Large Housing Development Approved In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — A 96-unit apartment complex, which was filed as an 8-30g project, was approved this week in Fairfield by the Town Plan and Zoning Commission.

The two-building development at 4480 Black Rock Turnpike was okayed by the commission on Tuesday by a 4-3 vote, with commission Chair Thomas Noonan, Vice Chair Tom Corsillo, and commissioners Steven Levy and Jeff Randolph voting in favor, and commissioners Kathryn Braun, Alexis Harrison and Daniel Ford voting against it.

The complex, in which each building is six stories, will rest on a nearly 5-acre site overlooking Hoyt Pond in Fairfield, near the one of the town's most recognizable businesses, Hotel Hi-Ho.

Of the 96 units, "30 percent of the units (29 units) will be 'set aside' and preserved for 40 years for moderate income households in compliance with Connecticut General Statutes § 8-30g," the application reads.

Under the state's controversial 8-30g regulations, local zoning laws are almost moot, as developers can gain approval to build projects by promising to make a percentage of the units affordable. The Connecticut law was enacted, in part, to ensure that at least 10 percent of a community's housing units are affordable.

Fairfield, which reached that threshold, was recently granted a moratorium on 8-30g projects, but applications for the development at 4480 Black Rock Turnpike and several others were filed before the moratorium took effect.

The developer of the 96-unit complex is 4480 Black Rock, LLC, led by Fairfield developer Alfonso Cammarotta, who initially sought a few more units but slightly scaled it back.

Braun, Harrison and other commissioners voiced environmental concerns over the complex's size and location, and the commission ordered the developer to complete a wildlife study by the end of June to help determine the impact of construction on native and other species in the immediate area.

The height of the development, which will rest on a hill and tower above the neighborhood, was also of concern to some commissioners, but in the end, even those who voted against it acknowledged that with 8-30g still on the books, there is not much they could do to stop it.

"To the neighbors, I would say, if you don't like 8-30g, take it to Hartford," Harrison said. "It is a law that we must adhere to. Every two years, you have the ability to change [the town's] representation in Hartford to people who want to make meaningful changes to 8-30g, and create laws that actually create affordable housing. Don't criticize us, we are essentially jurors on this."

Click here to view a recording of Tuesday's Town Plan and Zoning Commission meeting.