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Ansonia Planning and Zoning Commission members Michael Bettini, William Malerba, Timothy Holman, Recording Secretary Patricia Bruder, and Chairman Jared Heon at a meeting Sept. 24.
ANSONIA —The Planning and Zoning Commission has rejected the latest controversial attempt to develop a 14-acre property off Castle Lane.
Residents of the neighborhood applauded the commission’s unanimous vote to reject an application to change the zoning of the property — 26 Gardner’s Lane — from residential to age-restricted multi-family housing.
The latest application was the third development proposal to face stiff public opposition since the property was purchased in 2010 by a limited liability company controlled by developer Mark Romano.
Commission member Michael Bettini cited the neighborhood opposition while making a motion to reject the zone change.
“The character of the neighborhood is single-family homes,” Bettini said. “All these folks who purchased their homes there purchased under the guise that this is a single-family neighborhood. We can’t change the character of the neighborhood, particularly when the neighbors are opposed.”
Another commission member, Maureen McCormack, raised health and safety concerns about age-restricted housing on the property.
“I have concerns about putting an age-restricted zone in a spot that’s potentially difficult for emergency vehicles to access,” she said.
After the vote Castle Lane residents said they were happy with the commission’s decision.
Jesus Cruz cited concerns he had raised about potential blasting, a longtime concern with residents of the neighborhood.
“That whole area is ledge,” he said. “To do anything on that property would mean to move a lot of debris, a lot of rock.”
He also worried about possible disturbance to wildlife in the area.
Ed Musante, a Castle Lane resident whose family has lived in the area for generations, agreed.
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Castle Lane resident Edward Musante poses with a sign opposed to development in his neighborhood.
“That property is unbuildable,” he said.
The Valley Indy emailed Romano’s lawyer, Dominick Thomas, after Monday’s vote.
The prospect of development on the property has been the subject of controversy for years.
The property’s owner pulled a controversial application for a housing subdivision on the property in 2015 with a view to selling it to the city for use as open space.
But a deal was never reached, and the developer’s lawyer has filed a new application to put 20 units of age-restricted housing there.
A site map filed with the zoning application shows a private road extending onto the property about 1,000 feet from where Castle Lane currently ends.
Each unit would be two bedrooms and have a two-car garage and driveway with parking for two additional cars.
A clubhouse would be situated on a turnaround at the end of the private road. The site map also shows emergency access to the property from Gardners Lane.
Residents of the neighborhood opposed the proposal at public hearings on the application in July and August.
They said they want the property to remain as open space — but it’s unclear whether that can happen, since the city’s efforts to buy the land fell through.
“We’ll see what happens,” Cruz said.
