Concerns arise as QU looks to designate its Hamden campus as planned development district
Chatwan Mongkol
HAMDEN — The Planning and Zoning Commission took issue with
the zoning process and the area Quinnipiac University wants to designate
as a planned development district, a zone change the legislative
body itself passed in July.
The concerns came as the university presented its expansion plan consisting of three new buildings Tuesday
night with nearly 80 people in attendance, around 15 of which were there for
another item.
Quinnipiac is looking to designate the whole area within its
Mount Carmel campus from the existing R-2 zone as PDD, a new zone that allows
flexibility for developers beyond bulk-written zoning rules.
The public hearing portion for the PDD designation was,
however, postponed to Oct. 23 after Quinnipiac's presentation ran over 2.5
hours — to the point one of those in attendance shouted mid meeting: "This
has gone on long enough, let's move on."
The main concern from the commissioners was that if the
construction for the three new buildings would only take part in the southern
part of the campus, why changes the whole campus area to PDD.
Tim Lee, an attorney representing the town, said the PZC has
the authority grant less than what the university has requested.
Bernard Pellegrino, an attorney representing Quinnipiac,
said all the areas proposed are “connected” and that future development plans
that weren't included in the initial plan Tuesday night would still require
approval from the PZC.
He noted that, however, about 95% of the university’s master
facility plan has already been presented to the board over the years.
And since the Tuesday meeting was only for a PDD designation
and the initial project plan, commissioners worried what authority the PZC
still has if the university ends up changing the already-approved initial plan
in the final stage.
According to Town Planner Euguene Livshits, if the PDD zone
changes and the initial plan is approved, the university still needs to submit
a final site plan for approval, and the commission may hold a public hearing on
it if the final plan differs significantly from the initial plan.
Quinnipiac's $244 million expansion, "South Quad"
project, includes a 79,000-square-foot, School of Business and a
137,000-square-foot general academic building and a 417-bed residence hall.
Pellegrino said the construction would take around two years.
University Provost Debra Liebowitz said the university
hasn’t built any new standalone academic buildings since the 1990s.
“Education has changed dramatically in that period,”
Liebowitz said. “So is Quinnipiac. It has already done the growth, but we
haven’t done the growth of academic facilities that they need in order to meet
the needs that we currently have.”
For residents who are concerned about the growth of the
student population, Bethany Zemba, the university’s vice president for strategy
and community relations, said the number actually got small in the past years,
noting that the three-year housing requirement will reduce off-campus
population too.
Tom Ellett, university’s chief experience officer who lives
on campus, said “our strategy isn’t to grow” the student population as the
university aims to keep new students at 1,600 per year.
Ellett said the three new buildings will allow the
university to implement a “faculty-in-residence” program, which aims to bring
more adult presence on campus to engage more with students.
“This is a new vision for community life where it’s
co-created with faculty and staff rather than having students, on their own,
create culture that they think they want to have,” Ellett said.
As Quinnipiac is the biggest non-public employer in town,
Zemba said “a strong Quinnipiac is a strong Hamden, and a strong Hamden is a
strong Quinnipiac.”
Mayor Lauren Garrett, who was also in attendance Tuesday
night, has said earlier when the PDD was approved that Quinnipiac’s building
permit would bring the town about $3 million.
The university’s project for the three new buildings has
recently received approval from the Inland Wetlands Commission.
West Haven says more The Haven site buildings to come down
WEST HAVEN — The Indianapolis-based owner of a long-stalled
mall project along First Avenue has paid for nine demolition permits for
blighted, rotted buildings on the site, according to the city's attorney.
The fenced-off site of The Haven mall project has sat mostly
dormant for years, with multiple buildings deteriorating across the street from
neighborhood residences. Although members
of the city's delegation to the General Assembly have said it is apparent to
them that the development will not happen, city officials like Mayor Nancy
Rossi have said they are taking it one step at a time.
"I don’t know what’s going to go there. There are
hypotheses, but I just want it knocked down,” Rossi said in August.
This week, West Haven Corporation Counsel Lee Tiernan told
the City Council Monday that Simon Group had paid for demolition to begin
with the
former site of Nick's Luncheonette at 423 First Ave. "and work
its way up." However, he said that remediation concerns have stalled the
demolition with the city's building department.
Neither developer Simon Property Group nor city building
official Frank Gladwin immediately responded to a request for comment Thursday.
Councilman Gary Donovan, D-At Large, asked whether the city
had been citing the developer for violating the blight ordinance.
"Excuse my French, but they screwed us," he said.
"Why not hit them harder in their pocket for blight?"
Tiernan said that Rossi was "adamant" about
issuing blight fines and that those fines "will continue to accrue."
Tiernan said a $5 million state Department of Economic and
Community Development grant intended to support that development may need to be
"repurposed."
"The grant does provide for improvements along Elm
Street with the anticipation of a high-traffic user of that site. I don't know
that until we have evidence there's going to be a high-traffic use of that site
that it makes sense," he said.
Although the development had initially been pitched as a
cornerstone of economic revitalization near the city's shoreline, offering
luxury shopping just off the highway to attract revenue to the city, it has
become a source of agony for residents. Recently, residents of the area
were startled
by loud explosions stemming from an FBI public safety drill that they
had not been warned about beforehand.
Developer proposing age-restricted development in Southington
Alocal development company is looking to build an active
adult housing complex on a new private road off the Waterbury-Meriden Turnpike.
Anthony A. Denorfia of Southington-based AA Denorfia
Building and Development LLC and property owner Cecelia Docar submitted site
plan and special permit applications to the town’s Planning and Zoning
Commission in early September.
The Highland Ridge development at 570 Meriden-Waterbury
Turnpike would have 23 individual homes ranging in size from 1,400 to 1,600
square feet each, with 10% of the units deemed affordable.
Developers would build a new cul-de-sac road called Highland
Ridge Lane, and the project would cover 8.7 acres and include preserved open
space.
The development would have access to public sewer and water
utilities, storm drainage and other improvements.
Conceptual plans and a zone change from residential to
age-restricted cluster housing zone were approved in the spring.
The project now needs a special permit, and a final site plan must be approved
prior to the start of construction. Developers expect work to begin this year
and finish by 2025.
Projects by Denorfia Building and Development include Winding River, Walker’s
Crossing and Hawk’s Nest in Southington, and Country Hill Estate in
Prospect.
The applications will go to a public hearing Tuesday before the regular
Planning and Zoning meeting.