advised to bring in professional planners for further valuable guidance.
The survey performed was sent out to residents and 1,825 responded.
Some answers included 62 percent of the public felt there was a “Sense of urgency to develop,” 64 percent agree that the town should not pay for renovations. In addition, only 44 percent agreed that the town should “Let buildings sit for 5-10 years.” There are 8,325 households, with 29.3 percent under the age of 18, 4.4 percent from 18 to 24, 32.5 percent from 25 to 44, 25.1 percent from 45 to 64, and 8.7 percent who were 65 years of age or older.
There is much to engage in and strategize going forward and into the future; however, with good planning perhaps we can see an improvement and an ability to enhance what could become a gem of a centerpiece and enhance Newtown for all.
The 20 year old strategy clearly needs a vast improvement! Vote Yes!
Bernadette and Wayne Addessi
13 Lovells Lane, Newtown October 28, 2020
The Addessi fail to mention that a large majority of the survey takers said they did not want housing on Fairfield Hills. Only mentioning statistics that favor his position and not the fact that apartments were not wanted ( by way more than the 64% that didn’t want to pay for demolition) is not exactly transparent. . They also don’t mention that the Master Plan call for the quick demolition o f he rest of the buildings. The estimate to take down the rest of the buildings is $20 million, let’s hope the town officials act as quickly on that part of the plan, as as they have tried again to get a yes vote for apartments.