Earlier this year on February 20, Newtown Planning & Zoning Commission denied Application 24.16 for a site development plan at 22 Oakview and 4 Berkshire Roads. The site plan included two apartment buildings that would have consisted of 114 one-bedroom, six two-bedroom, and 16 three-bedroom apartments. The buildings were “set-aside” developments under Connecticut general statute 8-30g, or affordable housing. The developer planned to set aside 30% of the apartments, or 41 units, for 40 years at 60-80% of the median income.

Following the denial of this application, Vessel Technologies, the developer for this project, filed an appeal of Newtown Planning & Zoning Commission’s decision to deny the application. The official complaint and court summons were issued March 7 of this year, and the appeal has been in litigation ever since.

The Newtown Bee reached out to the intervenors on this case, a group of four men who live within Regency at Newtown. Three out of the four sat down for an interview to discuss this appeal, what it means to them, and what they hope to get out of this process. Comments from Vessel Technologies’ Executive Vice President Josh Levy will be included at the end.

Intervenors’ Perspective

Paul Paquette, Ben Viola, and Ned Simpson are three of four intervenors, the fourth being the original intervenor during the public hearings, John O’Malley. The group decided to intervene because they felt as though the town “would not engage and represent the community,” as Simpson put it.

“We didn’t feel represented,” Simpson said.

Paquette said, “We didn’t feel that the town was really going to adequately represent us, the taxpayers who live there and have to live with this project. I just want to make it clear that this is not an objection to affordable housing. We fully understand the need for affordable housing and we encourage it.”

Paquette expanded his thoughts, saying that he does not like how 8-30g, Connecticut’s affordable housing statute, is written and how the community has very little input in these types of applications.

Viola said that he “goes along with the town saying … they didn’t have water.” He feels that this is a “legitimate” reason to deny an application and said there were several other issues with the application, such as storm water. He thinks the development is oversized for the lot. For clarification, the proposed development is for two four-story buildings, a total of 136 apartments, on four acres of land.

Viola worked for 32 years as an environmental engineer for the state of Maine, so he understands how to read plans for developments. He said, “I don’t believe they have it correct.”

Viola pointed out several issues with the plans as written, including concerns over stormwater management systems and elevations, impervious surfaces, and infiltration rate calculations. He thinks there should be someone at the state level who can review stormwater management plans to ensure they are done correctly.

Simpson also said that during the drafting phase for the Newtown Plan of Conservation and Development, residents “urged” P&Z to “get real about affordable housing.”

“We don’t think Planning & Zoning has taken affordable housing seriously,” Simpson said.

Paquette explained that with Newtown’s size and amount of vacant land available, “there’s gotta be some other places that [Vessel] can put this thing than this small parcel of land.”

While Vessel Technologies submitted an objection to the intervenors’ motion to intervene, the objection was denied and the intervenor motion was granted. The motion to intervene was granted on July 16.

“We’re very glad we are intervenors,” Simpson said. He added that there have been points in the mediations that they have been able to voice their opinions, whereas the town would have been more passive.

“We do represent a larger group of 40 plus, probably, that are helping finance our objection to this,” Paquette said. “We have their interests in mind also, it’s not just four people here.”

In Vessel’s objection, it says that the only purpose of the intervenor status is to “delay” and “thwart” this appeal.

Paquette said, “We didn’t raise money and get the support to fight this,” Simpson jumped in, “to delay it!”

The intervenors want to find a better property for a development like this. There is a lot of property in town that could fit two apartment buildings, and Simpson thinks the town could work with Vessel to find a more “agreeable” location.

Simpson believes the decision by P&Z should be upheld; he said he cannot think of a “worse safety problem” than not having water. While the intervenors’ reply to Vessel’s objection states they have concern about their property values, quality of life, and environmental impact, the only reason an 8-30g application can be denied is due to significant health and safety risks. Environmental impact is a serious concern for the intervenors on this case.

“They got a storm water system that they designed, I don’t agree with it. My opinion is I think they got it wrong, and last August we had a flood where you couldn’t drive through Newtown,” Viola said.

Simpson and Paquette expanded on the impacts of the August 18 flood. They both said that the embankment between Oakview Road and Newtown High School washed out — which is exactly where this proposed development would go.

Another environmental impact the group brought up was what 60-70% impervious surface area would do to the local deer population.

Simpson also raised concerns about pedestrian safety, acknowledging the intimidation for older drivers on the road when they see pedestrians and have to slam on the brakes. He added that with 136 apartments “in the middle of nowhere,” people are going to want to walk someplace and will need things to do.

Aquarion issued a “will-serve” letter to Vessel Technologies on July 14. In this letter, it states under normal working conditions, Aquarion would have the capacity to serve this development, but currently, due to the wellfield on South Main Street being out of commission, they cannot offer a new line. Vessel filed a motion to supplement the record, and the intervenors filed an objection to that.

Simpson said it is “kind of simple” — they do not believe it is possible to supplement the record after the fact.

Viola said the letter, simply, is “late.” “How can you open the record later and base it on a decision that was already made,” Viola asked.

Vessel’s Comments

The Newtown Bee reached out to Josh Levy, executive vice president of Vessel Technologies, for comment via email.

Levy said, “There’s a massive unmet need for housing in Newtown. We are in the business of providing hard-working people with exceptional homes, and hope to achieve that goal.”

He added that during the “consideration of our application,” no negative impacts on the surrounding areas was shown. The only reason for denial from P&Z was due to the lack of water to the site, which was discussed at length by both P&Z and the intervenors.

“The court determined that the only grounds upon which the intervenors could be heard were those that were related to the rejection issued by the Planning & Zoning Commission, which is access to water. As we’ve shown in our filings, the property is served by public water and has a will serve letter from Aquarion, settling that issue,” Levy said. He added that “access to public water was not an issue of ‘if’ it would be received, but rather, ‘when’ the hook-up would be possible.”

In the court document, “Plaintiffs’ Reply to Intervenors’ Objection to Motion to Supplement the Record,” it states, “Intervenors’ argument entirely misses the point and does not serve as a basis to deny the motion to supplement the record — in fact, it supports it.”

Levy was asked to explain this. He answered, “Affordable housing developments may only be rejected if there is a substantial public health or safety issue (supported by industry experts) that outweighs the need for the affordable housing. Our team of experts demonstrated that there will be no material impact on traffic, there is no light that will escape the property boundaries, there will be no noise that impacts the area, and, as evidenced by the ‘will serve’ letters from the public utilities, there will be no negative impact on utilities. To the contrary, this development will increase tax revenue for the town while also providing hard-working Newtown residents with an exceptional home.”

The last question posed to Levy was if he wanted readers to know anything else about this proposed project. Levy’s answer was, “Vessel stands ready and willing to continue to discuss a result that would satisfy all parties. We have already made multiple offers to settle the lawsuit, which would result in fewer units on the property. It is our sincere hope that the intervenors and town will take us up on our offer to do so and will actively engage with us on a quick and collaborative resolution.”

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