New Haven Independent

Taylor, head of her building’s tenant residence council, was one passionate voice among some 50 renters, homeowners and long-time residents in the Hill who came out in force at Wednesday night’s City Plan meeting.

“We don’t have much air conditioning, so when we open the windows, we breathe in the smell of tar, of construction, of congestion,” Davis said. “There are people 80, 90 years old who paid their dues. It’s not right that you, a developer from out of state comes in, pays $10 million for two and a half acres, and you can’t tell us what you’re going to do with the property, how we, the people who live here are going to benefit! That’s absurd. How many more medical buildings do we need?

“We’re hemmed in, and we have not been consulted. And now you want to change the zoning so you can build anything you want, add a garage, which will add more asthma. No, this cannot be allowed to stand.”

She and her neighbors were opposing a zoning change before the commission to allow the block bounded by Howard, Sylvan, and Legion avenues and Ward Street to be rezoned from its current multiple zones to BD-2, which would allow for “central business” enterprises, including large office buildings, likely geared to doctor and research offices, and perhaps even another garage

The petitioners were these men, Will Smith, on the right, of Intercontinental Real Estate, headquartered in Boston, and his lawyers, James Perito, in the center, and James Segaloff. Why the request? They have general plans to erect office buildings likely for research and medical suites, some mixed-use retail.

“We can’t be any more precise,” said Smith until we have a zoning change and then based on that can evolve a credible plan. The current situation is a zoning pathwork.”

That didn’t seem to satisfy community members such as Ted Gardner. It was clear from the simmering anger in the room that they feel insufficiently consulted by the potential developers.

The developers have attended a number of management team meetings in the affected areas and presented letters of support from several businesses, and one from the Housing Authority of New Haven. But people attending the meeting, some of whom live in houses within 50 feet of the potential site, said no one even knocked on their door.

The opportunities presented by a cohesive BD-2 rezoning, said James Perito, as he stood before one of several exhibits, would allow concentrated development of the city’s assets, such as its health-related professional offices and maybe even laboratories.

All this, he said, is in line with the city’s master plan. And construction jobs as well as permanent ones and other benefits would evolve.

Most community members present — especially those, like Tony Butler, are veterans of long fights with Yale-New Haven Hospital — were skeptical. Everyone asserted they were for development, but of the kind that also benefits the dwindling population of an area of the city that has been de-peopled, over the years, by institutional development.

Here are some more exchanges, as the commission members listened and deliberated what to do:

Marisol Rosario went up to the microphone and said: “I live at 48 Sylvan Ave., in a house I worked hard to buy. I work three jobs to send my kids to college. Believe me I struggle with my mortgage. How will this affect my mortgage, my taxes?”

Segaloff: “It will reduce your taxes. How is that possible? Because the current properties generate about $350,000 in revenue for the city. What we propose will generate at least $1 million, and that’ll make it easier for the city to lower taxes.”

Rosario: “That’s not credible. Hasn’t Yale asked you to come in to develop Lot E? Don’t you want Yale to be your tenants? What guarantee is there you won’t sell the site to Yale, and it’ll be tax free? And that won’t help us at all.”

Will Smith: “We’re a very long way from that.”

“But you can’t guarantee it!”

Third Ward Alderwoman Jacqueline James read a letter from her father. In the letter he recalled his passionate defense of their beleaguered neighborhood where he bought a house in 1980 and raised 12 children.

“It’s disheartening to me,” she read her father’s words (he was too sick to attend himself) “to see the city committing to development without considering the people. I ask you to table this matter until there is more dialogue.’”

James said she was appalled by a sense that the commission was on the verge of voting for the zoning change this very night. “When we were considering Yale’s cancer center, you commissioners had many more questions. What were going to be the give-back to the community, the benefits? Where are you questions for this developer from Boston? It’s just not credible they can come in, invest $10 million in our neighborhood and then be coy and say they can’t tell us what their plans are! We’ve had so many homeowners displaced already. Something is wrong here.”

Although commission Chair Patricia King explained that details could be forthcoming only at the next phase, a site plan review, and the developers could not get to that level of detail without the zoning change requested, skepticism, bordering at time on a sense of conspiratorial neglect of the neighborhood, prevailed among the questioners.

Ward Three Democratic Co-Chair Maurice Blest Peters said, “Would you be willing to sign a community benefits agreement with us?” When attorney Segaloff responded by saying at this point he would not advise his clients to take on any obligations, Blest added, “You’re courting Yale, but you’re not courting us. Look, we live here. We have no place to go. You build a high rise, where are we going to live. We can’t afford to live in it, or, for that matter, to go to Yale for our medical needs.

“Why aren’t you talking to us, for example, about job training programs in our neighborhood? Why aren’t you talking to us about having, as part of your development, a 24-hour daycare so our women can go to work? Yes, there’s poverty out there, and poverty breeds violence. This development will not just happen any old way. We’ve seen too much of this. If necessary, this will be taken to the streets.”

Anstress Farwell, of the New Haven Urban Design League, took issue with the need to have a full BD-2 rezoning. “It would make sense, from a long-range planning point of view, to retain multiple zoning. That way you won’t see a ten-story building facing across the street from some small houses. Isn’t this going back on the commitment not to have large development on that side of Howard? I’m really shocked and appalled that so much land could be purchased without a long range plan. There need to be workshops to work with the community before a decision like this.”

“That’s right,” added Rosario. “There are only six houses left on Sylvan Avenue. Who’s to say if we go through with this, you might not come to us and say, We have two and a half acres, now we would like the rest? Sell us your house.”

Segaloff said, “I’m gratified that we heard you are for development, but we can’t satisfy you with specifics at this point without the zoning change. That we didn’t consult enough of you, I regret. We could go from house to house, but still we need the zoning change because a PDD [planned development district tool, which provides for traffic, architectural and other studies, and generally more community oversight] is not available as a tool anymore.”

Karyn Gilvarg, the executive director of City Plan, rose to differ with Segaloff: “It’s not right that a PDD is not an option. Mr. Segaloff was wrong in saying that. I also want to add that many people in the audience have suggested the commission is ready to approve. The staff recommendation for approval is before them, but that’s our work. The commission members can endorse, reject, or modify it. Nothing’s decided yet. It’s up to them.”

So what would they do? Members Roland Lemar, Audrey Tyson, and Maricel Ramos-Valcarel all agreed that a zoning change is substantial and emotional, especially for those people who remain in the neighborhood. Commission Chairwoman Patricia King was especially disturbed that the Housing Authority of New Haven had sent the developers a letter of support without consulting the tenants themselves represented by Cameron Davis Taylor.

“I definitely think more dialogue with the community is needed,” she said, “if only so they understand how much we don’t know! How much we can’t say at this point about retail, garages, and so forth.”

After continuing expressions of concern about traffic congestion on the already clogged Legion Avenue, the epidemic of asthma in New Haven that could well be exacerbated, Attorney Segaloff said that many more details would be forthcoming during the site plan review; that the developers were in touch weekly with city officials, and this project represented real opportunities for the community members as well as the developers.

The resolution? By a unanimous vote, the public hearing on the issue was continued until July 18th. During the interim the commission urged the developers to organize workshops, and to increase dialogue and input from the community.

What did the principals think of the evening’s work?

“Look,” said developer Smith, “a lot of these people said they were not informed, they were not involved. But just by being here they are involved. We are just at the beginning of the process, and I’m encouraged because people are speaking up.”

“I’m happy that the matter was extended,” said Alderwoman James. “The developers were charged by the commission to come to the community. Well, we’re here. The ball is definitely in their court.”

Stay tuned.

For previous articles on this subject, click here, here and here.