By James Lomuscio
A Hartford Superior Court judge’s ruling to dismiss an affordable housing lawsuit against the town involving a proposed 48-unit multi-family housing project at the busy intersection of Kings Highway North and Wilton Road brought cheers today from town officials.
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, who successfully argued the town’s case, said it was the first 8-30g decision involving the town in his memory. He said the developer has 20 days to file an appeal.
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, Judge Marshall Berger said the commission properly reviewed the environmental impact of the proposal by Freedman’s Garden Homes Management Corp.
“The zoning (commission’s) action must be sustained if even one of the stated reasons is sufficient to support it,” Berger wrote in a 25-page decision released Thursday and circulated among Westport officials on Friday.
Reached today, Freedman said, “Obviously I disagree with the judge’s decision, and I’m reviewing my options.”
“I know what my appeal window is,” he said. “It’s 20 days.”
There were several reasons the P&Z cited in its unanimous February 2016 denial of the 30 percent affordable housing project on 1.1-acres at 122 Wilton Road. (See WestportNow Feb. 4, 2016)
Commissioners said only a single-family home should go there.
The denial stemmed from concerns over sensitive wetlands, increased traffic at a troubled intersection and the fact that fire trucks would not be able to access the proposed project’s rear section.
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.
First Selectman Jim Marpe was among town officials who praised the decision. “I’m very pleased that the judge understood the genuine concerns that we raised regarding this project,” he said.
“I particularly want to thank Town Attorney Ira Bloom, former Fire Chief Andrew Kingsbury and former Director of Planning and Zoning Larry Bradley for their efforts that led to this successful outcome.”
Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) Chairwoman Catherine Walsh said she was also pleased with the judge’s decision.
She praised P&Z Commissioner Alan Hodge for being “absolutely relentless in trying to solicit information from this applicant.”
In a statement, Hodge said: “As the judge noted, we faced an antagonistic applicant who took the tactical decision to refuse any request for additional time. The application was complex, and under the time pressure imposed by the applicant, it would have been easy for us to make fatal mistakes that would have resulted in a different outcome on appeal.”
He added: “I feel extremely proud to have been part of this team of commissioners who focused their collective energy in a very thoughtful, analytical and assertive way.”
Walsh recalled that Garden Homes “went so far as to refuse to bring their experts back for additional questions. For me this application was incredulous from the beginning.”
“I’m just really satisfied with the decision,” she added. “This applicant didn’t care about any of us, the water, the people, Fire Department concerns. He really didn’t. He actually showed up at the first hearing with a book with all the evidence he planned to use against us.”
She also praised Bloom, attorney Pete Gelderman, who also worked on the town’s behalf, Kingsbury, David Brandt of the Aspetuck Land Trust, and the “scores” of Westport residents who turned out to testify against this project.
One of Freedman’s claims was that the town had a history of being hostile to any affordable housing projects.
“We just approved a full 8-30g development at 1177 Post Road East,” Walsh countered. “That’s because this application was on a major artery and had all the services. It was an ideal location.”
The project at 122 Wilton Road was not, commissioners said.
The ruling came just shy of four months after the case was argued in court and 15 months after the P&Z rendered its decision.
About two months after the P&Z rejection of the application, Garden Homes acquired the property at 122 Wilton Road from Simha and Jacob Levi for $680,000.
See full text of the decision HERE.
