A Stamford developer has lost his battle to build a 48-unit multi-family housing project at the busy intersection of Kings Highway North and Wilton Road.
The 1.16-acre parcel at 122 Wilton Road sits at the busy intersection of Kings Highway North and Wilton Road. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Town Attorney Ira Bloom said today the Appellate Court on July 26 denied a petition for certification to appeal a May 25 decision by a Hartford Superior Court judge to dismiss the affordable housing lawsuit brought by Garden Homes of Stamford.
Judge Marshall Berger upheld a Westport Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission denial of the Garden Homes’ application to build at 122 Wilton Road. (See WestportNow May, 27, 2017)
“I am very pleased with this decision from the Appellate Court,” said Bloom. “The Trial Court’s decision upholding our denial of this application now stands.
“The Planning & Zoning Commission, its staff, First Selectman Jim Marpe, our consultants, and all the citizens who participated in the hearing deserve our thanks.”
The suit was filed under the 8-30g state law, which allows developers to override local zoning laws if a municipality does not have 10 percent of its housing stock listed as affordable, which Westport does not.
In dismissing the lawsuit filed more than a year ago by Stamford developer Richard K. Freedman, Berger said the commission properly reviewed the environmental impact of the proposal.
In his decision, Berger was critical of Garden Homes Management for, among other things, not granting additional time beyond the 65-day review period for the P&Z to consider the matter.
He noted Garden Homes had refused additional time in other cases and said in this case the company had used the statutory time requirements as “a sword.”
“This failed tactic caused significant animosity between the applicant and the commission,” Berger wrote.
