Swan Avenue resident Jessica Gagne speaks during a Seymour Board of Selectperson's public hearing on the potential land sale of 100 Prospect St.
SEYMOUR – Residents urged Seymour officials April 15 to not sell town-owned land on Prospect Street to a Shelton developer.
Nearly 50 residents showed up at Seymour Town Hall for a public hearing held by the Board of Selectpersons. The hearing was held on a possible sale of 100 Prospect St., a 7.5‑acre, vacant tract between Woodside Avenue and Swan Avenue, a residential area bordering Oxford.
“We have plenty of wildlife in the backyard, the traffic is terrible as is and it’s going to devastate property values. Please don’t sell us out for a couple dollars,” said Johnson Avenue resident Anthony Takas.
Residents testified for about 30 minutes. The Selectpersons did not take action on the sale.
AJ Grasso, a longtime developer responsible for residential developments in Shelton and Monroe, approached the town about buying the land.
Grasso already owns 18 acres surrounding 100 Prospect St., which the town acquired at some point through a tax foreclosure, according to Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis. The town-owned property is landlocked by Grasso’s land.
Grasso wants to purchase the land as part of a residential development. He was not at the public hearing but talked to The Valley Indy on April 16.
The land, according to town land records, is zoned as multi-family residential. It has an appraised value of $42,400 and an assessed value of $29,680.
“I haven’t made a final determination, and I don’t own the parcel, but it would be (developed) residentially at some point,” Grasso said.
Grasso also said that he doesn’t need the town-owned land to develop the surrounding land.
“I can develop the other pieces without it,” Grasso said.
Residents Oppose Sale
Residents said some of the houses in the area are more than 100 years old with foundations that are made of fieldstone. They worried about potential damage to their wells and foundations that could happen if a development required blasting.
Ken Gagne said his house on Swan Avenue is 135-years-old.
“I have a fieldstone foundation that will not fare well with explosives to knock down all the ledge up there,” Gagne said. “With the last flood we had almost four feet of water in our basement, and I can’t imagine having less trees, less grass and less rocks that will keep all that water out of our basements. Leave the hill alone.”
Jessica Gagne of Swan Avenue said the property holds a special place in her heart.
“For 25 years whenever I felt anxious or stressed, I would walk up into those woods and just look out into the horizon and that would help me feel less stress about the world,” she said. “I can’t imagine another child not having that growing up. I grew up having respect for animals and this would displace wildlife that we’re already losing with all this development.”
Deborah Zamoic-Alterio, an Oxford resident from Cold Spring Drive, said any development of the land will have a negative impact.
“The land is a natural buffer between any development and long- established homes and wells in the area,” Zamoic-Alterio said. “Look at the environmental impact, traffic congestion to an already nightmare of an area, the infrastructure underground and water runoff.”
First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis said officials will take the residents’ concerns into account. At the same time, she said the town needs to grow the grand list.
“That property is not making us any money and we need economic development, which isn’t just stores and businesses, it’s also housing,” Drugonis said. “We need to grow our grand list, and we need to bring more people to both live and work in Seymour.”
