Middlebury to challenge ruling that halted warehouse plan at former Timex headquarters
Steve Bigham
MIDDLEBURY — The town will seek reconsideration, just short
of an all-out appeal, of last month’s Superior Court decision that overturned
previous Middlebury land-use approvals for the construction of a 670,000
square-foot warehouse at the former Timex world headquarters on Christian Road.
The Middlebury Board of Selectmen Monday voted 2-1 in
favor of challenging Judge John Cordani’s Jan. 31 ruling that said the
town’s Conservation and Planning & Zoning commissions had no authority to
approve developer Southford Park's massive distribution center.
The board had considered fully appealing the judge’s
decision, but opted as a cost-saving measure to leave any full-blown appeal up
to the developer.
The board said it simply seeks clarification
on Cordani’s decision to help its land-use commissions in making future
decisions.
Cordani’s ruling last month was based in part on a new state
statute raised by State Rep. Willam Pizzuto, R-Middlebury, designed to protect
small towns from the impacts to wetlands and pedestrians from large
distribution and trucking centers by prohibiting them.
The judge’s ruling appeared to leave the distribution center
plans dead in the water. It was hailed by many Middlebury residents who
have vehemently opposed the proposed distribution center for more than two
years, fearing such a massive operation with trucks entering and exiting 24-7
would forever alter the town’s tranquil setting.
The Middlebury Small Town Alliance, which spearheaded a
years-long fight against the project, filed its appeal with the courts last
year. It cited errors by the town’s land-use boards, which it claimed had
approved Southford Park’s application with complete disregard for its own
regulations.
But attorneys for the town say they disagree
with Cordani’s ruling and say an appeal — or in this case a
reconsideration — is warranted.
They say Cordani’s decision left many unanswered
questions and note that it was based on his interpretation of the new state
statute, which had never before been considered in court.
Attorney Gail E. McTaggart for the town said
Cordani’s ruling was “only a partial answer” and did not “comport to all the
facts presented.”
“It came as a complete surprise,” she said.
Attorney James R. Strub agreed, noting that he could
understand why Middlebury’s land-use commissions would want to protect the
“voracity” of their decision-making process.
First Selectman Edward St. John, and Selectman J. Paul
Vance both voted in favor of the reconsideration request, pointing out that the
town needs to support the decisions of its boards and commissions, although
Vance noted that he did not want to make the request appear to residents as if
town officials were “in bed” with the developer.
Selectman Jennifer Mahr voted against the move, stating
that Cordani’s ruling was correct in that Middlebury’s land-use commissions did
not properly apply the law that was in front of them.
“They were wrong in their decision and people don’t want
this project to begin with,” said Mahr, who was elected to the board in
2023 after having lead the town’s anti-distribution center fight.
But Vance said he has a responsibility to represent both
sides of the aisle and noted that “if we lose control of land use, we may as
well just go home.”
Vance said there are many in town who support the project as a way to ensure
the town’s continued economic development.
Among them is Chip Kuehnle, who noted that Cordani’s
decision was based on a controversial move by Pizzuto, who, in the 11th hour of
state budget talks last year, “slipped in” a land-use provision into the state
budget, which he said, provided a lifeline to those opposed to the distribution
center.Kuehnle said Pizzuto’s action “devalued” some of Middlebury’s most
valuable tax-generating land.
“Towns that do not have a strong business environment will
ultimately end up crushing their citizens with high taxes,” Kuehnle said.
He said the idea that the Timex property might instead be sold to a
tax-exempt organization would be “devastating” as the town would forever lose
the revenue generated from that property. “Equally bad would be another
high-density residential development,” he said. “The sad reality is that this
has been one of the most costly and divisive examples of the “not in my back
yard” mindset and a fear mongering operation to convince residents that
Middlebury was being destroyed by the very people that actually made it what it
is.”
Kuehnle’s remarks have been offset by 72 open letters to the
Board of Selectmen expressing opposition to any appeal of the court’s decision,
including Mel Persenaire, who noted that the town is already embroiled in a
$400,000 police arbitration appeal and said the idea of appealing this most
recent court decision will “prove to be expensive and not in the best interest
of the majority of Middlebury residents.”
Strub said the filing of a reconsideration, while less
expensive than an appeal, does not guarantee Middlebury will get the answers it
needs and that, ultimately, a full appeal of the decision may be necessary.
That, however, could be a year-long process which could exceed $100,000 in
legal fees, something St. John said the town is not willing to pay for.
Retail projects to watch in Bridgeport-area towns in 2025: Trader Joe's, a soccer stadium and more
Claire K. Racine, Brian Gioiele, Brian Lockhart, Jarrod Wardwell, Shaniece Holmes-Brown
From a soccer stadium to a beloved chain grocery store,
there are some big retail projects in the works in the Bridgeport region.
They run the gamut from medical facilities — an independent
pediatric group in Trumbull and a cancer center in Fairfield — to a planned
Trader Joe's in Shelton and that aforementioned soccer arena in Bridgeport.
Some of these project are far along in their timelines,
while others are still in the early stages, such as the future plans for
Bridgeport’s shuttered coal-fired power plant.
No matter what stage they are in, here are some construction
projects to keep an eye on in 2025.
Pediatric Healthcare Associates, Trumbull
An independent pediatric group plans to build a one-story
medical office on an almost 4-acre property at 6600 Main St. in Trumbull.
The Planning
and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the plans in September.
The project is over 12,000 square feet with 80 parking
spaces and a sidewalk along Main Street down to the Long Hill Green area.
Construction work began on Jan. 30 and is expected to be
ongoing for several weeks.
Soccer stadium, Bridgeport
Entrepreneur Andre Swanston and his Connecticut Sports Group
are aiming to begin construction on a minor league soccer stadium on
Bridgeport’s lower East Side in time for the 2026 season.
The developer has so
far obtained the necessary zoning approvals and $16 million in state
aid to help clean up the contaminated properties, one portion private, one
owned by the city. But as of a year ago the
total project budget was around $96 million and Swanston has said he
is seeking a significant amount more of public financial aid which so far has
yet to materialize.
Trader Joe’s, Shelton
Trader
Joe’s will be opening its latest grocery store at Shelton’s Fountain
Square development off Bridgeport Avenue.
The Planning and Zoning Commission in early January approved
plans for the specialty grocer to occupy a 13,800-square-foot building in
Fountain Square at 801 Bridgeport Ave., already home to Chick-fil-A, Panera and
Jersey Mike's, among others.
Hartford HealthCare cancer center, Fairfield
Hartford HealthCare will open a cancer center in a roughly
25,000-square-foot facility at 4185 Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield this
year.
The facility, located near the Merritt Parkway, comes
as the result of a partnership with New York’s Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center, based in Manhattan. The location will offer outpatient
cancer services, according to Hartford HealthCare.
Before the announcement about the cancer center last year,
Fairfield’s zoning commissioners had approved
plans for apartments in 2021.
Gengras dealership, Fairfield
Gengras Chrysler Dodge Jeep Fairfield will open a showroom
and service center at 251 Commerce Drive this year, relocating
from its former property on Tunxis Hill Road.
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Fairfield’s Commerce Drive is home to a row of car
dealership locations, including Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti.
Jonathan Gengras, the owner of the Gengras dealership's
parent company, has said the facility should open in the summer of 2025. He
said the move would allow for more vehicle bays.
Bridgeport Station Development
Decommissioned in 2021, the massive facility with its
red-and-white striped tower sits on the harbor in the South End.
New owner Bridgeport Station Development, which recently
purchased the site from PSEG, announced
plans in mid-November to begin tearing the structure down this year with
the help of $22.5 million in state aid. That is expected to last three years
during which time a redevelopment plan focusing on housing, restaurants and
public waterfront access will be drafted.
Waterbury plans to acquire East Main Street property for firehouse replacement project
WATERBURY — City officials are taking initial steps toward
acquiring the Las Delicias Bakery & Restaurant property on East Main Street
through a negotiated sale or eminent domain for the planned replacement
of Fire Station 5 next door.
The City Planning Commission voted unanimously
earlier this month to recommend the Board of Aldermen approve the
acquisition of the small parcel at the request of the administration of Mayor
Paul K. Pernerewski Jr.
The Board of Aldermen is slated to schedule a hearing on the
proposed acquisition of 1980 East Main St. at its meeting Monday. After
the hearing, aldermen would then vote on whether to proceed.
City officials are looking to obtain the Las Delicias
property adjacent to Fire Station 5 to build a new, larger and state-of-art
firehouse on the two properties.
Pernerewski said his administration is planning to buy the
property through a negotiated sale if one can be reached, or through an eminent
domain action if necessary.
"If we can come to terms with the property owner, we'll
go before the Board of Aldermen for acquisition," he said. "If not,
then we have to go through the eminent domain process."
Finance Director Michael LeBlanc advised the
City Planning Commission that attempts to determine the owner's interest
in selling the property were unsuccessful.
City land records list VLE 7 LLC as the property owner,
and a state business filing names Victor A. Enriquez-Perez and Luz Morocho
as its principals. Efforts were made Friday to reach the owners
for comment, but received no immediate response.
The property at 1980 East Main is 0.21 acres with a
three-story building constructed in 1926 that consists of commercial and retail
space on the first floor where the bakery is housed and apartments on the upper
two floors. The city last valued the property at $404,700.
Eminent domain is the power of the government to take
private property for public use. If Waterbury exercises this authority, the
city will move to condemn the Las Delicias property and offer compensation
based on its fair market value. A property owner can challenge the legality of
the seizure and the fair market value used for compensation through the courts.
Pernerewski said he believes the city's stated purpose of
acquiring property for a new firehouse to serve East End residents would
survive court scrutiny. He said that would just leave the question of the
selling price. He acknowledged that taking the property through eminent domain
would require Las Delicias owners to relocate the business elsewhere.
Fire Station 5 was built in 1927, and it is not only
antiquated and worn down, but also considered functionally obsolete, according
to city officials. It is considered too small to adequately serve the fire
safety needs of East End neighborhoods.
The firehouse can only accommodate a single fire engine, and
the single exit and entrance is at the congested intersection on East Main
Street and Southmayd Road. City officials also said the existing station is too
confined to meet the personnel needs of the firefighters assigned there.
The acquisition of the Las Delicias property would allow for
the construction of a larger firehouse that could accommodate two modern fire
engines, and it would also provide a second means of ingress and egress on
Brookdale Lane, which will allow fire trucks to pull out of the entrance
fronting East Main Steet and loop back on Brooksdale Lane to return
through the rear entrance.
There was $8 million authorized in the city's latest capital
plan for the construction of the new Fire Station 5. But Pernerewski said
the final price of the project will depend on construction costs when the
contract is sent out to public bid.
The mayor said he also anticipates that work on a new
Station 5 would probably start sometime in 2026 at the earliest. He said the
city is going to next renovate Fire Station 1 on North Main Street as part of
an ongoing program to update firehouses. In 2021, the Board of Aldermen
approved an initial $1.3 million bond authorization.
Naugatuck launches facade improvement program for downtown businesses
Andreas Yilma
NAUGATUCK — As the downtown infrastructure is currently
being upgraded, business owners and landlords in Naugatuck will soon
be able to get some help to give their storefronts a makeover to complement the
physical borough improvements.
Borough officials have put together a facade improvement
subcommittee with burgesses Meghan Smith and Julie Rosenblatt and members
from the building inspector's office and land use to help transform the image
of businesses.
The committee will begin to take applications and evaluate
them.
The Board of Mayor and Burgesses last year approved a plan
to implement a facade and building improvement ordinance. The intent of the
program is to strengthen the economic viability, stimulate reinvestment in
commercial buildings and facilitate local economic development, according to
the document.
The program is reimburse one half of the total amounts
approved and expended and will not exceed $25,000 of reimbursement per approved
project. It will be paid with the borough's Tax Increment Financing
funds.
"We set aside $300,000 from our Tax Increment Financing
and we're at the point now where we can start taking applications," Mayor
N. Warren "Pete" Hess said.
Buildings in several eligible locations are included in the
borough's TIF district, which is mainly in the downtown area, Church Street,
Rubber Avenue, North Main Street, Bridge Street and South Main Street between
Bridge and Diamond streets.
The goals for the project include to encourage private
investments in commercial properties, improve commercial buildings to encourage
growth and reduce vacancies in storefronts, enhance the appearance of the
neighborhoods commercial areas, build up local businesses and to rehabilitate
or restore the original character of historic buildings.
Some of the different work that can be done include
carpentry, storefront construction, painting, signs, masonry cleaning and
repairs, window and roof repairs and improvements to allow outdoor
dining.
Other towns have similar programs, including Clinton, Danbury, East Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, Torrington
and Wethersfield.
Hess said borough officials will have to evaluate the
technical aspects of the applications before they look at the aesthetics and
how things fit in.
Burgess Bob Neth, who is also vice president of
Naugatuck-based Connecticut Signcraft, said he would have liked to be on
the subcommittee but there is a conflict of interest as facades deal with sign
work.
Construction work now looks to be done from infrastructure
and building aesthetics standpoints.
The Board of Mayor and Burgesses previously approved in
January to enter into an agreement to accelerate the Church Street
Infrastructure Project while working through the winter. The agreement includes
resolving all relocation and other related delay issues with Eversource.
The borough board initially approved in 2022 to select
Kleinfelder Northeast, a national engineering firm, for the final design of
stormwater and sanitary sewer upgrades and streetscape designs for Church and
Maple streets. That firm is collaborating with Ricther & Cegan, a landscape
architecture and planning firm, for the streetscape portion of the
project.
The entire downtown infrastructure project is scheduled to
be complete Oct. 15, Hess previously said.
New London Turnpike to get improvements for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists
Claire Bessette
Norwich — Stretching from the Norwichtown Green southward
into Montville, New London Turnpike transforms from a commercial strip to a
scenic, rural road, back to commercial and then runs past landmark
institutions.
Norwich and Montville officials have been planning for the
past 10 years to make major improvements to the 4-mile-long road to provide
pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists with a safer route to school, work or
recreation spots.
A two-pronged project totaling $5.4 million now getting
started divides New London Turnpike into two sections, north and south of the
busy Route 82-West Main Street intersection in Norwich. A third, separate
project calls for Norwich to replace the aging bridge over the Yantic River
near the side entrance to the Norwichtown Commons.
The new bridge is estimated to cost $6.5 million. Norwich
has applied for federal congressional funding for the bridge construction and
already has received an $800,000 federal grant to design the bridge, Public
Works Director Brian Long said. City officials spent much of last week
interviewing five finalist companies that submitted bids for the work.
Norwich and Montville are jointly working on a $2.8 million
plan to repave 1.4 miles of roadway from Route 82 south to the Route 32
intersection in Norwich. Another $1.4 million will be used to construct 0.8
miles of new sidewalks to replace the narrow, well-worn paths workers heading
to Mohegan Sun have created over the years.
Existing sidewalks that already run from Route 82 south
along residential neighborhoods and in front of CT State Community College,
Three Rivers are in good condition, Long said. Improvements would include
handicapped access ramps in places. New sidewalks will be added to the Rose
Garden Ice Arena, Norwich golf course, Malerba’s farm store and into Montville
to Route 32, where a traffic light includes crosswalks workers can use to reach
Mohegan Sun.
The federal Local Transportation Capital Improvements
Program grant has been awarded to cover the full construction cost, Long said.
The municipalities must cover the cost of necessary rights of way and design
work. Norwich will use its voter-approved road improvements bond to cover local
match requirements, Long said.
Work on the portion of New London Turnpike from West Town
Street at the Norwichtown Green to Route 82 is called New London Turnpike North
Complete Streets Project. The city has received a $1 million Federal Highway
Administration Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant for this
portion. The city is responsible for design work and securing rights of way.
The Norwich City Council on Monday approved acquisition of
two small easements, one at the intersection with Lathrop Avenue near the green
and one from the Beth Jacob Synagogue at 400 New London Turnpike, for the
project.
Sidewalks will run from the West Town Street intersection at
the green, past McDonald’s restaurant, the entrances to several other
businesses, the Norwichtown Commons entrance, across the Yantic River bridge,
past Gorin’s Furniture and past a complex of medical offices.
The road becomes rural after the Asylum Street intersection,
so it makes no sense to add sidewalks there, Long said. Instead, the roadway
will be striped with bicycle lanes in that area.
Sidewalks resume near the John B. Stanton School, running
past the school, Beth Jacob Synagogue and All Friends Animal Hospital to the
Route 82 intersection. Homes line the street on the opposite side from the
school. Existing sidewalks in that area are in good condition but will be
improved with handicapped-access ramps. Long said the roadway also is in good
condition and does not need repaving, only restriping the pavement to add the
bike lanes and define travel lanes, Long said.
While the improvements are aimed at accommodating 21st
century travelers, New London Turnpike's initial purpose was to assist
merchants and travelers trekking between Norwich and New London.
City Historian Dale Plummer said the original New London
Turnpike — a much narrower and winding roadway — was one of America’s first
toll roads starting in the 1790s, hence the turnpike designation. The last
stretch of toll on the road ended about 100 years later.
A narrow, stone wall-lined path still exists across from the
Dudley Street intersection just south of the Route 2 overpass, a remnant of the
original turnpike. There was a ford across the Yantic behind Backus Hospital,
he said.
Plummer said Dudley Street and other roads that start and
end at the current New London Turnpike could have been part of the original
turnpike.
“It was one of the original turnpikes, because of the
shipping industry,” Plummer said. “In winter, Norwich Harbor would be iced in.
Being able to bring goods down to New London via the turnpike made a lot of
sense.”