Ansonia officials are “in discussions” with the owner of a 14-acre property off Castle Lane with an eye toward purchasing it for open space, Mayor David Cassetti said last week.
The property’s current owner is Mark Romano, a Shelton developer who bought the land in 2010 and is seeking permission from the Planning and Zoning Commission to build 10 homes there.
The development — on the drawing board in one form or another for five years — is opposed by neighboring property owners who worry about water use and the property’s suitability for development.
Click here for more background from a previous story.
The Planning & Zoning Commission held a public hearing on the proposal last week, but the developer and his lawyer didn’t show, citing “an effort to address all comments from your staff and to continue discussions with corporation counsel.”
Neighbors in the area of the proposed development say there’s enough housing there already.
The Valley Indy asked the mayor whether the city is considering making an offer on the property to preserve it as undeveloped land, which abuts 20-acre Abe Stone Park.
“This is all in discussion as we speak,” the mayor said.
The city is looking for grants to fund a possible purchase, Cassetti said, declining to go into further specifics.
Romano’s lawyer, Dominick Thomas, declined to elaborate last week on the specifics of the discussions he’s been having with the city n the developer’s behalf.
“I’m just going to have to tell you no comment,” he said.
John Marini, the city’s corporation counsel, followed suit.
“We’re discussing different options for the city and the developers for Castle Lane,” he said.
The city’s lawyer pointed out any land purchase would have to be reviewed both by Aldermen and Planning and Zoning Commission.
Residents who live nearby said they’d prefer the land to stay the way it is if at all possible.
“Oh my god, I’d love it,” Heather M. Lee, a North Prospect Street Extension resident, said about the possibility of the city buying the property.
Lee has lived in the neighborhood for 33 years, and spoke against the development proposal during Monday’s public hearing.
Like many other residents, she said she’s concerned about new homes depleting water in the area.
“We’re used to our quiet here, and it’s a very very good neighborhood,” Lee said. “To see it change would be a shame.”
Article continues after video of some of the concerns raised by neighbors during last week’s public hearing.
Charles Stowe is a Granite Terrace resident and Alderman for the First Ward.
Speaking as a resident — and stressing he had no knowledge of the discussions between the city and the developer — he said he’d like the property to remain open space as well.
That is, as long as the city could get that done without passing the cost onto residents.
“I would love it,” he said. “But I don’t want to waste the taxpayers’ money.”
Stowe guessed that the developer is having second thoughts about the proposal after getting a laundry list of questions from various officials documenting concerns with the plans.
Thomas, the lawyer representing the developer, said he plans on addressing those concerns — and those raised by neighbors— when the planning and zoning commission meets to discuss the application again Dec. 17.
Residents will also have a chance to offer comments at the meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. in Aldermanic Chambers at City Hall, 253 Main St.
Thomas said many of the residents’ concerns “exist without any development. In many instances, some of the stuff we’re going to do is going to improve the situation.”
