Updated Fairfield Hills Plan Opens Possibility of Rental Housing

Rental housing and the preservation of open space at High Meadow have made their way into the updated Fairfield Hills Master Plan, Land Use Director George Benson told selectmen this week.

Benson told selectmen up to 30 units on the upper floors of future Fairfield Hills buildings could be under consideration under the updated plan. He stressed the idea should go through the proper channels before approval, if the town decides to approve it.

"We felt the option should given," he said. "It should be addressed with public hearings, and if it's rejected, it should be rejected."

Benson said one advantage of rental housing could be to sustain commercial properties at Fairfield Hills through tough economic times.

"If the commercial market bottoms out, at least the residential will keep things going and [vice versa]," he said.

According to the report, released to the public Tuesday, proposals for residential housing would require site review and public input.

"The overall scope of rental housing should be limited and should in no way impact the use of the overall property," said the updated Master Plan. "No standalone or non-rental housing would be allowed."

Some selectmen were skeptical about allowing rental housing on the property.

"It's naive," said selectman Will Rodgers. "It's not gonna happen. If there is any residential presence, those people will have moved to the nuisance and they will be a disproportionate burden on the property. Every developer wants some residential housing to finance good things, and that's great. But do it with eyes wide open."

Benson said the update is a "roadmap for development," not a modification.

"Even now, we don't know what buildings we want" he said. "We'll try to save what we can save, but we don't have an agenda on specific buildings."

Benson said opening Fairfield Hills to rental housing would require working through town offices, beginning with approval from Newtown's planning and zoning board.

Speaking alongside Benson, Deborra Zukowski said the other major new concept in the update -- preserving High Meadow as open space -- had proven popular in surveys.

"It was not a 10-point spread," she said. "It was 40 or 50."

The original plan had left the status of High Meadow more "up in the air," Benson said.

Much of the updated Fairfield Hills Master Plan remained the same as the one originally approved by the town, adding an updated section detailing the history of efforts to find use for the property since the town purchased it in 2001.

Officials said the document will be published online at the town's website with a link to the original Master Plan for comparison.