Emily Patton Photo
In a major development, the Stony Creek Association (SCA) last night approved a proposed tentative agreement between its executive board and the Legacy Theater. The vote was 7 – 2. But the final fate of the former Puppet House and its transformation to a repertory theater has a way to go.
The Legacy Theater group purchased the property with the intent of creating a repertory theater in 2013. But the theater’s plan has virtually been on hold ever since as different groups in Stony Creek, including the SCA, appealed the town’s decision approving an open-ended permit for the theater to Superior Court in New Haven. Major issues concerning its operation, parking, and scheduling had not been resolved when the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a permit in 2014. The proposed settlement attempts to address these issues.
The prolonged legal battle is not without high drama. The ups and downs of opening a theater in a small, seaside village has created a toxic atmosphere in Stony Creek, a number of people said at the SCA meeting last night. Dan Bullard, chair of the SCA, said the whole process, now in its fourth year, “has put a wedge through Stony Creek that is extremely distasteful to everybody.”
The SCA board and about 25 members of the public, including neighbors who abut the property, expressed their views at the special meeting which was called in order to vote on the proposed settlement. The only issue before the board was whether to agree to a memorandum of understanding with the Legacy Theater. After discussion during the 90-minute meeting, which was held at the Willoughby Wallace Library, the SCA board approved the proposed agreement.
The SCA agreement, worked out over the past year in numerous executive sessions with some or all of the parties, outlines the types of functions for the theater space, numerous productions that include plays, musicals, poetry readings, concerts, art classes, and civic events, among others. The theater will not be used for rap concerts, heavy metal concerts, weddings, or parties. Hours of operation were established, including a decision that the theater “will be open to the public no more than 150 days per year.” No alcohol will be served. Parking, a major issue for the community, is yet to be resolved. The mediation judge has made parking the highest priority. The next court mediation date is July 12.
Board member Jim Walker observed that the Legacy, which essentially has carte blanche to do what it wants under the town’s zoning regulations, “has agreed to so many restrictions that it is as if their business plan has been rewritten. I think it is more than fair, and I think the judge who is a fair and prudent man may well see it the same way.”
The three-page “Memorandum of Understanding” is the first formal step in what has become a long, contentious battle among neighbors who find themselves pitted against one another. The undercurrent of dismay and conflict was evident in comments from Bullard who before the vote proposed that the SCA withdraw entirely from the whole process.
At this point in the litigation, the players are the SCA and a separate group of abutting neighbors who in April decided to hire their own attorney because they felt that Timothy Lee, who represents the SCA, had a conflict of interest and could no longer represent both the SCA and the individual plaintiffs. The individual plaintiffs are now represented by Mark Branse of Branse & Willis LLC of Glastonbury. This new law firm is expected to come up with an agreement as well. The Legacy team will also weigh in. On occasion the town of Branford’s attorney, Bill Aniskovich, has stepped in but he was not present at last night’s meeting.
The SCA’s appeal is against the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals. It asserts that the activities proposed by Legacy are “an illegal expansion of any prior use of the property” and that the zoning board should have required the theater to obtain a special exception under zoning regulations.
The 7 – 2 vote comes as the Stony Creek community prepares to elect a new executive board on Monday evening.
Ted Ells, an attorney and a member of the SCA, had sought the special meeting, saying the current board would benefit from completing its work on the Legacy theater before the next board is elected. He said the current board should consider any settlement proposals and if none were presented to consider withdrawing as a party from the appeal.
For the past year, since the last Stony Creek Executive Board elections, three members of the board have met with the parties to discuss a variety of issues, including renovations, rules of operation, what type of music can or can’t be played, hours of use, parking and other issues. The process has not been without drama, sometimes high drama. But under the conditions established, the three members were not permitted to inform the SCA of the group’s deliberations, keeping the full board without information.
Bullard observed the recent changes in the litigation and in the community. “The plaintiffs have stepped up and hired their own attorney and they’ve got a support group in the community.” He said the whole process “has put a wedge through Stony Creek that is extremely distasteful to everybody.”
The purpose of the special meeting was to decide if the association’s board would accept the proposed agreement or not. Walker, who is also a member of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), made a motion to do so in order that the proposed agreement be put in final form and taken by Lee, the association’s attorney, to the next mediation session scheduled for Tuesday in New Haven Superior Court.
While a majority of the board seemed to agree that long negotiations warranted accepting the proposed agreement, Bullard said he thought the board should just “drop it, and get out of the whole thing.” Two members of the board agreed with him.
One board member said that regardless of the proposed agreement, the neighbors fighting the theater “will not go away.” Walker disagreed, saying the amount of effort that has gone into this over two years, particularly in the last eight months, especially by the three SCA members on the negotiating committee, has provided depth and insight for the proposed agreement.
Bob Babcock, who serves as vice-president of the SCA, said evaluating the proposed settlement was “the right thing to do.” He did not think the SCA should withdraw at this juncture. “The SCA committee negotiated and came up with a document, and that should be presented. I think we should test the water temperature after that. We can always decide to withdraw. I see no reason to withdraw now. With all due respect for the chairman, I don’t happen to agree.”
One board member who agreed with Bullard said it was time for the association to drop the issue and let the individual plaintiffs continue their case and the costs of the litigation.
It appears the lines are drawn. The SCA and the individual plaintiffs are now separate entities. Each group has different positions and a different set of attorneys. A new group has emerged calling themselves “Friends and Neighbors of Stony Creek.” Bullard said in an interview the ongoing situation has divided the Creek in a way he has never before seen.
The decision to accept the proposed settlement for presentation to the judge comes a day after the annual SCA executive board election. A number of former board members who did not win re-election last year, will be trying to regain their seats on the association’s executive board.
Last year Stony Creek residents elected a new and more moderate SCA executive board in the expectation, Bullard said then, that the board would take a more moderate approach to the Legacy Theater building project.
Voting will take place Monday at the Willoughby Wallace Library, beginning at 5 p.m. It ends at 8 p.m. The new board meets for its annual meeting Tuesday night.
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