A Google map image showing 16 Riverside Drive in Ansonia.
ANSONIA — Could a solution to what neighbors call an illegal rock crushing and concrete recycling operation happening on Riverside Drive be near?
If you ask the city, yes.
But if you ask the attorney representing the sleep-deprived long-frustrated residents who live near the noisy site at 16 Riverside Dr., you’ll get a different story.
Editor’s note: The alleged activites at the construction site are not happening in the overnight hours. Residents have previously complained the activity has started at 6:30 a.m. UPDATE: A neighbor complained at a public meeting in July 2021 that noise could be heard at all ours from the property, including overnight.
Corporation Counsel John Marini this week told the Board of Aldermen that a resolution is coming and is one that should appease all parties involved.
The matter at hand involves two lawsuits filed in November 2020 and January 2021 by a group of Riverside Drive neighbors, alleging the city’s Zoning Enforcement Officer David Blackwell, the Zoning Board of Appeals and the city’s lawyer illegally allowed Burns Construction to do rock crushing on Riverside Drive for more than a year.
Such activities are not allowed or regulated under the city’s zonings regulations, and have been upheld in previous court cases, according to attorney Kevin Curseaden, of Curseaden & Moore, LLC, of Milford, the firm representing the neighbors.
The construction company, its attorney, and Ansonia city officials have maintained the activities are allowed.
However, Marini said this week while it was “Blackwell’s decision that rock crushing is a permittable use in a heavy industrial zone,” the city’s own zoning regulations “do not explicitly address regulation of the activity.”
To that end, Marini said at a virtual pre-trial meeting last week between the attorneys representing all sides (the city, Burns and the neighbors), a verbal agreement was struck to halt court proceedings while Burns makes an application to the Planning and Zoning Commission for an amendment to the zoning regs to allow rock crushing.
“It was agreed between the parties that Burns Construction would voluntarily apply to the Planning and Zoning Commission for a zoning amendment that would allow for the creation of regulations relative to rock crushing in a heavy industrial zone,” Marini said. “The public will have a voice in the process, as a public hearing will be scheduled in connection with the application. It’s a path forward and a solution to meet in the middle.”
Marini said the legal proceedings “will be effectively paused in the meantime.”
Curseaden said Marini is painting a rosy picture for the general public.
“Marini spun this so it looks like everything is being worked out among all parties, but it’s not,” Curseaden said. “The city and Burns are trying to retroactively make this an allowed use. It’s not an allowed use pursuant to their zoning regulations.”
Curseaden also said the legal proceedings haven’t been formally paused.
He said his court brief was due in July, but due to summer vacations and court schedules, briefs have been pushed out to September or later this fall.
Curseaden said it was agreed upon by the attorneys for all sides that before Burns files an application, a meeting of the attorneys would take place to see if the application satisfies the neighbors’ concerns.
“Things are not halted, they are not stayed,” Curseaden added. “The good side of this is that any zone text amendment (that Burns submits) has to go before a public hearing, so the residents will have an opportunity to be heard.”
Since the matter came to light, Curseaden argued that he and the residents have been silenced by the city at various public meetings.
Neighbors have complained about noise, as early as 6 a.m., from the site, along with dust and debris, impacting their quality of life.
“As important as business development may be, Mayor Cassetti and his administration consider quality of life to be an absolute priority,” Marini said. “Ideally, we will see a resolution that balances the needs of the business with the concerns raised by residents in the vicinity of Burns Construction. It is important to understand that the activity was legally permitted by the city and its zoning enforcement officer. However, working to clarify the regulations and develop standards for rocking crushing is in the best interest of both the residents and our community. I am very encouraged by the willingness of all parties to work together on a solution to this issue.”
The neighbors annoyed by the rock-crushing are receiving grassroots support from Brian Perkins, an Ansonia resident and Cassetti administration critic. After being contacted by a neighbor, Perkins has been circulating a petition “to give residents who are being affected by this a voice.”
“This operation reaches far beyond just the immediate area, and many people from across the river are also being affected by it,” he said via email. “As of right now we have 123 supporters, but I do not intend to stop promoting it and working with residents until City Hall hears their concerns and this issue is resolved.”
Perkins wrote a letter to the editor that was published May 11.
On May 12 the Cassetti administration announced on Facebook that Burns Construction would be donating services to fix-up Gatison Park off Fourth Street.
The improvements, expected to be finished by mid-June, include “new park grounds grading, landscaping, mulching, resurfacing the basketball court and line painting,” according to the city. “A small hill adjacent to the court will be moved back to allow additional bleacher seating.”
Burns Lawsuit 2021 by The Valley Indy
