In his first day in charge of his new committee, Hill Alderman Jorge Perez presided over the harmonious passage of Yale’s $600 million plan to expand with two new residential colleges.
By a unanimous vote, the Legislation Committee of the Board of Aldermen accepted the City Plan Commission’s recommendation for a planned development district (PDD) for the two new proposed colleges and in turn recommended the proposal for consideration by the full board later this month.
The two new colleges, Yale’s first in 50 years, will rise within a seven-acre arrow-head shaped tract bounded by Prospect Street, Sachem, and the Farmington Canal Greenway path.
If all goes well, they will house about 800 students and after a 30-month construction period open in 2015.
Click here for a previous article with details on the proposal and the Oct. 21 meeting at which City Plan recommended the PDD.
A PDD is a zoning designation created by the city to aid development, usually through overriding underlying zoning restrictions. The proposed site is surrounded by other projects, many previously done by Yale as PDDs or its less ambitious cousin the planned development unit, or PDU.
While commissioners at the October City Plan Commission meeting had approved the PDD proposal, some had expressed reservations about how open the newly created east-west “Prospect Way” pedestrian walkway will be to the public and how well the colleges will in general be integrated into the community.
At Monday night’s committee meeting, the last public hearing on the issue, not a single member of the public was in attendance to voice that or other concerns.
Quinnipiac Meadows Alderman Gerald Antunes did ask: “Is Prospect Way publicly accessible?”
Yale Vice-President for New Haven and State Affairs Mike Morand (left in photo, with Perez) provided reassurance but did add that pursuant to the city’s and Yale’s 2006 comprehensive agreement on the new colleges plan, Prospect Way, which will link Prospect Street on the east with the Farmington Greenway on the west, “potentially will be limited, regulated at times for safety reasons.”
After other concerns were genially discussed – the width of sidewalks along upper Prospect Street (raised by Westville’s Greg Dildine); whether Yale is confident it can raise the money for the project (East Rock’s Matt Smith; Yale said yes); and whether the proposed north tower near Winchester and Sachem will have bells and “audible impact” (Yale’s Mike Jones) — - the proposal was deemed to have met PDD requirements of appropriateness, harmonious integration, and design.
Jones commended Yale and the City for their plan and their preparation. Perez said the passage without a peep was “a reflection of the quality of the applicant and the work done.”
The proposal goes for a first reading before the full Board on Dec. 20.
After that approval, the proposal’s author, Yale School of Architecture Dean Robert A.M. Stern, and other planners proceed to more detailed drawings, which they must present in the months ahead back at City Plan Commission for site plan review.
At that point, said Morand, they might be able to answer Jones’ question about the bells.
It is funny to see a student walking her bike in the top rendering, near Prospect. That's highly unlikely. When will the city and Yale planners realize that the only way to fix this situation is to create infrastructure that accommodates all road users, and eliminates risk from the system?
Our transportation system worked fine over the past year while Prospect Street was closed to vehicle traffic. Students, faculty, and area residents who commute through the area could safely travel and stop to chat on the street, which effectively became a greenway. Other streets were more than able to accommodate the diverted traffic.
With the reopening of the roadway, the area has once again become a nightmare, and will once again be fraught with numerous injuries on the roads and sidewalks.
With 1,500 new residents in the area, the situation will be far more dire. Prospect Street needs to be shut down and reconstructed as a balanced, "complete street" that serves the needs of area residents, Yale staff and students who walk, bike and drive -- not just the Yale executives, city officials and construction contractors who wish to speed through the city.