Marcia Chambers Photo
The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) won’t vote on a small affordable housing project on what is termed an “unbuildable lot” in Pawson Park until its next meeting, but the commissioners expressed concern and disapproval about the project last night.
The half-acre property at 239 Pawson Road is located in a flood plain, and contains tidal wetlands and an easement to an adjacent 20 acres of state-owned open-space property.
Marcia Chambers Photo
After listening to the commission’s comments at the end of a long meeting in the community room at Fire Headquarters, Town Planner Harry Smith (pictured) observed, “It looks like you are going toward a denial.”
The commission gave Smith the green light to work on a draft resolution to deny the project. Smith said he would also contact the P&Z chair, Charles Andres and the town attorney Bill Aniskovich. The resolution would be ready by the Oct. 6 P&Z meeting. A vote may come that night.
The discussion of the Pawson Park application came after the P&Z held three public hearings. The major hearing of the night centered on the demolition and reconstruction of Parkside Village I on South Montowese Street and the creation of a Planned Development District for Parkside. Scores of residents and neighbors spoke against the project. The Parkside Village public hearing was continued until Oct. 6. (The Eagle’s story on Parkside Village will be published soon.)
The Pawson Park application came up at about 11 p.m.
Pawson property owner Arsalan Altaf had filed a simultaneous request with the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for variances to build a single-family residence on the same lot. That request was denied last month. His plan to build six residential affordable housing units on the same site was the subject of a hearing before the P&Z that began last July.
It concluded Sept. 1 without any further presentation or public comments from attorney Kevin Curseaden, who represents Altaf. Curseaden, a partner in the firm of Carroll, Curseaden & Moore, LLC, of Milford, did not submit any new materials before the P&Z hearing resumed, although the materials were requested by the commission.
At the previous Pawson hearing, Smith, the town planner, said critical information was missing from the application, particularly regarding soils and stormwater runoff. The town requested soil borings that would reveal the extent of the tidal wetlands.
In addition, Town Engineer Janice Plaziak and Fire Marshal Shaun Heffernan had concerns about the proposal. The commission also asked Altaf’s attorney to provide architectural sketches.
At July’s hearing Curseaden said he would respond to the various requests and comments at the Sept. 1 meeting. But he did not.
Curseaden also represents Charles Weber and Al Secondino in their plans to build six commercial businesses near Costco on a Planned Development District at Exit 56.
Commissioner Joe Vaiuso noted that the developer had failed to deliver the materials requested by the P&Z. “We received no information that we asked for. We asked for it and they didn’t give it to us.”
Commissioner Joe Chadwick, another member of the P&Z, observed that the property owner bought the land “knowing it was unbuildable. It’s a sham application.”
Commissioner Christopher Kelly said the resolution should be drawn in such a way to stand up to appeal.
Andres, chair of the P&Z, said the commission had received expert testimony from environmentalist Bill Horne. Horne submitted several documents into evidence, including information from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Office of Long Island Sound Programs, and the state Plan of Conservation and Development.
The documents highlighted the importance of tidal wetlands and vegetative buffers. The site in question provides a buffer to salt marshes along the Branford River, and the proposed construction would nearly eliminate those buffers.
The Pawson Park area is also considered a critical coastal habitat and is a breeding area for globally endangered saltmarsh sparrows. “This is not just simply some wetland. This is a wetland of regional significance for wildlife,” he said.
Horne also submitted documents about sea-level rise and projected increases in flooding, which occur on the shoreline during astronomical high tides. “Sea level is rising and it’s actually rising faster now than it was 50 years ago,” he said.
State Rep. Lonnie Reed, who spoke at the July P&Z public hearing, said the state statute for affordable housing is very important. “It’s something that we really care about when it’s done in the right way, but sometimes it gets hijacked and utilized for goals that we feel have nothing to do with affordable housing,” she told the commissioners.
The application was unusual from the start because the P&Z and the ZBA faced different plans for the same waterfront property.
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