Are Rentals Right for Fairfield Hills?

Authors of the most recent update to the Fairfield Hills master plan say they'd like to "open a discussion" on someday adding apartments to the campus's future. And while two ad hoc committee members say it's fairly limited, the proposal is meeting with some skepticism from town officials.

Deborra Zukowski and Audrey Cramer -- both members of the Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review Committee -- addressed Newtown's Planning and Zoning Board Thursday night, where both the rental issue and the matter of open space at the campus came up. (Land Use Director George Benson, scheduled to address the board, was out of town on a family matter.)

"As we went to the work group, we got challenged as whether it was true the community is totally anti-housing. They're anti-stand alone housing -- no question about that," said Zukowski. But she said other, more limited types of housing — for example, residences for an artists' colony or a pediatric care center — might be worth a discussion.

Officials stressed the Planning and Zoning board's consideration would only "open the door" to a talk on apartments, not guarantee they would ever see the light of day at the 185-acre campus.

"Right now, there are 25 allowed uses," said board chair Robert Mulholland. "Housing is not one. This would open it up for discussion purposes. An art studio and a medical center are both allowed uses. Having an apartment above them would be a specific proposal. We want to get some money out of Fairfield Hills — we all do."

This type of housing would be "mixed-use," approved on a case-by-case basis, and different from the "up to 30 units" Benson mentioned at a Board of Selectman meeting in September.

"Mixed use? Come forward with that and have a real proposal," said Mulholland. "[Have] somebody willing to get a preliminary design. If we come in with a special exception, two permitted uses, then we're addressing it proposal by proposal ... There's ways it can be done. What we don't have is a way to hold an open discussion knowing what anybody out there might want to do."

Perspectives from the Community

Some questioned the wisdom of even opening a discussion. Kelley Johnson — the daughter of the late Friends of Fairfield Hills founder Ruby Johnson — called leaving the door open for housing "a slippery slope."

"It's opening a crack in the door," she said. "It's putting the toothpaste on the outside of the tube. I respect the fact that having a conversation about it is the civil thing to do, but I hope in our desire to have an upfront conversation about something like an artists' colony means we aren't blown out of the water on something like the Cochran House."

Johnson said Newtown feels "a need to rush to development" with everything from walking trails to commercial development.

"Maybe the right thing to do is not rush," she said. "If we left this land alone for the next 30 years and didn't make a mess of it, that might be the legacy all of us desire. We don't want something in 30 years somebody says is blight."

In a letter posted on Patch, Bruce Walczak said rentals would be "a huge change of direction" for Newtown.

"If the P&Z believes that apartments over commercial buildings is what Newtown wants then there should be a community discussion on the issue and the decision should then be applicable to more than just Fairfield Hills," he said. "The community has been very clear that they do not want residential housing at FFH. The P&Z should not be back dooring this decision."

First Selectman Pat Llodra, who spoke as a resident during the meeting, said she wasn't sure rentals were ideal, but believed more options must be on the table.

"Our population growth is going to flatline, and any thriving community needs new population all the time," she said. "I think we've known that for decades. We can't sustain our economy unless we grow. I drive through the campus every day and find myself worrying, what are we going to do? We would like to save Newtown [Hall] and Woodbury [Hall], to save Stratford [Hall], and we're slowly going to find some uses for the duplexes.."

Llodra said she put her trust in the Planning and Zoning Commission to move the problem forward toward a solution, not just for Fairfield Hills but other economic problems in Newtown.

"You have a lot in front of you," she said. "We're going to ask you to be much more open-minded going forward. We're struggling with taxes, so we've got to find ways to grow our economy. Fairfield Hills isn't the answer to that, but it's part of the answer."

The updated Fairfield Hills Master Plan is scheduled to be posted on the review committee's website, where previous editions and updates can be viewed.