Markeshia Ricks Photo
If something isn’t done about a massive mulch lot that has sprung up in his neighborhood, Miguel Santiago said, he’ll need to move from the Blake Street apartment he’s lived in for 12 years.
“I’m 77 years old,” said Santiago (pictured). “I’m trying to live to see a few more years. It’s not fair that we have to breathe that in.”
What Santiago is breathing in is sawdust from the big mulch piles and the scent of chemically treated wood chips that he said makes people close their windows against even the most welcome breeze. And he said what people are breathing in is coming from Paradise Landscaping and Tree Removal at 86 Fitch St., and the lot on behind that business, which according to the city is operating in violation of several city ordinances.
In June, City Building Official James Turcio conducted an inspection of Paradise Landscaping and Tree Removal and found it operating a large, open-air, mulch business in violation of the city’s zoning and general ordinances.
Neighbors like Santiago said for two years they’ve listened to the early morning roar of chainsaws, the industrial thud of Earthmovers picking up sawed logs and the rumble of dump trucks, all while daily fighting against the sawdust that covers every inch of their homes.
In a July 8 letter, Turcio gave the owners, Fasano Properties LLC, 10 days to stop violating the city’s codes, or possibly face legal action from the city.
“Said inspection revealed that there are numerous trucks and other construction equipment stored at the property, cut trees being stored and also being used to create piles of mulch being stored and sold at retail from the property,” Turcio wrote in the letter. “Also, there are a number of vehicles and equipment on the site that do not appear to be registered.”
The company’s principal and manager, Ruslan Boyarsky, did not respond to requests for comment for this article. (He did subsequently post a comment to this article, below, in which he states that he has worked hard to address people’s complaints since opening and questions whether neighbors’ health complaints derive from his business.]
The property in question is a large “L” shaped lot (that appear to be at least two parcels) behind the business’s Fitch Street building. It is surrounded by mostly homes and apartments. One lot is officially recorded as being on Blake Street; about 75 percent of it is zoned for a Light Industrial (IL) District. But a quarter of the property is zoned as a Medium Low Density (RM‑1) Residence District.
Parts of the property are located within the Coastal Area Management District because it abuts the West River, and within the 100 and 500-year floodplain. That means that a mulch business would require a coastal site plan review, and any outside storage and processing activities might be limited.
According to the city’s zoning ordinance, the following is permitted in an IL District: “Home improvement company, interior decorator, upholsterer, furniture repairer, general contractor, special trade contractor or worker, building materials, sign making, fuel or ice, with all storage of goods, materials and equipment (other than off-street parking and loading of vehicles) and all processing and manufacturing kept within a completely enclosed building(s), and the entire establishment occupies 2,000 square feet or less of net floor area.”
Unregistered vehicles like the one pictured above, and equipment on site that Turcio references in the letter also violate Section 18 – 40(b) of the city’s Code of General Ordinance, according to Turcio. The ordinance reads: “No owner of any parcel of land located wholly or partly within the City of New Haven shall deposit, cause or permit to be deposited, retain, cause of permit to be retained, any abandoned or unregistered vehicle on such land, for more than thirty (30) days, except in a completely enclosed and secured area, provided that no part of this subsection shall be so construed as to apply to any automobile repairing, automobile sales or automobile junk dealer business licensed and authorized under the General Statutes of the State of Connecticut or the ordinances of the City of New Haven and which is operated in compliance with the zoning ordinance of the city.”
That means that any unregistered vehicle, equipment, or vehicles that don’t work would have to be removed from the premises of the business or stored in a building.
“The property might (with site plan approval) be used for contractors offices, equipment and material storage,” Turcio wrote. “However, any outside storage in excess of 500 square feet, including all materials, except for legal vehicle storage, requires a special permit from the New Haven City Plan Commission and would also be required to comply with State of Connecticut DEEP regulations.”
“Why Is This Here?”
Shanika Woods (pictured) said she can’t prove it, but she fears her asthma and allergies have been made worse by all the dust from the business next door. She was home Friday with a migraine that she said had not abated in four days.
She and her three sons have lived in their Blake Street apartment for five years. Woods said in the last two years, her children have developed asthma and sinus problems. She also has gone from being able to manage her own allergies with over-the-counter medications to having to use prescription medications.
“We just stay congested,” she said. “They’re out there all day, every day. They start early in the morning and they never stop. I just don’t understand. Why is this here?”
Beaver Hills Alder Richard Furlow has the same question. “Almost everything around here is residential,” he said. “So for them to be operating this kind of business here doesn’t make any sense.”
Furlow said he is in favor of small business and economic development, but he said the business should fit the neighborhood and comply with zoning ordinances.
“My concern with this business is their noncompliance to city zoning ordinances and lack of concern for the surrounding neighbors,” he said. “Why do I say lack of concern? First, because this is a second cease-work order issued within a year due to violations. Second, the violations, show there is little regard for the health of the surrounding residents with the tree sawing and pesticides done within the residential zone, and the potential danger to the West River.”
Turcio’s letter isn’t the first time the city has tried to alert Boyarsky and Fasano Properties LLC that they were violating city zoning and general ordinances. A year ago, the Livable City Initiative in conjunction with the City Plan Department sent letters by certified mail and regular mail, both to the Fitch Street address, and an address in North Haven, informing the owners that they were operating in violation of zoning ordinances and proper permits.
City Planner Tom Talbot, who drafted and signed the letters, said the certified letters came back to the city, but the letters that were mailed first class didn’t. Turcio said if the company doesn’t come into compliance by the time the 10 days are up, it will likely hear next from city lawyers. Furlow said he will not support any rezoning that allows Paradise to continue the same type of work that is being done on the property.
“I’ve stayed at this place for years,” Santiago said. “Nobody bothers you. It’s very private and there’s good parking. My landlord is a great guy. But I’ve been patient. If this doesn’t stop, I will have to move.”
Kudos to City Staff for taking action on this issue. Alder Furlow hits the nail on the head.