NORTH HAVEN

On July 1, the North Haven Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) approved the redistricting of a vacant lot at 61 Quinnipiac Avenue as an elderly housing district for a proposed development to provide affordable housing for the senior demographic at the property, according to the applicants.

The project, which would consist of 60 rental units for senior tenants, is meant to meet “an incredible need for age-restricted housing in our town” and support North Haven’s 2017-2027 Plan of Conservation and Development, said Bernard Pellegrino, an attorney representing the applicant, Universal Construction, LLC, at the meeting.

“The demographics in North Haven—and I’ve lived here most of my life, raised my family here, was born—has changed considerably over the last 15 or 20 years,” said Pellegrino. “Our generation—and I’m in that generation myself—…is growing in North Haven and, as such, there’s an increased demand and need for age-restricted housing.”

Pellegrino added that such housing would be suitable for North Haven residents who wish to downsize their living arrangement and remain in town even after their children have left town. He also noted that the project could help to fulfill the “waiting list for senior housing” in North Haven. Although the proposal is not specifically for affordable housing, Pellegrino did raise Tuscan Villa as a model for the type of affordability which can be provided at 61 Quinnipiac Avenue.

This was the second time the PZC heard a revised application by Universal Construction, having been denied approval after a first hearing in January of this year. Pellegrino told commissioners that the revision “meets all of the eligibility requirements under the regulations for your consideration and approval.”

Project engineer Jim Galligan presented the details of the development, which would sit in an 11.5-acre single elderly housing district formerly made up of three zoning designations for family and commercial business.

The three-story development would be almost 300 feet away from the closet home on Cindy Lane, with a 30-foot driveway coming into the building.

The development was originally a four-story building, but was reduced in height given relevant concerns for nearby residents about its size, according to Galligan.

Resident Tom White, who lives on nearby Summer Lane, was approving of the project’s new height, saying that it “does not appear to be as aggressive as the previous [application], and it's given a lot of consideration to the neighborhood.”

“The height of the building’s not going to be an obstruction for their view of the sky,” White added.

With two fire hydrants located in front of the building, public safety at the site was taken into consideration in order “to make there’s sufficient access to the building from [the] fire department,” said Galligan.

Despite being located eight miles away from the downtown area, the development “will be serviced by the bus line into the downtown area and, quite frankly, all the way up Washington Avenue,” said Pellegrino. He added that its proximity to the Montowese Health & Rehabilitation Center and its surrounding neighborhoods would be beneficial to future tenants.

Some residents did express concern about the project. Hans Strilbyskij offered an alternative development for 61 Quinnipiac Avenue, favoring an eco-friendly nature preserve instead of a new housing development given the site’s adjacency to Peter’s Rock Park. Strilbyskij was also concerned about traffic and the high number of automobile accidents which may occur at the development, along with what the applicants said was a “minimal amount of blasting” which may occur in construction.

“[At] Peter’s Rock, you have a lot of shale on the other side and, a lot of times, we do hear loose rock falling down from that mountain,” said Strilbyskij. “If blasting is going to occur, you’re gonna get a lot of reverberation, and more of that mountain may be falling on some of those [nearby] houses.”

On the issue of traffic, Pellegrino said that “age-restricted projects are very low traffic generators,” noting that traffic-generation times are “usually off-peak” relative to other traffic.

Pellegrino said the applicant will present to the PZC “a full-blown traffic study that will detail all of this out for you.”

In regards to blasting, Pellegrino said the applicant would be subject to the “highly regulated” process which involves state and local surveys and cooperation with the town’s fire department.

With the approval of a zoning change having been granted, Universal Construction is “now eligible to make applications for a special permit and site plan” to be heard at future hearings, land use official Alan Fredericksen told The Courier.

PZC Chair Vern Carlson said that the hearings for these phases of the project would be the best time to address most of the concerns expressed by residents.