P&Z Again Weighs Building on the Unbuildable

Branford residents and environmentalists say a proposed affordable housing project on a half-acre site that is prone to coastal flooding would be harmful to the environment and to low-income people who might live there.

“Affordable housing at this site is an environmental injustice. Is it fair to put people who are struggling financially in a flood plain?” asked Branford environmentalist Bill Horne.

Francoise Roux, who lives near the site, said ​“It’s not very logical” to put low-income people on property that already floods. ​“If they are flooded and lose everything, how are they going to afford to buy everything again?” She said experience has taught her the high price of insurance for property in flood plains.

Jennifer O’Donnell of Coastal Ocean Analytics in Noank, who testified on behalf of the neighbors, said: “We know this is an extremely small site, we know it’s in a coastal flood plain, we know that it gets flooded currently, so we know it’s going to get flooded in the future when we add sea level rise.”

Those comments were among many expressed at a public hearing Thursday evening before Branford’s Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission.  About 35 people attended the meeting at the community room at Fire Headquarters.

Another Attempt to Build on Pawson Road

Property owner Arsalan Altaf (pictured)is making a second attempt to build affordable housing at 239 Pawson Road. In November, the P&Z denied his initial request to construct two buildings with six residential units under the state’s affordable housing statute CGS 8-30g.  According to the statute, 30 percent of housing must be designated as affordable—which would be two of the six units.

The new request involves construction of a three-unit apartment building, which would include one affordable unit. The property in question is a half-acre site that had already been deemed “unbuildable.”  It’s about 200 feet from the Branford River, has tidal wetlands, and an easement to adjacent state-owned open-space property.

Affordable housing projects under state statute 8-30g do not have to comply with zoning regulations. Click here to read about the affordable housing act.

In addition to his request for affordable housing last summer, Altaf simultaneously requested several variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to build a single-family residence on the same lot.  The ZBA had deemed the lot “unbuildable” when a previous owner applied for variances in January 2015. Altaf purchased the property in September 2015 for $35,000. It was appraised at $71,000.

In August 2016, the ZBA denied the requests for variances for a single-family home, but Altaf filed an appeal in the New Haven Superior Court, and the case is still pending.

Toward the end of Thursday’s hearing, Altaf’s attorney Kristina Porter, a young associate with the Carroll, Curseaden & Moore LLC law firm in Milford, told the commission that if nothing can be built on the property, “Then really the city needs to buy it back.”

Neighbor’s Attorney: “A Blatant Second Bite”

Attorney Joseph B. Schwartz (pictured), who represents neighbors Stephen and Patricia Small, presented the commissioners with copies of an updated letter he submitted during public hearings last summer. Schwartz, an attorney with Murtha Cullina LLP of Hartford, said the modified application is no better than the first one.

“It’s still inconsistent, it’s still incomplete, and provides no additional information really to change your decision to deny this application,” he said.

Schwartz said the Smalls, who live adjacent to the site, offered to purchase the property from Altaf for $48,000 in March 2016. The offer was $13,000 more than Altaf paid for the property six months earlier. ​“He declined that offer and responded with an offer of $98,000,” Schwartz said. Altaf filed the zoning applications during the summer of 2016.

Schwartz said Altaf’s site plan (pictured) for the variances for the single-family home, which were denied by the ZBA, is the same site plan that was attached to the affordability plan. ​“I don’t think it can be denied that the applicant is clearly taking a blatant second bite of the apple to try to get a single-family house onto this land.”

Schwartz said the proposed project is very similar to a recent case in East Lyme where a developer wanted to build affordable housing on a property abutting Long Island Sound. The East Lyme zoning commission denied the request stating that it did not comply with policies of the Coastal Management Act; and the State Superior Court upheld their decision.

“We are in complete opposition to this,” said Patricia Small, who has been fighting the project for several months. ​“Over the course of the summer, we submitted petitions with well over 100 signatures of people who also oppose this development,” she said, asking that the petitions also be included in this record.

Concerns Addressed

“My client has attempted to address as many of your concerns as possible,” Altaf’s attorney (pictured) said Thursday.

Porter, who delivered a revised set of plans to the P&Z Thursday night, said changes were made in response to a staff report that she received Tuesday. She also said modifications were made due to comments from the initial hearings, and in response to a letter last summer from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

Porter said the revised project includes a three-story building with a three-car garage on the first level. She said the footprint of the building is much smaller than the previous one, and it would be farther from coastal wetlands which would provide a 25-foot vegetated buffer.

P&Z chair Chuck Andres asked if there would be disturbances to the buffer during construction, and Porter said there could be “some encroachment.”

Porter said the applicant hired a fire safety expert who assessed the project and said there would be adequate access all around the building for firefighters if needed.

Porter acknowledged there are issues because of the coastal flood plain. “While we recognize that this is a coastal property and there are concerns about flooding, those concerns are not unique to this property and they are the same concerns that any other house in the neighborhood would potentially have.”

In response to questions from the commission, Altaf said the building would be three stories, including the garage, and would be 38-feet high. He said each apartment would have two bedrooms, and there would be one parking space per apartment.

Missing Information

Town Planner Harry Smith(pictured) presented key elements of the multi-page staff report. He said crucial information was missing from the application, including a stormwater management plan; specifics about the building; data from site borings that he requested last summer to determine the extent of the marsh; and a protection plan for the coastal wetlands’ buffer.

​“The entire 25 feet should be protected during construction and after,” Smith said. He also said one parking space per apartment was not sufficient.

Smith read a letter from the DEEP which stated in part: ​“Locating three residential units in a coastal hazard area without access to dry egress does not minimize hazards to life and property,” as stipulated by the Connecticut Coastal Management Act.

The site is located on the Pawson Park/Indian Neck peninsula that was nearly isolated when Tropical Storm Irene washed out portions of Linden Avenue, the only access road to the peninsula.

Town Engineer Janice Plaziak submitted comments regarding possible impacts of stormwater runoff on the tidal wetlands; and concerns about parking and access to the site, which is at the end of a narrow dead-end road with no cul-de-sac.

Branford Fire Marshal Shaun Heffernan submitted a letter stating he could not make an accurate fire safety review of the proposal because of numerous items of missing information in the application.

Jennifer O’Donnell, a coastal engineering specialist hired by the Small’s, also said significant information was missing.

“This is not a proper engineering site plan,” O’Donnell said, pointing out that there was no label, no dimensions, no scale, no grading plan, and no drainage information. ​“This is particularly critical because it’s in a coastal resource area.”

Sea Level Rise

Environmentalist Bill Horne (pictured) submitted a packet of information related to sea level rise, and to protection of coastal habitats.

The reports included information on sea level rise from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, and various other sources. There was also information from the Union of Concerned Scientists on predicted increases in nuisance flooding due to normal astronomical high tides.

“Over the next 45 years, there’s going to be multiple increases all along the Atlantic Coast of nuisance flooding — low areas that will be overwashed by normal high tides,” he said.

Horne also discussed the state’s Conservation and Development Policies. ​“There are policies that this application is inconsistent with,” he said, including policies to minimize new development in coastal areas that are prone to erosion and flooding.

Horne is also concerned about the effect construction would have on the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, which is considered globally endangered. The birds breed in local marshes from May through early August.

Proposed Legislation

State Rep. Lonnie Reed (D‑Branford), was unable to attend Thursday’s meeting, but she told the commission her stance during previous Pawson Road hearings. ​“I think one of the things going on here … is that the real objective is to get that single home in there, so this statute is being used as a weapon to try to make that compromise,” Reed told the commission in July.

She said similar situations are happening elsewhere in the state and efforts are underway to enact legislation to clarify the state’s affordable housing act.

Commissioners Concerns

The commissioners criticized the size of the three apartments.

Commissioner Joe Chadwick, a licensed architect, said the units seemed to be ​“substandard-size apartments.”

Commissioner Joe Vaiuso said the apartments appear to be about 500 square feet. ​“It’s too small, don’t you think?” he asked. ​“It’s like stacking storage trailers up.”

Commissioner Fred Russo said, ​“My objection is not about putting affordable housing on that lot, if the property supports it, I’m thinking about the size of the land and the size of the building. Everything seems to be, in my opinion, out of whack.”

Attorney Porter Rebuts

Porter said there was a lot of speculation about sea level rise, and that the commission can’t base a decision on ​“speculation.” She also questioned other statements made by the experts.

In addition, Porter said they are not required to submit a detailed site plan because it is an affordable housing application.

“We have made a sincere effort to listen to you and we’re willing to work with you,” she said.

Decision Due Next Month

Andres, who chairs the commission, asked if Porter felt she provided enough information for the commission to make a decision.

“We have tried to give as much as we can,” Porter replied.

Andres closed the three-hour public hearing and said the deadline for a decision is Feb. 17. It is anticipated the commission will discuss the proposal at the Feb. 2 meeting.

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