It’s not right nor fair.
That’s what some town residents said about a proposal by Central Park Associates LLC to put 164 townhouses on 58 acres between Christian Street and Larkey Road.
More than 150 people packed the Planning and Zoning public hearing on the topic Thursday night.
Many residents opposed the plan, citing concerns about traffic, impact to the schools and density.
“We have children waiting for buses in the dark on a road that is already busy,” said James Thomas. “It is only a matter of time before there is an accident.”
Edna Cruz, of Larkey Road, said she lives with her four grandchildren and is worried traffic will only get worse with the housing development.
“This is taking advantage of the people in the area,” she said. “This is not right and not fair.”
Affordable
About 30 percent of the development, or 50 units, would be designated affordable, with sale prices ranging from $131,000 to $190,000.
The rest will be priced at about $280,000.
Including affordable units in an application gives a developer more leverage because the state law meant to encourage affordable housing trumps local zoning.
Central Park had originally received site plan approval to build 82 units of elderly housing there in 2006. But on Feb. 24, the developer presented a proposal that dropped the age restriction and added the affordable units.
The application came one day before an affordable housing moratorium went into effect in Oxford. The town proposed the moratorium to get some room to breath while it develops affordable housing guidelines.
“The developer was quick to modify this application to beat the deadline,” said Ed Carver, president of the political action committee Keep Oxford Green. “This is not in the best interest of Oxford residents.”
Carver suggested the property should be made affordable, but restricted to elderly and handicapped citizens.
The Developer Says
Previously, developer Matthew Zaloumis has said the recent economic downturn influenced his decision to change the project.
His attorney, Ryan McKain, said Thursday the biggest change from the original project is the elimination of age restricted housing.
The new proposal also doubles the number of units proposed.
The project has received approvals from the Inland/Wetland Agency and the Sewer Authority, McKain said.
Fred D’Amico, engineer on the project, said a traffic study done on the site showed no averse effects from the development.
Following the public participation McKain said he would prepare a written response to all of the questions presented by residents.
The public hearing was continued until June 17.
You might as well say Thank You to Augie Palmer and Dave Haversat because they failed to have regulations written when they were in office. Instead, they decided the best course of action was to fight it in court, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars doing so, and then ultimately having a judge rule against Oxford, which is exactly what happened!
The current administration is now stuck trying to clean up the in-actions of the previous administration by having real regulations created that will control where and what can be built in Oxford. A judge even agreed when he ruled, against Oxford, because we do not have the required 10% of our Housing stock as affordable, nor do we have any regulations to control its development.
KOG (Keep Oxford Green), Ed Carver, Augie Palmer, Joe Rasberry, and many other Republicans are to blame for where we are now. P & Z tried to start drafting regulations last year when that group of people, through various means, turned it into a political hot potato and the P & Z had no choice but to discontinue their work. Now, P & Z is back at it again, but WITHOUT a grant to help pay for the expert help they need to do just that, write real regulations.
Regulations setting up IHZ’s (Incentive Housing Zones) would restrict what can be built and where. Without IHZ’s, a developer can find any available open space, submit their plan, and build whatever they want, just like Garden Homes did and if we fight it in court, we will lose for the same reasons previously explained.
Affordable Housing is coming to Oxford whether we like it or not because we do not meet the state’s minimum requirements. So, would you prefer to be able to control it with regulations and IHZ’s or would you prefer to let the developers build whatever they want and wherever they want?
I choose the former, regulations that will control Affordable Housing!
MAD-R & McKane got their wish!
Palmer has not been in Office for a few years now and the current Administration had plenty of time to get this done. Playing Monday Morning Quarterback does no one any good. One of the biggest challenges facing this town is this blaming back and forth. Why not work together for the benefit of everyone?
Oxford Resident…you truly must be out to lunch or looking to cause trouble!Really, who cares about Augie & Dave already! You can’t dwell on the past or keep dragging it into the future! You live & learn & can only improve the future! For clarification, they were not on the P & Z Commission & they couldn’t write or approve the regulations! I think you should read the 8-30g CT General Statutes…no one can prevent someone from submitting…NOT even a moratorium! As the town attorney indicated that there isn’t any case law on which one trumps…the moratorium or 8-30g! State statutes obviously prevail but it hasn’t been challenged yet! Personally, I think this project can & will work for Oxford! We need it! We have .3 % affordable in Oxford…we are no where near the minimum 10% quota!
Of course Augie and Dave were not on P & Z and neither is Mary Ann or McKane, but what Mary Ann and McKane have done is push for and campaign for tougher regulations to control the developers. My point was that Palmer and Havrsat did nothing except want to fight things in court and we see where that got us, it was a flawed strategy.
If you think I should not be mentioning Palmer and Haversat, then I think you and others should not be trying to blame the current administration when they inherited the Garden Homes problem and the lack of regulations. At least Mary Ann and McKane are trying to fix this mess.
Ultimately, AH is coming and we cannot stop it, but we CAN control it by setting up IHZ’s and having real regulations because without either, developers can submit an application for any available land and then they can build whatever they want.
Oxford Resident…I did NOT blame this administration for anything! In summary, basically all I said is leave it in the past! Rogers, McKane & Yish ALL chose to take the Garden Homes case to the next level at Appellate Court! Really I think this is a non-issue! Also, if you would be so kind, please don’t put words in my mouth!
I agree with joeh and Happy2BOxfordCitizen. As far as you oxfordresident are concerned from your postings:
1) You want people to move out of town if they disagree with your liberal’s thinking. You think you know what is best for everyone. Let us all work together to make our town better.
2) For you people can only be conservative or liberal. You have a narrow mind. Both sides can have good ideas that we can draw from.
3) You condemn people who make mistakes with grammar. Give us a break! You are the one who needs to check your grammar before you criticize somebody else. You are incorrect to use all capital letters in a word. Take your own medicine, and check your grammar but still you will not be taken seriously.
I agree with joeh and Happy2BOxfordCitizen. As far as you oxfordresident are concerned from your postings:
1) You want people to move out of town if they disagree with your liberal’s thinking. You think you know what is best for everyone. Let us all work together to make our town better.
2) For you people can only be conservative or liberal. Both sides can have good ideas that we can draw from. You have a narrow mind.
3) You condemn people who make mistakes with grammar. Give us a break! You are the one who needs to check your grammar before you criticize somebody else. You are incorrect to use all capital letters in a word. Take your own medicine, and check your grammar but still you will not be taken seriously.
Interesting history for this property. It was zoned commercial/industrial but that was changed at the very beginning of Palmer’s 1st term to residential, although many voiced concern about putting a residential development at the foot of the airport runway. I think this, even more than the downturn in housing, is why the project has not been successful. If the zoning had not changed this current issue would be a moot point but that horse has already left the barn.
OxfordFamilyMan…instead of regurgitating what others have said, write a few original comments and maybe I will take what you say seriously, otherwise you this conservative will point out each and every point where your thinking is flawed! Keep thinking it’s only liberals that are against you and you’ll soon see just how wrong you are.
Hi Golfer! This property was NEVER zoned Industrial or Commercial! It was always Residential! The P&Z Commission changed it from residential to Residential A over 55! I was at the hearing for zone change & site plan for this project years ago & there were 3 people in the audience who opposed this project! I think you may have it confused with Garden Homes (GH). GH site was zoned Industrial & was changed in 1999 to Corporate Business Park by the P&Z Comm., which was before Augie! NO ONE petitioned to the commission…thet decided to change the zone!!
Also, in my opinion the proposed project Central Park was not successful because Oxford is over saturated with over-55 communities & with today’s economy…affordable housing seems to be appropriate for everyone’s finances!