Ducks and other wildlife are apparently the only ones who can make their homes on an “unbuildable” lot along the Branford River. A settlement has been reached between the neighbors and the property owner, who filed lawsuits when his attempts to build on the half-acre lot were denied by town boards.
Patricia and Stephen Small (pictured below), who have fought development on the adjacent lot for more than two years, attended a Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission meeting Thursday night when a unanimous vote was taken in support of the settlement.
Diana Stricker Photo
“We’re pleased it’s finally getting resolved,” Mrs. Small told the Eagle after the meeting.
According to the terms of the settlement, the Smalls agreed to purchase the lot at 239 Pawson Road, and property owner Arsalan Altaf agreed to withdraw his affordable housing lawsuit against the P&Z.
The Eagle asked the Smalls if they have any plans for the property.
“Nothing,” Mrs. Small said. “We have no plans for the property. If you would have seen it Monday with all that rain, it was underwater. There’s a pair of ducks out there right now with a nest.” She and her husband want to keep the land in its natural state. “That’s just the way it should be,” she said.
File Photo
Altaf (pictured), through his Pawson Point LLC, filed the appealslast yearafter Branford’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and the P&Z denied his building requests. He had filed simultaneous requests to build either a single-family home or affordable housing on a lot that had already been deemed “unbuildable.” A Superior Court judge dismissed the appeal against the ZBA last month.
Opponents at town hearings, including State Rep. Lonnie Reed, alleged that Altaf was using the Affordable Housing Act as a wedge to get the single-family home approved.
Town Attorney Bill Aniskovich confirmed earlier this month that a settlement was pending. The town is not a party to the settlement, but the commission was required to vote whether they agree that the lawsuit should be withdrawn. The settlement still has to be approved by the courts.
Altaf is represented by attorney Kevin J. Curseaden of Carroll, Curseaden & Moore LLC of Milford. Curseaden also represented Charles Weber and Al Secondino in their unsuccessful plans to build six commercial businesses near what was a proposed Costco on a Planned Development District at Exit 56. Curseaden brought the appeals on behalf of Altaf and his Pawson Point LLC corporation.
Diana Stricker Photo
In other business Thursday night, the P&Z commission approved plans to build a new Indian Neck firehouse; and also approved minor changes to the Blackstone Library expansion project.
A hearing was scheduled to continue Thursday regarding two proposed retail stores on North Main Street next to Clancy’s Funeral Home. However the developer requested that the hearing continue at the May 3 meeting.
Pawson Road History
The Smalls purchased their home in 2015, shortly before Altaf bought the adjacent site, which had already been deemed unbuildable by the ZBA earlier that year. Mrs. Small said Thursday night that it’s hard to understand why anyone would want to build there considering the way it floods.
The site is in a Special Flood Hazard Zone, which has tidal wetlands and an easement to adjacent state-owned open-space property. It’s located at the bottom of a narrow dead-end road on the Pawson Park/Indian Neck peninsula. The entire peninsula was nearly isolated when Tropical Storm Irene washed out portions of Linden Avenue, the only access road to the area.
In September 2015, Altaf purchased the property for $35,000. It was appraised at $71,000. Altaf declined an offer by the Smalls to purchase the property from him for $48,000 in March 2016. Later than year, Altaf requested variances from the ZBA to build a single-family home, and he simultaneously filed a P&Z application to build affordable housing on the same lot through the state’s affordable housing statute 8-30g.
The exact amount the Smalls will pay for the property was not disclosed, but Mrs. Small said its similar to the offer they made in 2016. They also amassed legal fees and costs in fighting to preserve the property in its natural state.
Altaf filed appeals against the ZBA and P&Z, and both cases were moved to the Land Use section of Hartford Superior Court, where Judge Marshall K. Berger Jr. approved the request by Altaf’s attorney to combine the cases.
In March Superior Court Judge Barbara M. Quinn dismissed Altaf’s appeal of the ZBA decision for the proposed single-family home. The ruling stated that “the court finds substantial evidence in the record to support the conclusions reached and the actions taken by the ZBA.”
The judge wrote that it was not so much the size of the lot that prohibited building, but its location near “fragile resources” and tidal wetlands which are addressed in the state’s Coastal Management Act.
The P&Z Vote
An executive session and an open discussion regarding Pawson Road were on the agenda Thursday night. However, P&Z chair Chuck Andres explained it was up to the commission to decide whether they wanted to discuss the issues in public or private. “To cut to the chase, I don’t think we need to go into executive session,” he said.
Andres, who is a land-use attorney, summarized the situation.
“We had some environmental concerns involving tidal wetlands, we had some safety concerns, there were fire (equipment) access issues, parking issues.” The commission denied the first application and also a second application.
Affordable housing projects filed under state statute 8-30g do not have to comply with local zoning laws, but they can be denied if substantial issues of public health, safety and welfare outweigh the need for affordable housing.
Allegations were made that Altaf was using the Affordable Housing statute as a wedge to get approval of the single-family home.
The P&Z based their decisions on multi-page resolutions that spelled out their reasons for denying the proposals. The resolutions included conclusions and opinions from several experts, including the town attorney, town engineer, fire marshal, and an environmental analyst from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
Because of the coastal wetlands, the property comes under DEEP jurisdiction and regulations of the Connecticut Coastal Management Act.
After the judge dismissed the appeal against the ZBA, a settlement in the P&Z case was announced. Although the two cases had been combined, they had to be deliberated separately.
“As part of the court process, the court has to approve any withdrawal, so we have to vote to consent to the withdrawal of the lawsuit,” Andres said, adding that the town is not a party in the settlement.
The commission voted unanimously Thursday night. Commissioner Marci Palluzzi has recused herself from Pawson Park votes since she knows many people who live in the neighborhood.
Patricia and Stephen Small, are represented by Attorney Joseph B. Schwartz, a partner at Murtha Cullina LLP of Hartford. Schwartz was recently appointed by Governor Dannel P. Malloy to serve as a judge on the Superior Court.
Indian Neck Firehouse Approved
Plans to demolish the 92-year-old Indian Neck firehouse and build a new one were unanimously approved Thursday, following a public hearing. Commissioner Fred Russo recused himself from voting since he lives near the firehouse.
The $1.5 million project has already been approved by the Board of Finance, and by the Representative Town Meeting (RTM).
Diana Stricker Photo
Jim Pretti (pictured), an engineer with Criscuolo Engineering LLC in Branford, told the commissioners the new two-story building will be 50-feet buy 50-feet and will house trucks and fire apparatus on the first floor. A sidewalk will be built along Linden Avenue, and a new stormwater treatment system and new sewers will be installed.
David Stein of Silver Petrucelli & Associates of Hamden said the building will be used by the volunteer firefighters. “This is not intended to be for public use,” he said.
Fire Headquarters on North Main Street has a community room that is used for public meetings.
The commissioners asked several questions about the practice of neighbors parking at the Indian Neck firehouse. They expressed concern that cars might be taking spaces that volunteer firefighters would need if there was an emergency.
Fire Chief Tom Mahoney said the neighbors have been “very respectful” and that the fire department has been “sensitive to the needs of the neighbors.”
Andres said the decision about neighborhood parking is up to the fire department.
A question was also asked about whether the second floor of the firehouse could be used as a shelter if there was an emergency.
Town Engineer Janice Plaziak said the building is not suitable as a shelter because it’s in a flood plain and the area was flooded during Super Storm Sandy and Tropical Storm Irene. She said if there would be flooding, the building itself is safe since the electrical equipment and utilities are on the second floor, but all the apparatus on the first flood would need to be moved.
Too Much Like the Original
Minor changes were made to architectural plans for an addition to the Blackstone Memorial Library after the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) said a proposed green dome roof looks too much like one on the original building.
Diana Stricker Photo
“They took real exception to the dome,” said architect David Stein (pictured) of Silver Petrucelli & Associates of Hamden. Stein said SHPO said the new addition should look slightly different so that it’s obvious it’s not part of the original building.
With Permission
So now the roof to the addition will be flat instead of domed.
The library expansion project was approved in January following a public hearing, but another hearing was not required since the roof change was very minor. The commissioners gave their unanimous approval to the flat roof.
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Both the 238 Pawson Rd lot and the new Indian Neck firehouse will be affected by increasing sea level in the coming years. The report Sea Level Rise in Connecticut (https://circa.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1618/2017/10/SeaLevelRiseConnecticutFinalDraft-Posted-3_27_18.pdf) recently released by the CT Institute for Resilience and Coastal Adaptation estimates that sea level relative to fixed points on land will rise nearly 5" in the next thirty years at a steady rate. However, analysis of the twenty five year record of satellite measurements of global sea level (Nerem, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018, http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/02/06/1717312115) found that global average sea level increased about 20% more during the period 2005-2015 than during 1995-2005 and suggested that similar increases could be expected if current conditions (rates of ocean warming and arctic/antarctic ice cap melting) remain the same.
Despite these projections of sea level rise based on measured recent trends, the Town is basing design of new buildings in or near the flood plain on the current FEMA Base Flood Elevation, a static elevation derived from past flood elevations. Assuming that the Town plans for these buildings to have useful lifetimes of at least fifty years, it would be more prudent to include these recent trends in sea level rise in determining the conditions that the buildings are likely to experience throughout their entire future use.