An affordable housing site plan has been put on hold by the zoning commission while the town assesses if rebuttal evidence introduced by the applicant at a public hearing on Oct. 28 is admissible.
At the hearing, the third regarding a proposal to develop 3044 Main Street into 54 two-bedroom units over two buildings, attorney Stephen Bellis, who represented the developer, Longbrook Station LLC, presented rebuttal testimony arguing for the site plan, and he included revisions to the original plan.
The current structure at 3044 Main Street, the site proposed for an ‘affordable’ housing development.
Attorney Kevin Kelly argued on behalf of the town that revisions presented were so extensive that they would require a new petition.
Bellis brought an engineer to present rebuttal testimony to the town’s stated concerns about possible flooding of adjacent properties during large weather events. The proposed development site shares a property line with the Stratford Police Department.
Additionally, project architect Pat Rose illustrated adjustments to the site plan that would address concerns presented in the town’s previous testimony, including fire lane access, parking, staircase access, and traffic.
At the second public hearing on Oct. 14 at the Baldwin Center, Kelly presented the town’s case, during which five engineering and public safety witnesses testified to the public safety concerns.
“You could easily fix these things,” Bellis told The Star after the meeting. “They are not insurmountable problems. Under the affordable housing statute, if you can make a reasonable correction to deficiencies, that should be considered by the commission.”
The commission has 65 days from Oct. 28 to act on the project from the date of the final hearing. Dave Fuller, zoning commission chairman, said the commission has asked the town attorney to “vet the rebuttal to see what is admissible.”
In a Zoning Commission administrative session Nov. 10, Assistant Town Attorney John Florek told commissioners the rebuttal on drainage was allowed, but the revised plans altering fire lanes and exits would “violate due process” and would not be considered, according to Stratford Planning and Zoning Administrator Gary Lorentson.
“The commission must rule on the information they have right now,” Lorentson said. “If the commission denies [the site plan] or it is approved with major changes, the statute that applies states they can submit a revised plan in an expedited time frame. And there would be another public hearing on that matter.”
Longbrook Station presented its applications at the first public hearing on Sept. 30. The developers submitted three applications to the zoning commission related to the project, which are awaiting a vote: an amendment to create a new Section 28 affordable housing development; a petition to rezone the property into said newly created zone; and an approval of their site plan.
According to Fuller, the commission is considering each petition separately. It is possible, he said, for a site plan to be approved without zoning approval, for example.