Markeshia Ricks Photos
West-siders weren’t interested in pie-in-the-sky changes to the neighborhood in the next decade. They wanted practical changes, like the arrival of a neighborhood grocery store.
That was the message of long-range planning session city officials held with neighbors.
Neighbors said they don’t want to change Westville’s quirky feel too much. But as in other parts of the city, discussion soon turned to the need to improve how people get around, amenities available in the neighborhood that make it an attractive place to live, and the need for good housing and jobs. They’d also love to see the completion of the Farmington Canal, the West River Greenway Trail, Harborside Trail and Fair Haven Trail.
GIlvarg answers questions about zoning.
The City Plan Department held the meeting as part of its decennial process of updating New Haven’s comprehensive plan for land use development. Staffers met with a handful of Westville/West Hills neighbors at the Mitchell Library last Tuesday for input on changes that should be made for the future of the neighborhood. Residents recommendations will be incorporated into a plan that will guide the city over the next decade. (Read more about the city’s comprehensive plan here.)
Themes emerged as the residents broke out into groups and pored over maps of the neighborhood to make recommendations for land use, housing and neighborhood planning, transportation, economic development and the environment.
City Plan Department Assistant Director of Comprehensive Planning Susmitha Attota talks about proposed greenways.
Participants agreed that the neighborhood needs a grocery store closer than the Stop ‘n Shop on Amity Road, but they’d prefer it not be accompanied by a strip mall. And while some people love that Westville is a haven for arts, some raised concerns that maybe it’s not enough of a draw to the community.
Jim Owens said the village has lost a lot of small businesses over the years, and doesn’t seem to have the community cohesion of neighborhoods like East Rock when it comes to attracting and sustaining mixed-use development. Owens is a regular at Westville community meetings; he lamented the small show of neighbors for the planning session.
Alder Adam Marchand (pictured) had a different take on the small turnout: “I’m not bothered by the small numbers because oftentimes people only come when there is something controversial on the agenda.”
Susmitha Attota, assistant director of comprehensive planning for the City Plan Department, said that the deadline for completing the update to the plan is fast approaching, and staff has made the rounds to WEB (Whalley Avenue, Edgewood Avenue, Beaver Hills), Hill North, East Rock and Westville. It has also met with neighbors in Wooster Square and near Route 34. Staffers will hit community management team meetings in April and provide regular updates to the City Plan Commission at its April and May meetings. She said the updated plan should be adopted by July, which is the same month that the current 10-year plan is set to expire.
I want to thank Susmitha and her City Plan colleagues for making a real effort to involve residents in developing the comprehensive plan. But, as I told her when she made a similar presentation in East Rock, the plan has limited relevance to actual land use decisions. My experience has been that these decisions are based primarily on the views of the local alder, the neighbors who show up at the hearing, and who the applicant hires as his or her attorney.