For months Shelton residents have told the people who want to put a massive mixed-use development on a 120-acre property off Bridgeport Avenue to go back to the drawing board.
On Tuesday, the developers said they will — floating the idea of cutting the height of a proposed nine-story, 450-unit apartment building in half.
But it remains to be seen whether that will do anything to assuage concerns raised by an organized opposition group and dozens of residents at a Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing on the proposal that began in April.
The hearing — on whether to change the zoning of the land from light industrial to a “planned development district” — will resume 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 27 at City Hall, 54 Hill St.
By that time modified plans for the proposal should be on file in City Hall, according to Dominick Thomas, the lawyer representing the developer.
Background
The proposal, called “Towne Center at Shelter Ridge,” is the largest development application Shelton has seen in years.
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It calls for a 450-unit, nine-story apartment building and more than 300,000 square feet of retail space on the property, which fronts Bridgeport Avenue opposite Long Hill Cross Road and is bisected diagonally by power wires and a natural gas line.
The property also borders Buddington Road, Mill Street, two city-owned open space properties, and several private properties.
The project would be divided into five sections. The apartment building would be its focal point. Other parts of the proposal include plans for a medical office building, a mixed-use development similar to the Split Rock Shopping Center, and two separate retail complexes. Initial plans to put an assisted living facility on the site have been scrapped.
The developer is Sirjohn Papageorge of Trumbull. The Wells family, who have extensive holdings in Shelton, have owned the land since the 1700s.
Wells Family Members Speak
During Tuesday’s hearing two members of the Wells family addressed the PZC, saying that while the family continues to farm their land as they have done for generations, the time is right for the property to be developed.
Bradley Shelton Wells read a statement on behalf of his father, Royal Birdseye Wells, the property’s current owner, which listed other developers and successful developments along Bridgeport Avenue, saying that growth has driven the city’s stable tax rate — as Shelter Ridge would too.
In a statement of his own, Bradley Wells noted his father’s record of developing “among the highest quality and most desired (housing) developments in Shelton,” as well as his many philanthropic ventures.
Schuyler Wells, another one of Royal Wells’ sons, told the PZC the project would provide “over than a decade’s worth of work for contractors who primarily reside in Shelton,” while the property’s current light industrial zoning “makes this land virtually unsaleable.”
The brothers’ testimony didn’t sway others who spoke Tuesday.
The vast majority continued to raise concerns about increased traffic, pollution, potential negative impacts to city services.
Many also worried about what will happen to property values in the area.
“Who in their right mind would want to buy a house with that nine-story monstrosity visible from their backyard?” Lori Lee, a Buddington Road resident, wondered.
And while the family of course has the right to sell the land, said Mary Novak, a Sorghum Road resident, that doesn’t mean the PZC should change its light industrial zoning just because.
“It was zoned for a reason the way it was,” Novak said.
Changes?
On that topic, Thomas repeated a point he made during when the public hearing began in April. As it’s currently zoned, a developer could get approvals for any number of industrial uses on the property without even having a public hearing.
Many of those who have spoken in opposition to the development said that while they’d prefer the property to remain as it is now, even industrial uses would be preferable to the “Frankenstein” Shelter Ridge project.
Opposition to Shelter Ridge goes beyond the typical “Not In My Back Yard” concerns raised by neighbors at PZC hearings. The “SOS Save Our Shelton” Facebook group created in opposition to the project has nearly 1,500 “Likes,” and the group has retained its own attorney and environmental engineer.
In response to concerns raised about the height of the nine-story apartment tower, architect Erik Zambell told the PZC he’s trying to figure out a way to cut the building’s 130-foot height in half.
Perhaps the building could be lower but have a bigger “footprint,” and incorporate a parking garage. Or the heights of the floors themselves could be reduced.
At an “informal presentation” regarding the development at a PZC meeting in January, the developer envisioned the apartments being in three buildings of five to seven stories each.
Plans with details will be filed before the next public hearing date, July 27, Zambell said.
By that point the PZC should also have an independent traffic study they have commissioned on the proposal.
Thomas said Wednesday that “the effort would be to have the lowest number of stories facing the open space.”
The number of planned apartments could come down as well, from 450 to about 400 or so, the lawyer said.
