New Porsche Dealership Planned In Fairfield After TP&Z Settlement

FAIRFIELD, CT — A new, state-of-the-art Porsche dealership is slated to be built at 2190 Post Road in Fairfield, after the Town Plan and Zoning this week unanimously approved the settlement of a lawsuit brought by the dealership following a denial of the application last fall.

A two-story, 49,000-square-foot "Generation 5" dealership will be built at the 6.2-acre site, which borders the Mill River. The site formerly housed an Exide Battery manufacturing plant, which took decades to remediate of environmental issues.

When the commission narrowly rejected the Penske Auto Group dealership application last fall, environmental concerns were the reason for four commissioners voting against the proposal. The plant released high concentrations of lead into the water and the land, which took more than 30 years to clean up.

In the months after the denial, the town and applicant's lawyers hammered out a settlement that calls for additional land for public access to the Mill River, among other improvements. Commissioner Kathy Braun discusses the settlement and compromise in a Letter to the Editor.

Commission Secretary Alexis Harrison, who was one of the commissioners to vote against the plan last fall, praised the settlement.

"I'm glad to see that environmental protection will be a main objective here, which is really good," Harrison said during Tuesday's meeting.

"This is an application I voted against initially, but our attorney and chair have done a great job negotiating sections that will make this a better project for the town, including the potential for additional public land and improvement to that space," said commissioner Tom Corsillo. "So, I support our attorney entering into this settlement."

Commissioner Jeff Randolph, who also initially voted against the plan, said he is voting for it now only because he trusts the town's attorneys will hold the dealership to account, but he considers the project to be a "blight."

"It is not the right location for a Porsche dealership," Randolph said, stressing that he would prefer housing at the site. Before the Porsche dealership plan, a 98-unit housing development was considered for the site.

"We've got two Porsche repair locations in town, we don't need a bigger Porsche repair shop," Randolph said. "We need mixed-use housing, and Penske has exploited this."

Commission Chair Thomas Noonan said that the town "would have easily lost" had the legal challenge gone to trial, so he believes that the settlement is just.

"I think this is a very equitable decision and compromise," Noonan said, adding that the commission "does not get to sit here like tyrants and decide what goes where" in town.