Two Town Denials, One Appeal in Pawson Road Property

UPDATE—The Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission unanimously denied a request Thursday to build affordable housing on a half-acre lot at 239 Pawson Road that contains tidal wetlands and is prone to flooding.

The P&Z subsequently met in special session Saturday night to vote again on the Pawson Road affordable housing proposal. Two issues arose after the Nov. 3 vote—- an extra date for the public hearing was listed in the resolution; and commissioner Paul Higgins mistakenly said he had attended both sessions of the public hearing, but later discovered he had not. Prior to Saturday’s vote, he listened to the tape of the meeting, and was then eligible to vote.

On Nov. 5, the Thursday night vote was rescinded and another vote was taken. The result of the second vote was the same, and the commission denied the project. Saturday was the deadline for reaching a decision.

But controversy about the site continues. The property owner has filed an appeal of a recent decision by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to deny a request for a variance to build a single-family home on that lot.

In other business Thursday, the P&Z approved construction of a new building for the Branford Veterinary Hospital which is currently located at 201 E. Main St., not far from the Branford High School. The new expanded facility will be on Route 139.

One Way Or Another

In recent months, Property owner Arsalan Altaf filed simultaneous requests for the half-acre lot at 239 Pawson Road. The shore-view property is located in a flood plain, and contains tidal wetlands and an easement to an adjacent 20 acres of state-owned open-space property. The site is about 200 feet from the Branford River.

Altaf and his Pawson Point LLC corporation asked the ZBA for variances to build a single-family residence, and also asked P&Z for a special exception 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—in this case it would be two of the six units.

During the July P&Z hearing, Altaf’s attorney was asked which project the property owner prefers.

“Pawson Point LLC intends to develop the property—period,” said Altaf’s attorney, Kevin J. Curseaden, adding that he can’t say which is preferred.

Curseaden is a partner in the firm of Carroll, Curseaden & Moore LLC of Milford.  He also represents Charles Weber and Al Secondino in their proposed plans to build six commercial businesses near Costco on a Planned Development District at Exit 56.

The ZBA held hearings on the issue and denied the variances for a single family home in August.

On Sept. 8, the Branford town clerk’s office was notified that Pawson Point LLC had formally appealed the ZBA decision to the New Haven Superior Court. So far Bill Aniskovich, the town’s attorney, has not yet filed a notice of appearance on behalf of the ZBA and the town in the case, court records show.

In a 12-page complaint, Curseaden asserted the ZBA “had predetermined the outcome of the Application prior to the public hearing and failed to keep an open mind.” He listed a number of other reasons for reversing the ZBA decision, including that the ZBA “failed to state a valid reason for denying the application.” Curseaden also charged that the ZBA “relied upon improper influences, considerations, opinions and evidence outside the record that did not provide a valid basis at law to deny the Application.”

Patricia Small, the directly abutting neighbor, also filed an application to formally intervene in the case, a move that would give the Small family the right to be heard in court on the appeal. Superior court Judge Jon Blue granted the Small family and Joseph Schwartz, their attorney, intervenor status on Oct. 24.

Schwartz presented testimony on behalf of Patricia and Stephen Small during the ZBA and P&Z hearings. The Smalls and several neighbors opposed both of Altaf’s proposals.

Altaf, whose residence is listed as Middletown on corporation papers, purchased the site from Patricia W. Northrop in September 2015 for $35,000 through his Pawson Point LLC. The property is assessed at $49,000 and appraised at $71,100.  In January 2015, Northrop requested variances to build a home on the property, but the ZBA denied the variances, saying the lot was previously termed unbuildable.

Affordable Housing Denied

State Rep. Lonnie Reed, D-Branford, spoke at P&Z public hearings regarding affordable housing on the Pawson Road site. She said the state legislature has been attempting to upgrade the state’s affordability statute, which basically allows developers to over-rule local zoning laws. She said the Assembly passed the proposed bill this past year, but the session ended before it could be ratified in the Senate.

She said the bill will be re-introduced in the coming session. “The reason is not only to protect neighbors, but to protect people who are being exploited by having the statute misused,” Reed said at a Pawson Road P&Z hearing.  “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.”

The P&Z hearings for the affordable housing proposal concluded in early September, and the commission discussed the proposal at the mid-September meeting and agreed in spirit to deny the request. No vote was taken at the time, but the commission asked that a resolution be drafted stating the reasons for denial.

Projects under the state statute for affordable housing differ from regular applications, and don’t have to comply with local zoning regulations. However, a project can be denied if substantial issues of public health, safety and welfare outweigh the need for affordable housing. 

The P&Z commission voted on the resolution Thursday. The basis and reasons for denial were spelled out in the 8-page resolution which listed 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). The resolution also referenced testimony from the P&Z hearings and documents presented as evidence.

Denial Explained

One of the reasons listed in the resolution was that the Affordability Plan was not compliant with the state’s affordability statute CGS 8-30g, according to a review by attorney Carolyn Kone, of the Brenner, Salesman & Wallman LLP law firm, which serves as the town’s legal counsel.

Another major reason for the denial was that it was “necessary to protect substantial public interests in health, safety, or other matters” due to several reasons, including:

—The environmental impact to tidal wetlands on the site and adjoining property as supported by more than a dozen factors including testimony presented in a memorandum from environmental analyst John Gaucher of the state’s DEEP.  “For this site, all proposed structures should be located as far as possible from the shoreline and tidal wetlands as technically feasible to minimize adverse impacts on coastal resources.”

The DEEP recommends a 100-foot wide tidal wetlands buffer, but the proposed buildings and retaining wall would only allow for a vegetated buffer ranging from a few inches to a maximum of 20 feet from tidal wetlands.

— Town Engineer Janice Plaziak questioned the stormwater management system, and said there were substantial deficiencies with the parking and circulation pattern.

— Branford Fire Marshal Shaun Heffernan stated the proximity of the tidal wetlands to the proposed buildings would prevent firefighting from that side of the buildings, and other issues would limit the fire department’s ability to fight fires or perform a rescue because of the layout of the project.

The project was also denied because “the potential negative environmental and safety impacts from the proposed project…significantly outweigh the need for affordable housing in the case because the potential negative impacts as explained above are so significant and the amount of affordable housing (two dwelling units) provided by this project is so minimal.”

In addition, the resolution stated that the applicant never submitted several reports and information requested by the commission and town staff.

Prior to Thursday’s vote, commission chair Chuck Andres said the resolution had been reviewed by the town attorney.

Town Planner Harry Smith discussed the major points of the resolution and revisions to a previous draft. Smith said the environmental and safety concerns “clearly outweigh the need for affordable housing.”

Commission member Marci Palluzzi previously recused herself from voting, stating she knew several people in the Pawson Road area. Commissioners Andres, Joe Chadwick, John Lust, Chris Kelly and Paul Higgins voted unanimously to deny the proposal. Commissioners Fred Russo and Joe Vaiuso were absent.

Following the voting, neighbor Patricia Small, who lives at 235 Pawson Road, told the Eagle that she was pleased with the decision. “We really appreciate all the work the staff and commission did,” she said.

Neither Altaf nor his attorney attended Thursday’s meeting.

Veterinary Hospital

A public hearing was held Thursday on a request to build a new 6,112 square-foot building at 125 North Branford Road which will serve as the new location for the Branford Veterinary Hospital, currently located at 201 E. Main St.

No residents spoke at the hearing, and the P&Z commission voted unanimously to approve the request.

The full-service hospital building will have two stories, and will also include grooming and daycare services. Plans call for an indoor/outdoor exercise yard with six runs and a daycare exercise yard.

Engineer Jim Pretti of Criscuolo Engineering in Branford outlined the project. He said the vacant lot was part of a subdivision of farm property in 2010. Pretti said the property contains wetlands, but the Inland Wetlands Commission granted a permit to a previous unrelated project that did not materialize. That wetlands permit is still valid.

Assistant Town Planner Rich Stoecker presented the staff report and said, “It’s a great site for this use.”

Veterinarian Dr. Scott Gavaletz, who owns the business through his Ptolemy Holdings corporation, also attended the hearing.  The Branford Veterinary Hospital has been in business for 79 years. The current building was built in the 1950’s. 

A separate public hearing will be held Nov. 17 regarding a request to establish a kennel on the property.

P&Z By-Laws

After several discussions and drafts, the P&Z approved its first set of by-laws Thursday.

The by-laws address issues such as the annual meeting, and the election of chairperson and secretary. They also state that no items of new business on the agenda will be taken up after 11 p.m., unless the commissioners vote to do so.

The by-laws also stipulate that unless otherwise specified by the commission, the effective date of any zone change or amendment to the zoning regulations will be the day after it’s advertised in a newspaper, or the day after the decision has been filed in the town clerk’s office, whichever is later.

Moving to Fire Headquarters

Beginning in January, all P&Z meetings will be held at the community room at Fire Headquarters at 45 N. Main St., which is a larger room and has microphones.

P&Z meetings are typically not televised, but the Fire Headquarters location would allow BCTV to film the proceedings if requested by the commission.  The Nov. 17 meeting will also be held at Fire Headquarters since a large crowd is anticipated.  Several public hearings are scheduled Nov. 17, in addition to the continuation of the October hearing for Stonewall Lane Associates regarding construction of an office building at 10 Cedar St., across from the Blackstone Library.

###