Date: Fri 27-Dec-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Hawleyville-zone-change-P&Z

Full Text:

Land Owner Criticizes Hawleyville Zone Change Plan

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

A neighborhood association's proposal to rezone a section of Hawleyville has

drawn strong criticism from the owner of a large portion of the land who

doesn't want it rezoned.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) conducted a public hearing December

19 on the North Newtown Homeowners Association's proposal to rezone from R-2

Residential to P-1 Professional a 183-acre section of Hawleyville bounded on

the east by Hawleyville Road, on the west by Farrell Road, and on the south by

the Maybrook railroad tracks right-of-way.

The association is seeking the zone change to prevent the acreage from being

put to uses that its membership considers undesirable, such as multifamily

housing developments.

Last year, a portion of the area proposed for rezoning was eyed as the site

for a 100,000-square-foot exhibition hall known as the Connecticut Exposition

and Performance Events center (CEPEC), a proposal which the P&Z rejected after

strong public protests from Hawleyville residents.

Realizing that another huge development proposal might be in the offing,

members of the neighborhood association proposed the zone change as a way to

promote what they consider structured, desirable growth.

Attorney Thomas Frizzell, representing the J&M Realty Company of Danbury, told

P&Z members the company owns four lots which would be affected by the rezoning

proposal. Those lots cover 115 acres. J&M is the sole owner of the lots and

the homeowners association has no financial interest in them, Mr Frizzell

said.

The association has no legal standing to seek a rezoning of J&M's property and

thus the P&Z has no jurisdiction to act in such a matter, he said. The

property owners reserve the right to legally appeal actions taken by the P&Z,

he said.

Strong Opposition

In a letter to the P&Z, Maryann Kiely of Smoke Rise Ridge, the managing

partner of J&M, said rezoning the real estate company's holdings won't bring

economic development. The homeowners association wants to prevent development,

according to Mrs Kiely. She termed the rezoning proposal a devious plan to

keep much of Hawleyville open space land.

In the letter, Mrs Kiely called the zone change proposal "ridiculous."

Professional office areas need to be in the center of town, near hospitals,

courthouses, and municipal offices, not in Hawleyville, she wrote.

"There is no need for large professional zones," she stressed.

If the North Newtown Homeowners Association's rezoning proposal is approved,

every neighborhood association in town would seek to rezone land to control

development, she stated in the letter.

It is the role of the P&Z to change zoning designations, not neighborhood

groups, according to Mrs Kiely. The proposed zone change undermines the P&Z's

jurisdiction, doesn't conform to the town's plan of development, and won't

encourage economic development, she said.

The current R-2 zoning in the area is intended to primarily allow construction

of single-family houses on building lots of at least two acres.

The proposed rezoning to P-1 is intended to allow construction of office

buildings of less than 10,000 square feet containing up to five professional

offices on parcels of at least one acre. Such offices can be occupied by

professional people including real estate and insurance sales, and medical and

dental laboratories. The P-1 zoning allows single-family homes with or without

professional offices. Office buildings larger than 10,000 square feet would be

allowed by special exception on lots larger than one acre.

The P-1 zoning designation is intended to foster land uses such as

professional office parks.

Converting the zoning to P-1, however, would double the potential housing

density on the land from minimum two-acre to minimum one-acre lots.

Homeowners

Lilla Dean of Old Hawleyville Road, head of the homeowners association, told

P&Z members "We would like some input in a pro-active way... In this

undertaking, we've tried to be pro-active. We think this could be marketed as

a professional area."

Such a zoning designation would make sense in terms of the possibility of an

assisted-living center being built along Route 6 in Hawleyville, she said.

The homeowners association is reviewing development options for the tract

proposed for rezoning, she said, noting that the area is environmentally

sensitive.

"We hope you won't think us presumptuous in bringing this" application for a

rezoning of the land, she added.

P-1 zoning has its advantages over other zoning designations, she said.

"We spent a lot of time looking at various aspects of it," she added.

In a legal opinion submitted to the P&Z, Town Attorney David Grogins wrote

that all property owners who would be affected by a requested rezoning don't

have to consent to a third party seeking such a rezoning. At least 20 percent

of the property owners whose land would be rezoned, however, must consent to a

such a zone change, according to the attorney.

Approving such a rezoning of land requires a two-thirds majority vote of the

P&Z, he informed P&Z members.

In a letter to the P&Z, the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials

(HVCEO) asked that the P&Z defer any decision on the rezoning proposal until

an ongoing study of the economic development potential of Hawleyville is

completed.

Also, the P&Z received 12 letters from Hawleyville residents favoring a zone

change.

Resident Jennifer Wolbach of Old Hawleyville Road stressed her support for the

rezoning proposal. Industrial development in Hawleyville would put an

unnecessary burden on residential properties there, she said. The

association's rezoning proposal would generate jobs and produce municipal tax

revenues, she said.

Resident Harry Todice of Farrell Road termed the rezoning proposal "A very

distasteful way of telling somebody what they can or cannot do with their

property."

Resident Alexander Clark of Obtuse Road South said the underlying issue

beneath the rezoning proposal is preventing multifamily housing from being

built in Hawleyville.

Resident Kim McQuaite spoke in favor of rezoning the land, adding it would

protect the land as Hawleyville residents want it protected.

Mr Frizzell, representing J&M, said he doesn't consider the homeowners

association's application to be a complete application.

"A zone change application is a very serious matter... This application should

not be here... Putting a P-1 zone in Hawleyville is a dream," Mr Frizzell

said.

In response to criticisms leveled at the proposed zone change, Ms Dean said "I

don't think the P-1's a pipe dream. I really don't."

The future development of Hawleyville has long been under scrutiny, she said,

noting that many land uses have been suggested for the area and Hawleyville

residents are nervous about the future.

The P&Z is scheduled to act on the rezoning proposal at 7:30 pm on January 2

at Newtown Middle School auditorium.