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NORWALK, Conn. – A Norwalk committee decided Thursday night that a controversial change sought by a developer was minor, which means there will be no public hearing on the matter.
At issue is a request by Spinnaker Real Estate Partners LLC to move most of the affordable housing units expected to be built in its development at 20 N. Water St. to another site. The zoning commission's Plan Review Committee made the decision, although the Zoning Committee had discussed the matter last month.
Spinnaker's plan has been amended, in paperwork delivered to the commission Thursday. It would now like to keep three affordable housing units in the new building, up from two. The company dropped its plan to transfer workforce housing units to 143.5 S. Main St. and is asking instead to move all of the remaining units – now eight – to 50 Connecticut Ave., one of the options mentioned earlier.
The onsite units will be two-bedroom apartments, Fowler said.
The company had been expecting to move the affordable housing units offsite all along, Clayton Fowler said. It wasn't mentioned in detail during the February commission meeting – where the commission approved the development – because the company had not found a site. But it made clear it reserved the right to revisit the issue.
"It is not a bait and switch," Fowler said.
Commissioner Nathan Sumpter disputed that. "I didn't vote for anything being offsite," he said.
Fowler said his company plans to own the building a long time and is heavily invested in South Norwalk, both emotionally and because of the investment in time and energy the company has had there. "Our office is next door, you could literally throw a baseball to it," he said of the development site across from the Maritime Aquarium.
Developers roll the dice, he said, adding he would trade places with the zoning commission members if he could.
The decision was made by three commissioners on the plan review committee in front of about 30 people. Emily Wilson and Jill Jacobsen voted yes, to classify the change as minor. Former Norwalk Police Chief Harry Rilling, in his first appearance as a zoning commissioner, voted against the classification.
Bobby Burgess, chair of the Ward B Democrats, was not mollified by Spinnaker's new plan to leave the South Main Street site out of the equation. "We want all the units onsite," he said.
He vowed to go to court. "The court ruling supersedes any local regulations and the court already ruled in our favor," he said.
Comments (7)
The "blatant segregation" remark was based on the off-site apartments being on South Main St. The people who made the comment are concerned because that part of South Main is primarily percieved as a poor minority neighborhood.
Mayor to be Rilling is getting his feet wet.Lets all keep the eye on the ball and see how the game is played.
The number of units has not increased nor decreased. One of the issues is that onsite they come with new construction and amenities that include a swimming pool and a movie theater. Units offsite will be in a nearly 75-year-old building (according to Nathan Sumpter) that Spinnaker will rehab. I believe the cost per unit for Spinnaker onsite is $300K. Offsite it is $175K.
@ Nancy,
Wow it's a beautiful day!
I misunderstood ' It would now like to keep three affordable housing units in the new building, up from two'. I didn't think the number of total units was growing, just more 'affordable' units to be available.
Truthfully, I wasn't all that interested in the entire issue until I read the ' blatant segregation ' remark.
A swimming pool and a movie theater,..that'll get people out mingling in the community eh?
It is a terrific day.
Thanks for the opportunity to add more information.
So, the ' blatant segregation ' comment hinged on 2 units of affordable housing? Which now has been increased 50%.
I'm just having a hard time understanding how so many parking spots in parking garages that are planned in the two Sono lots are going to help a city owned garage reach capacity?It will be obviously safer to walk to your car on Washinton st than the Maritime.What will be built first the parking garages or the housing hate to see a 9/7 lot in Sono with just parking garages.Then again the board must have a time line of events building up the the completion of this great Sono complex.
When the plans were whisked out and shown and some said steel and glass just won't look like Sono as your coming over the bridge those plans were taken and put back in the bottle along with Genie.Does any one have those plans to show what Norwalk ended up with now that the developer has his State money and the blessings of many who for the most part will never see what they passed,or be in the office they were in when this deal was passed?They came from Hartford they went back to Hartford.
So many brownfields to clean up its great to see that one done as soon as the building was razed but what is the time line on the cleanup and what did they find in testing the site?The pictures showing workers with no protective gear in the manholes when work began on North Water st make you wonder if there was any contamination at all on the lot,most migration happens by it following the pipes to the street from the lot.
There was contamination the State would of never gave them our money to clean it up if evidence wasn't there.Also just wondering who in Norwalk is looking over the shoulder of the developer as we know Norwalk has a hard enough time when they know there are problems and it goes unchecked.Odd how Vets Park and other areas in the city that needs grants for testing where people are everyday isn't mentioned in cleanups as priority sites to work on and make sure problems don't exist.
We all know when Republicans are in charge envorinmental concerns are overlooked when out of pocket money is concerned within the city,has been that way for years.
What it comes down to is trust and taking the word of developers as in Waypoint and 95/7.If anything the land increases in value but not until when building starts correct?
This Sono project when cleanup was mentioned,can take many years so it sounds like where the parking garages are going is somewhat clean or easy to clean up leaving the vast open space to sit and wait,so maybe a parking lot until its ready to build on?There are so many loopholes how Norwalk does business its a given some game has been hatched to play on taxpayers over the next few months maybe years by this devlopment.
Where the Maritime Garage has lost so much money over the years maybe turning it into business condos with parking is the way to go.Not just spaces are left empty days at a time but we now see by pictures floors are left vacant an issue that seems to be a secret in Norwalks politics.Why is that? With more parking spaces coming in Sono was this something Norwalk needed more of?