FAIRFIELD, CT — A proposed 40-unit affordable housing complex in Fairfield was narrowly denied by the Town Plan and Zoning Commission Tuesday, largely due to concerns over parking and traffic.
The complex, which was proposed under the state’s controversial 8-30g law, was opposed by neighbors, who said the Berkeley Road development was too big for the area and would lead to further overcrowding of the area.
In the end, four commissioners essentially agreed with those sentiments and voted to turn down the application, Kathryn Braun, Alexis Harrison, Meg Francis and alternate Peter Collins.
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Three commissioners voted against the motion to deny the application, Tom Noonan, Lenny Braman and Steven Levy. Commissioner Daniel Ford was not present, which prompted the need for Collins to fill in as an alternate.
Braun made the motion to deny the application, because she said it “profoundly and adversely” impacts the neighborhood.
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She added that the applicant’s traffic report said that 12 vehicles would leave the complex during the morning rush hours, despite the site’s parking lot holding 51 vehicles.
“This defies logic,” Braun said of the low number. She said typically, a complex of that size would require 100 parking spaces, which mean as many as 49 vehicles would need to park on the already crowded street.
Berkeley Road also does not have sidewalks.
The 8-30g statute allows developers to build housing complexes in communities, as long as 30 percent of the units are designated as affordable for 40 years. Local land use boards and commissions are largely powerless to stop projects that fall under 8-30g, due to their affordability; creating more housing that is affordable is the goal.
Communities, however, bristle at the fact that their zoning laws are often trumped by 8-30g, by giving developers an edge.
Harrison also cited the potential for unsafe traffic conditions if the proposed development was approved, and added that there were already 200 affordable housing units in the general area, which more on the way.
“This is the kind of neighborhood we should be protecting” from more development, she said.
The commissioners who opposed the denial said they understood the sentiment against approving the development.
“If I lived in this neighborhood, I would be very upset if this development is approved,” Levy said, adding that he thinks it should be reduced from four stories to three, which would reduce the number of units to 30 instead of 40.
Levy, Noonan and Braman all said that while they do not like 8-30g and how it allows for developments like this, they did not see enough evidence to deny the project.
“I think this application shows the weaknesses of 8-30g,” Noonan said. “Because we have the burden to prove, or uphold, the denial.
“I take no pleasure in saying this, but I don’t see sufficient evidence in the record to uphold a denial,” Noonan said, adding that the town’s Police, fire and engineering departments all said the development would not pose a safety risk.
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