A Superior Court judge Tuesday said the Planning and Zoning Commission must permit Garden Homes Management Corp. to build a 113-unit “mobile manufactured community” along Donovan and Hurley roads.
In his written decision, Judge John W. Pickard overruled the reasons the Planning and Zoning Commission used to deny the application in 2007.
The project is to be built on 41 acres of undeveloped land in the town’s “corporate business park district.” The town had argued that residential units were not allowed there.
However, the town is being trumped by the state’s affordable housing law, according to the judge.
Garden Homes plans to make 35 of the 113 units “affordable,” as defined in state law.
The commission’s reasons for denying the mobile home community “do not clearly outweigh the need for affordable housing in Oxford,” Pickard wrote.
Since 1991, state law “has required all municipalities to adopt zoning regulations that ‘promote housing choice and economic diversity in housing, including housing for both low and moderate income households,’” the judge wrote.
“The Oxford (zoning) regulations do not contain any provisions which seriously address this requirement,” Pickard wrote.
The judge also pointed out that just 1.1 percent of the housing stock in Oxford qualifies as affordable, “ranking Oxford near the bottom of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities.”
Read the judge’s decision at the bottom of this story.
Richard Freedman, president of Garden Homes Management Corp., said he was still reviewing the judge’s decision.
There is no timeline as to when he will build the mobile home community, because the judge upheld the Oxford Conservation Commission/Inland Wetlands Agency’s rejection of the application.
Freedman will have to submit a new application to the wetland agency that has less impact on water courses within his property.
How Freedman will do that is not known. Freedman said it was too early to say if it was possible to reduce the number of mobile homes.
“The rejection was highly technical and extensive,” Freedman said. “(The project) won’t be exactly what we had planned, but it will happen.”
Freedman’s property is bounded by Hurley Road to the south, Donovan Road to the east and Oxford Airport to the north. The property is divided by a large wetland.
The town has until Nov. 23 to appeal the judge’s decision.
At a meeting of the Board of Selectmen Wednesday, First Selectwoman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers said her board will meet with its lawyers — along with members of both the planning and zoning and inland wetland
commissions — to decide how to proceed.
That meeting will not happen until newly elected members of all three boards are sworn in Nov. 17.
Drayton-Rogers said she would “support an appeal” of the judge’s decision — if that is what the lawyers and commissioners want.
Drayton-Rogers blamed former First Selectman Augie Palmer’s administration for not creating affordable housing regulations, which, she said, would have protected the town from litigation.
“Strong regulations are needed to be put in place to fight these decisions,” she said. “My opposition has foolishly opposed this plan of action.”
David Haversat, who was a Selectman under Palmer, said it is still cheaper to fight developers in court than spend millions of dollars on schools and infrastructure.
He was happy to hear the town might appeal.
“I am glad the town has decided to fight this,” he said. “It seems like Drayton-Rogers is falling in line with what we’ve been saying.”
The town has spent approximately $300,000 on legal fees on the Garden Homes case, officials said.
Trailer parks are much maligned, undeservedly so. They are inexpensive ways to live for retired individuals, for people who live on disability, for single adults who cannot afford a traditional home, etc. Beacon Falls, Bethany, even Shelton have trailer parks. I challenge anyone to find evidence on the local police blog there that those places are anything but peaceable little communities.
KOG, Palmer, Rasberry, the Republicans, what a disservice they have done to Oxford. They are the reason once again for politicizing this issue and hurting Oxford. They have no clue and that is why they lost the election because residents have no confidence in them. Residents, remember who opposed regulations that would have protected Oxford, KOG and the Republicans!
It seems to me that the First Selectman should not be pointing fingers. This was approved on her watch. Also she blames the previous administration for not making regulations. She has been in office for the past two years and still has not made these regulations. The state regs went into effect in 1991 so I guess we can blame every administration since then. But the First Selectman only chooses to blame the Republicans what a politician!
Facts
– Palmer & Haversat were in Office 4 years – no Affordable Housing regulations
– Palmer & Haversat were in Office 4 years – Garden Homes files lawsuit against Oxford
– Palmer & Haversat were in Office 4 years – still no Affordable Housing regulations even AFTER the lawsuit to address this situation
– Drayton-Rogers & McKane were in Office 2 years and Affordable Housing regulations were initiated
– Drayton-Rogers & McKane were in Office 2 years and the Republicans fought this action of creating Affordable Housing regulations and caused this issue to become politicized
– Haversat, Yish, KOG claim no regulations are needed and lawsuits should be course of action
– Drayton Rogers & McKane win re-election without the regulations they were fighting for
– Superior Court Judge rules against Oxford because of the LACK OF REGULATIONS that Drayton-Rogers and McKane were trying to initiate and the Republicans politicized
– NOTHING was approved on her watch, she tried to fight it and the Republicans blocked her.
– Residents will remember who was for regulations and who was against them for a long time to come and that is a FACT!
It seems that the valley Sentinel is a tool for the Drayton-Rodgers Administration.The Zoning decision was based on political considerations. The Conservation In land Wetland Commission was based on protecting the environment and was up held by the judge. Where is that decision on this site. Any further decisions in this project should be made between in-land wetlands and not between political parties. A decision that was in the hands of the judge was suddenly released one day after the election. Don’t you find it interesting that this decision was with-held from the public. I bet it would have changed at least 20 votes, thus changing the entire election. And they called the republicans liars and manipulators. Two more years of this administration may make all of us move to greener pastures.
Director:
Actually, the Valley Independent Sentinel checked on this case for most of October.
We reported a few weeks back that a decision was coming:
(Click the link below and scroll to the bottom: http://tinyurl.com/yfakqfy)
We checked on the case via the state’s electronic court records as recently as Nov 4.
We would have like to have written this story the minute the decision was drafted.
However, as you can see, the online court record still hasn’t been updated:
http://tinyurl.com/mqczdv
We did not know the judge’s decisions until last night, when copies of both decisions were given out by the town at last night’s Board of Selectmen meeting.
We grabbed copies of both and wrote a story.
In addition, the reporter called both the three “sides” of the issue (the plaintiff, local Dems, local GOP).
Not sure how that makes us a tool. We have no horse in this race.
We posted the Judge’s denial of the P&Z decision because it was simply more newsworthy — and more complicated — than the Judge’s decision on Inland Wetland.
Both decisions are mentioned in the story.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to react to our story.
EUGENE DRISCOLL
Valley Independent Sentinel
You’re right, maybe it would have changed 20 votes, but those 20 + hundreds MORE would have gone to Drayton-Rogers and McKane because this decision PROVES that Haversat, his campaign, KOG, and Palmer were all a bunch of liars about not needing regulations. Mary Ann was fighting for regulations and Haversat and the others were fighting against regulations.
Now we know who was right and the public would have been smart enough to know the Republicans were WRONG. This decision proves it!
The fact that it was released the day after the election actually hurt Mary Ann because if it was released before, it would have helped her gain more votes!
And if you are going to claim some grand conspiracy by a State Judge, then you are as crazy as some of the Republicans mentioned previously.
Talk about dishonest. Drayton-Rogers and McKane both knew about this decision when it happened yet did not disclose it. They felt it would hurt their re-election chances. Yet they had 3 robo calls talking about the Ct Posts Endorsement, A Teachers Contract that has not been approved and the last just to yell liar one more time. I guess they felt we didn’t need to consider this. What a disgrace.
113 units on 41 acres isn’t that a lower density than Oxford Greens?
Funny how regulations were written back when the Republicans, including Haversat was in office on affordable housing. Yet Drayton -Rogers and McKane say there is only 22 lines of regulations…yet they have written none because they are incompetent. The regulations now can’t get any strong NOT to build homes in an industrial area, but of course the developers are going to try and you have Mary Ann encouraging them. Well now everyone will see The low icome homes came in under the Dryaton Rogers administration The Democratic Party won’t be in office for the next 20 years after that.
Dear Chickenfarmer.
The teachers contract was APPROVED by the BOE on October 30, 2009. Information was given to various newspapers who chose to not run the story prior to election day.. and to this date have not. Have you read the date on the court decision… NOVEMBER 3rd.. Would you stop the conspiracy theories please..
The only thing the Republicans have going for it ARE the conspiracy theories and it shows you how crazy they are.
In 4 years, Palmer and Haversat never wrote or amended any Affordable Housing regulations (they were enacted before them). And when the town was sued by Garden Homes, they still choose to ignore the regulations.
In Drayton-Rogers first term, the town applied for and was awarded a grant to study this issue and was attempting to move forward to stop the developers from doing whatever they wanted. Then, for some unknown reason, the Republicans and best buddy KOG wanted them to NOT move forward with new regulations. Why?
Low Income Housing is coming to Oxford whether we want it or not because Oxford DOES NOT MEET the 10% requirement PER STATE STATUTE. The ONLY WAY to control what is built is by enacting, new, stronger, and more enforceable regulations which the Republicans BLOCKED and POLITICIZED.
THAT is what people will remember, that Drayton-Rogers was FOR regulations to control the developers and Haversat, the Republicans, and KOG were AGAINST regulations!
Regs were written in 2005 when the Republicans were in. Drayton Rogers and McKane did nothing in two years but blame others for their incompetent status. They are good at taking credit for nothing they did, but blame others when their poor plans go astray. I hope they savor the next two years beacuse the democrats will not be in power for 20 years after this.
First, Director, you are assuming that the left wing media outlets would do anything objectionable which we all know is a false assumption. The media is just a mouth piece for the left and the dems so it is no surprise the reporting angle.
Second, it is almost laughable that the dems (and their complicit republicans – just to say they are ‘bi-partisan’) continue to blame an old administration for lack of regulations that they clearly didn’t address the past couple of years that they had control. Typical, you know it is still Bush (sarc)that is responsible for the problems we have today.
Anyone know if the Teacher’s Union ratified the contract?
Ok……….did I read this right? Maryann blamed Augie Palmer & his administration for not creating the affordable housing regulations! You kdding me!? Democrat or Republican how about all the previous administrations & planning & zoning commissions since 1991 to blame! I don’t like August but look at the whole picture! Total BS!
Joeh
yes the teacher ratified the contract on October 30th.. we have given all of the information to the papers.. but for some reason they have not published any articles.
if you want more information, please let me know..