Date: Fri 31-May-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Newtown-Savings-Bank-parsonage

Full Text:

Savings Bank Will Seek Borough Approval For Pasonage Conversion

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Faced with the need for more space and the desire to stay on Main Street,

Newtown Savings Bank intends to seek borough approval for its plan to purchase

the Congregational Church's property at 41 Main Street and use it for banking

operations.

"We're in the process of putting together our plans. We're excited about the

opportunity to do our part to preserve Main Street and the chance to stay on

Main Street," said NSB President John Martocci.

Last week the church's congregation voted to accept the bank's offer of

$550,000 for the 5.38-acre property which includes the old parsonage, the

church house, and a tiny house at the rear of the property. The offer will

allow the church to lease back its church house for five years, with an option

for an additional five years.

The offer is contingent, however, on the bank receiving approval from the

Borough Zoning Commission or the Borough Zoning Board of Appeals to use the

old parsonage as office space.

"We're a long way from perfecting the sale," Mr Martocci admitted. "But our

plans are being formulated. We've been in Newtown for 140 years and we hope to

be here for another 140 years."

Mr Martocci said NSB has hired an architectural firm, Business Environs, of

Rocky Hill, NY, because the firm designed a bank for a historic area in

Massachusetts.

"We plan to keep the front exterior (of the old parsonage) the same as when it

was built," Mr Martocci said. "We intend to refurbish or replicate the

building. We'll present a plan to the town and hopefully the town will approve

it. But we aren't going to do anything if the town doesn't want us to do it."

Mr Martocci said the bank is simply out of space and needs to grow.

"Our mortgage department is growing significantly," he said. "We booked 150

mortgages in the past two and one-half months. Deposit levels are up. The bank

is growing well. We've already hired additional people and we will be hiring

more."

Mr Martocci said that with the additional space, the bank may be able to shift

some of its personnel from other locations such as Southbury and the Sand Hill

Plaza back to Main Street.

"The good news is we are doing well and have to adjust for it," Mr Martocci

said. "We want to do it here and the church wants to sell the property so it

is a natural fit. We see it as an opportunity for the bank to support the

preservation of Main Street."

Both the bank and the Congregational Church opted not to join the Borough

Historic District when it was formed recently, apparently believing that being

in the historic district might complicate the proposed property transfer. But

even before the historic district was formed, borough officials turned down

proposals to convert Main Street properties which are zoned residential to

professional or business use.

In February 1985, Joseph and Charlotte Chase applied to the Borough Zoning

Commission for a change of zoning for a house at 35 Main Street to use it as

professional space. The request was referred to the Planning & Zoning

Commission, which recommended that it be denied because it was not consistent

with the town's Plan of Development. The denial was upheld later in a lawsuit

filed by the Chases in Danbury Superior Court.

In 1977, Lois H. Gold applied for a change of zoning from residential to

business for the house at 38 Main Street. P&Z also recommended that this

application be denied, saying it would be spot zoning, not consistent with the

plan of development, and would add to the traffic congestion. This denial also

resulted in a lawsuit in Danbury Superior Court in which the commission's

ruling was upheld.

It is more likely the bank will apply for a variance from the Borough Zoning

Board of Appeals. With a variance, the property could be used as office space

for banking operations but would revert to residential zoning if the property

was ever sold.

The old parsonage, which the bank would like to use, is a two and one-half

story Federal-style wood-frame house built about 1815 and modernized later. It

was used as a parsonage for nearly 200 years, but has been rented as a

residential property to various tenants since the 1970s.

The church house is a wood-frame three-story structure built in the colonial

revival style in 1958. It houses the Newtown Congregational Co-Op Nursery

School and is used for a variety of church activities. Behind the church house

is a house that originally was used for the church ministry but now is rented

to tenants.

The long-term goal of the church is to consolidate all of its operations on

the 10.3-acre property on West Street where the new sanctuary was built 10

years ago.