One thing was clear at the conclusion of a lengthy public hearing Tuesday on a plan to convert office space into 14 apartments in downtown Derby.
Attorney Dominick Thomas and most members of the audience at the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission couldn’t agree on much of anything.
Thomas and about ten members of the public debated the apartment plan being proposed by Thomas’ client, “Derby Dan, LLC,” a company owned by Angelo Giordano of Woodbridge.
Giordano owns a large commercial building with two addresses downtown. The front of the building is 59-65 Elizabeth St., which includes the Smile Dental Center.
The rear of the building is 58 Minerva St. The structure was once a movie theater.
Giordano wants to keep commercial tenants on the first floor of the Elizabeth Street side of the building. He wants to convert the rest of his property into 14 rental apartments. The plan calls for three two-bedroom apartments, six one-bedroom apartments and five efficiency apartments.
Giordano, through his lawyer, Thomas, maintains that he hasn’t been able to fill the commercial space, so he wants to build apartments.
Fourteen apartments isn’t a massive proposal, but the speakers Tuesday urged the city’s P&Z members to reject the plan. They argued Derby is already densely populated and the city needs to promote business and commercial uses in the heart of downtown — not more apartments.
Opponents also questioned the size of the apartments. The efficiency units would be about 600 square feet, according to an estimate from the project’s architect.
Who’s going to rent a tiny studio apartment in Derby when so many other options are available in the area?
Thomas said the apartments will be market rate and feature secure parking in a garage inside the building.
“It’s a marketing issue,” he told commissioners, referring to the size of the apartments. “Some people don’t desire a large space.”
Thomas said more and more people are moving into apartments in the wake of the national housing collapse. He pointed across the Housatonic River to Shelton, where hundreds of apartments are under construction.
He said Derby’s attractive due to the Metro North train station, along with route 8 and 34.
However, opponents pointed out the train station is essentially useless because stops are few and far between.
Resident Tom Lionetti said comparing the proposed 14 apartments to what’s being built just isn’t fair, estimating the Shelton units will be selling for at least $250,000.
Those in strong opposition to the apartment plan included dentist Bruce Sofferman, the Smile Dental Center owner who rents from Giordano.
The dentist uses the existing garage in the building and says the exit is already a threat to people walking on the sidewalk.
Sofferman said his practice has been in Derby for 30 years, but his days in the city are numbered due, in part, to the way the city is run.
He couldn’t understand why Derby zoning regulations allowed such a proposal to be made. That section of Elizabeth Street should be commercial and just isn’t suitable for family living, he said.
“I don’t understand what the town is doing. It’s sad,” he said.
Sofferman said the building does not have enough parking to accommodate residential apartments. Furthermore, it doesn’t make sense to add a residential use when the city claims to be pro-business.
Click the video below to hear a portion of Soffermen’s statements to the commission.
City Treasurer Keith McLiverty said previous meeting minutes referred to the apartments being used for “alternative housing.” He wondered what the term meant.
Thomas answered by referencing the Partnership for Strong Communities, a Hartford-based group that promotes affordable and work-force housing, including apartments.
In addition, Thomas kept pointing to what perhaps is the key issue in the debate — apartments are allowed in this particular zone, as per city regulations.
Click the play button below to watch a portion of Thomas’ retort.
The application will be discussed again at next month’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. The building owner is expected to provide more information about the size of the apartments and address some technical issues raised by the commission and its consultant, including the size of the proposed parking spaces in the garage.
