It was all going along as planned. Financing for the three properties was falling into place. A consultant said a zoning certificate was merely a formality. The developer was ready to rehab the aging apartment houses.
Then Derby laid down the kibosh because then-Mayor Marc Garofalo said so.
That’s the gist of testimony given Wednesday in a civil rights lawsuit filed against the City of Derby and building inspector David Kopjanski by the Valley Housing Limited Partnership and Home Inc.
The trial started Monday in federal court in Bridgeport.
Background
In 2004, Home Inc. and its partners planned to renovate three old multi-family houses in Derby on Caroline and Fourth streets. The plan was to rent the apartments to people with mental health and substance abuse issues who receive help from the Birmingham Group in Ansonia.
The lawsuit claims that when Garofalo got wind of the idea, he pressured Kopjanski to deny a zoning certificate.
Kopjanski referred the matter to the city’s Zoning Commission.
In 2005, after several heated meetings marked by neighbor opposition, the Derby Zoning Commission denied Home Inc.‘s application.
Home Inc. appealed the ZBA decision to Superior Court in Derby — and won, in 2007.
The structures have since been gutted and are now being renovated.
Home Inc. is suing the city for some $800,000 — claiming that’s what Derby’s 39-month delay cost them.
Derby’s lawyers deny the accusations, saying Kopjanski was correct in referring the matter to the city’s Zoning Commission and that Garofalo wasn’t pulling strings.
The city further claims Home Inc. wasn’t upfront with their plans for the apartments.
Click here for more background on the lawsuit.
Testimony
On Wednesday, Chris Peterson, Home Inc.‘s former director of real estate development, testified that prior to purchasing the Derby properties, his group had a report from an architect saying the renovation project would not need approvals from a city agency since the apartments were already being used as residential units.
Home Inc. made sure the project wouldn’t run afoul of Derby zoning regs because doing so would disqualify them from financing the project.
The plan was to renovate the buildings and bring them up to code, Peterson said. The end result was 20 units of “supportive housing” for people who use the Birmingham Group.
The buildings, not far from the Derby Green, were “antiquated” and “in need of repair” Peterson said.
“We fully intended to renovate them comprehensively,” Peterson said.
The company purchased the properties in February 2004 — then received a surprising letter from their architect saying Kopjanski would not issue a zoning certificate.
“I was baffled, somewhat miffed and obviously concerned because the future of the project relied on a certificate of zoning compliance,” Peterson said.
At a Jan. 25, 2005 Derby Aldermen meeting, Peterson said then-Mayor Garofalo made some type of statement that called the developer’s character into question.
Peterson was offended, he testified, and requested a meeting with the mayor.
Amy Eppler-Epstein, the attorney for the plaintiffs, asked why Peterson met with Garofalo.
“It was clear to all of us that he was the one in charge,” Peterson said.
The meeting finally happened in April 2005. Home Inc. offered a number of compromises, but Garofalo wouldn’t have any of them, Peterson testified.
“He said he did not want this kind of housing in Derby. He was tired of Derby being a dumping ground for these projects,” Peterson said.
Garofalo said he did not want “these kind of clients there,” according to Peterson’s testimony.
Peterson’s testimony is scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. Thursday.
