P&Z Endorses ‘Concept’ Of Fairfield Hills Purchase

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have endorsed a town purchase of the Fairfield Hills core campus from the state, but have stopped short of giving their blessing to the financial aspects of the proposal to buy the 185-acre property and buildings.

In its role as the town’s planning agency, the P&Z is required by state law to comment on proposed municipal acquisitions. The P&Z provides its comments on such proposals, but does not have any regulatory power over such purchases.

P&Z Chairman Daniel Fogliano May 24 expressed reservations about endorsing public spending for acquiring Fairfield Hills, considering that the town does not now have sharply defined plans for the future overall use of the site.

P&Z member Stephen Koch said that P&Z members view the town acquisition of the property from a conceptual perspective, rather than from a financial standpoint.

P&Z member Lilla Dean said, “This is a concept that fits with our [town’s] future.”

Mr Koch urged that the town submit to the P&Z the various potential proposals for the redevelopment of the property when those proposals materialize, and before public money is spent on such redevelopment projects.

The P&Z’s endorsement of a Fairfield Hills purchase is more “conceptual” in nature than financial, he said.

Of the various cost estimates prepared in connection with a Fairfield Hills purchase, P&Z member James Boylan said, “I assume the [cost] estimates are as good as they’re going to get, and [that] they’re done by people who should know.”

The state is offering the town the property for $3.9 million. The former state psychiatric hospital closed in December 1995 during a period of patient “deinstitutionalization.” Except for town offices in Canaan House and a private drug treatment center in Greenwich House, the property is now largely vacant.

The idea of a town purchase is a good one, Mr Fogliano said, but added that the P&Z is not a financial agency and is not commenting on the costs involved in a town acquisition.

Although P&Z members endorsed a town acquisition of Fairfield Hills, they had no comment for the Board of Selectmen on the proposed renovations to Edmond Town Hall and the reconstruction of high school athletic fields. The Edmond Town Hall renovations and athletic fields projects are aspects of a  $21.7 million town spending proposal which includes the Fairfield Hills purchase.   

P&Z members came to a consensus on endorsing a Fairfield Hills acquisition, but did not put their recommendation in the form of a motion.

In a letter to First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal dated May 25, the P&Z notes that a town purchase of Fairfield Hills is consistent with the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development.

The P&Z states that the financial aspects of the purchase are not in its purview. “Therefore, the commission remains neutral regarding the financial impact of the proposal to purchase Fairfield Hills Hospital,” the letter states.

In the letter, the P&Z adds that the proposed spending for the high school athletics field project and the Edmond Town Hall renovation project are not matters for P&Z review.

At the May 24 P&Z meeting, First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal described the town proposal to buy Fairfield Hills to P&Z members.  Mr Rosenthal said his negotiations with the state were long and complex, citing the dozens of aspects involved in negotiating a purchase.

A town meeting at which voters will decide whether to buy Fairfield Hills from the state is scheduled for Wednesday, June 6, at 7:30 pm at Newtown High School auditorium.