CT Construction Digest Friday August 27, 2021
BRISTOL – The Bristol Planning Commission met Wednesday evening and granted conditional approval for a new subdivision to be built off Redstone Hill Road.
Nearby residents of Redstone Hill Road and construction project representatives gathered at a previous Planning Commission meeting regarding a new development to be called Charlie’s Way, consisting of 18 lots from 505 to 545 Redstone Hill Road. No votes were taken at the July meeting. Some residents expressed concerns about the addition of sidewalks and whether traffic studies around the property were accurate due to one being done over the course of the pandemic in 2019.
Similar concerns were voiced at the August meeting. Ultimately, the commission’s five voting members chose to grant a conditional approval to the project and the deferment of sidewalks along the northwestern portion of the proposed Charlie’s Way. Sidewalks would still be required along Redstone Hill Road though leading to Charlie’s Way and a sidewalk would be placed on its southeasterly side of Charlie’s Way. It was noted during the meeting that this did not mean a sidewalk would never be created on the northwestern portion of the road but that the discussion could be revisited in the future if need be. The project would also be required to deposit over $30,000 into the city’s storm trust in order to maintain storm water drainage structures.
The applicant and purchaser-developer listed for the subdivision’s creation according to project paperwork on the Bristol city website was named 505-545 Redstone Hill Road LLC with the accompanying signature of Charles Barzee.
Due to an open area in the subdivision, the property will be subject to the purview of a homeowners' association, as per Connecticut law. There is also a wetlands area connected with the western portion of the subdivision.
The site consists of roughly 14 acres with two already existing homes that would remain as other construction continues. Proposed lots would make up around 7.7 acres of the project and the open space would consist of around 5.3 acres. The site is within the city’s R15 zone. Homes on the site may be constructed between 1,500 and 2,500 square feet. Prices for such dwellings would range cost between $350,000 to $425,000. The homes would be mixed styles depending on the market and desire of buyers, said attorney Andrre Dorval, representing subdivision developers.
Engineer Scott Hesketh of FA Hesketh & Associates presented information on Connecticut Department of Transportation traffic studies done in the area in 2009, 2015 and 2020. He said that 2009 showed the highest traffic in the area in recent memory with numbers in 2015 and 2020 being lower. If one took 2015 traffic numbers and increased them by 25 percent, he still felt the addition of the subdivision would not adversely affect current traffic rates as numbers seemed to be trending down. He called this a “conservative estimate.” Hesketh noted he utilized industry-wide standards and programs when coming to his determination.
Commissioner Andrew Howe asked if one could really know whether this information was accurate given the last study was done over the course of the pandemic with most businesses and traffic having stopped over a period of time.
Hesketh noted he utilized industry-wide standards and programs when coming to his determination and that it was not an uncommon approach for estimations because residential traffic and shopping centers were perhaps the most studied traffic patterns in the U.S.
Residents near Redstone Hill Road urged the commission to require sidewalks along Redstone Hill Road and on both sides of Charlie’s Way due to concerns with safety.
New Haven planners OK improvements to Tweed airport terminals despite opposition
NEW HAVEN — Tweed New Haven Regional Airport’s immediate plan to renovate the existing terminal and the airport’s older administration building into departure and arrival terminals, and add 271 parking spaces on what used to be the airport’s second runway, gained an important step.
The City Plan Commission unanimously approved the airport’s site plan and coastal site plan, as well as a flood plain permit and special permit for the additional parking following a 31/2-hour special meeting Wednesday night, during which it heard mostly from neighbors opposed to the plan.
While several members sympathized with concerns about traffic, noise and climate change — and acknowledged that, with regard to the latter, some of the city’s rules may be out of date — they said that based on the rules in place, the application merited approval.
They also were sympathetic to the airport team’s argument that the plan would better serve Tweed and was only a temporary solution until it puts forth a more comprehensive — and controversial — plan to extend the existing runway by 1,035 feet and build a new, larger terminal on the East Haven side of the airport as part of a $100 million expansion plan.
Members Adam Marchand, Ernest Pagan, Vice Chairman Ed Mattison, Chairwoman Leslie Radcliff and newly-appointed alternate Carl Goldfield all voted in favor.
“I’ve used that airport and I feel that the changes that are being proposed will help it function better, even without the large-scale enhancements that are being proposed,” said Alder Marchand, D-25, who is the Board of Alders’ representative on the City Plan Commission.
Nevertheless, “there are things I’m concerned about,” Marchand said. But “unless we are proposing to shut the airport, then we should help it to function better.”
Marchand acknowledged that “in the age of global climate change, we need to be examining” the city’s standards and zoning codes.
“The issue, for me, is that ... our rules are somewhat out of date,” said Mattison. Nevertheless, “I will vote to support it because it does meet our current requirements ... but I don’t think our requirements make sense. I think they should be much more focused on resilience.”
Goldfield said that “within the constraints of what we were presented with, I feel that letting this go forward is the right thing to do.”
Radcliffe said that as commission members, “we have a very narrow lane that we’re being asked to stay in. Does it meet the requirements and is it in alignment with our comprehensive plan?
“As a commissioner, the application is approvable,” she said just prior to the vote.
Tweed Executive Director Sean Scanlon said afterward that “when we first announced this project in May, we made clear that there were many steps necessary to make it a reality. Tonight was one of those critical steps, and I want to thank the City Plan Commission for their thoughtful comments and support.
“We were grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with commission staff on these important issues and look forward to continued work with other city officials in the coming weeks, including the Board of Alders,” he said. “Through this process, we have and will continue to ensure this project is undertaken in a responsible and transparent manner.”
Commission approval of the interim plan comes as the longer-term plan, including a proposed 43-year lease and long-term management contract for Avports LLC, Tweed’s contract operator, is about to come before the Board of Alders.
Under the proposed arrangement, Avports would fund up to $100 million in improvements — including a new terminal, runway extension and moving the airport’s entrance to the East Haven side off Proto Drive — eliminating the need for the $1.8 million in state and local subsidies Tweed receives each year.
In total, the commission received 12 letters in favor of the application and 21 in opposition.
Of the dozen or so residents who spoke Wednesday, all but one were opposed.
Carl Testa, vice chairman of the city’s Quinnipiac East Community Management Team, submitted a motion unanimously recommending that that the commission and the Board of Alders postpone voting on Tweed until additional information can be delivered.
Lighthouse Road resident Rachel Hareema, organizer of the 10,000 Hawks opposition group, told members, “My big question for the commission is, ‘What about our health?’”
Hareema said that asthma “is very prevalent” in New Haven and air pollution from more planes “is huge” and “a triggering factor in asthma.”
Resident Gretl Gallicchio told the commission, “I am vehemently opposed to the ... expansion. ... It seems to me that proceeding with any construction, any preliminary steps is highly irresponsible” at a time when “we do not have completed environmental impact studies.”
Gallicchio pointed out that “just this last weekend we had lots of flooding on the runways down here. ... I think the consideration of a plan like this in the age of climate change ... is extremely irresponsible.”
Julia McFadden of Townsend Avenue said she was concerned about traffic along Townsend Avenue.
“This needs more study,” McFadden said.
The one resident who spoke in favor of Tweed’s application was William Villano, a Townsend Avenue resident who also is director of the Workforce Alliance, which is working with Tweed and its new airline, Avelo Airlines, to train people for about 100 jobs being offered locally.
Avelo last week announced plans to being flying from Tweed to four Florida cities — Orlando, Fort Laudedale, Tampa and Fort Myers — on Nov. 3.
“I support the increase in service at Tweed,” Villano said, who said it “will create new pathways to jobs for New Haven residents ... I live only a few blocks from the airport and takeoff noise levels is minimal.”
Lisa Bassani of Nelson Street in Morris Cove, said that “FEMA projects this airport to be under water by 2050” and “the neighborhood and adjacent neighborhoods face ongoing flooding issues.”
Gabriela Campos Matteson of Stewart Street said what Tweed is looking to do “is an imposition of a giant airport. Bradley is not in a residential neighborhood,” she said of the state’s much larger Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.
“We live on marshes. The roads have sinkholes,” she said. She said of the airport, “This is city property. This should be for the benefit of the residents. Not one resident who I’ve spoken to is in favor of it.”
East Haven resident Lorena Venegas said the commission had to deny the permit because the applicant had sought a waiver not to use required reflective heat coatings.
Tweed’s development team, led by attorney Joseph Williams, urged the commission to approve the application.
Josh Wilson, a senior ecologist and professional wetlands scientist for Fuss & O’Neill, pointed out that there would be no addition of impervious area on the site — and sum total of the project actually would be to decrease the amount of paved area, as well as improved stormwater management, with “no adverse impacts to coastal resources.”
Airport consultant Andrew Vasey said there would be a net reduction of 1,300 square feet of pavement as a result of the project. The new parking would be on what already are paved surfaces from the former crosswind runway, he said.
“We were careful not to pave a new parking lot,” he said.
Mattison at one point said he thought the commisions ought to hire “somebody who is an independent professional to give us advice.”
City Plan Director Aicha Woods told the commission, however, that “there have been about nine internal technical review meetings on this,” and “this has certainly been looked at by our own experts” in the Building Department, City Plan and the Engineering Department.
She pointed out that as an architect, “I’ve worked as a consultant designing airports.” She said Mattison’s suggestion “would be a very good one” for the more permanent plans at Tweed.
She and Williams both pointed out that the plan before the commission Wednesday was for a temporary solution that would last about three years.