Developer Suing Town To Have Longshore Lane Declared Public Road

The owner of a 26-acre parcel of undeveloped land off of Longshore Lane near town playing fields is suing the town to get the town to make Longshore Lane a public road. Town officials are in discussions with the developer in an effort to come up with an alternative solution, as they do not want to make Longshore Lane a public road. 

The owner of the 26-acre parcel is a developer who wants to provide access to the property so that a small subdivision of private homes can be built.

This is the latest in a long series of dispute and court battles involving 26-acre parecel and the developers which, according to court documents, include Long Shore LLC, John V. Greco, and Ed Zimmerman. In addition to suing the town, over the past few years, the developers have filed suit against and been the subject of court complaints by their neighbors, including the owners of 107 Longshore Lane, the 10,000-square-foot home on 6.2 acres at the end of Longshore Lane, right on Long Island Sound.

"Home to many fragile plants and threatened species"

The disputed property contains "wetlands, marshes and swamps and is home to many fragile plants and threatened species," according to one of the court cases. 

First Selectman Fillmore McPherson said it is the town's position that Longshore Lane is not a town road, but that it is a private road on town property. Longshore Lane looks like a slim driveway that cuts through and is adjacent to scenic woodlands, wetlands, and uplands. it also is immediately adjacent to the town's popular and widely used playing fields at Lowrey Field and Exchange Field.

At the end of Longshore Lane is the Surf Club, the town's beach-front park that also has playing fields on Strong Field.

Playing field will not be affected, town officials say

McPherson said the only area that might be affected by the current proposal is a portion of land near Lowrey Field, but not the playing field itself. He also said the proposal might involve the parking lot near Lowrey Field on Boston Post Road. 

A proposal being discussed by the developers, the town planner and the town engineer would involve widening Longshore Lane along the length of a ball field on Lowrey Field. Under this proposal, Longshore Lane would be widened on the side of the parking lot and the ball field, only for the length where there is a private homeowner on the other side, McPherson said. 

At the point at which that private homeowner's property ends, McPherson said, additional widening of Longshore Lane would be done on the developer's property. 

Longshore Lane is a private road on town-owned land

"The town is not donating land," McPherson said. "Longshore Lane is a private road on town-owned land." If the property is developed, McPherson said, the town would have to make sure that emergency vehicles have adequate access to the development. 

McPherson said the project would involve work near wetlands and some uplands. "Anything he does has to be approved by Planning & Zoning, and Inland Wetlands," McPherson said. McPherson said he thought the proposals were already on he agenda, but said he did not know which day. The proposals are not currently listed on the agendas posted on the town's website public calendar. 

McPherson said the widening of Longshore Lane is one proposal being considered. Another would provide access through Maplewood Lane, which is a town road.

Town does not want Longshore Lane to be public road

The property, according to one of the recent court cases, "consists of 26.08 acres in a single-family residential district. It has southerly frontage of 334 feet on Long Island Sound, is bounded on the west by Shore Lands Drive, and on the east by Longshore Lane. The northern end of the subject property abuts the southerly end of Maplewood Lane, and the Boston Post Road is located 500 feet further to the north. The site consists of wetlands, marshes and swamps and is home to many fragile plants and threatened species. The parties agree that the overall property has significant environmental value." 

"The town does not wish to have [Longshore Lane] turned into a public road," McPherson said. "However, if there are to be additional homes down there, we are concerned about whether there is sufficient access for emergency vehicles."

McPherson said it was his understanding that the developer wants to build an additional five homes on the property. In addition to 107 Longshore Lane, there currently is another house at the end of Longshore Lane, and a big red barn. 

"We've been going back and forth with him"

"We've been going back and forth with him. I met with him, the town engineer met with him, the town planner met with him. A number of people are trying to point out the various rules that have to be followed," McPherson said. 

McPherson said the ultimate solution might involve both Maplewood Avenue and Longshore Lane. 

One of the proposals being considered would involve the town allowing Longshore Lane to be widened on the Lowrey Field side for the distance between the Post Road and the part of the property where the private homeowners property ends.

Proposal has not been finalized, has to go before town boards 

"The widening would come from Lowrey Field, but we've judged that has no impact on the field," McPherson said. "Once we get town to the developer's property, the widening could come from there. It's just a piece along the western edge of Lowery Field, and a couple of feet of the parking lot too." 

McPherson said the proposal has not been finalized, but it still under discussion. He said some of the trees would come down, but that the developer has agreed to build new trees. 

McPherson said the proposal to widen the road will have to go through Planning and Zoning, and Inland Wetlands, but that he did not know when the meetings are planned. "They are on the agenda for both and are coming up shortly," he said. 

As of Tuesday, April 16, the meetings were not listed on the upcoming agendas of those agencies on town's website.