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

Brian Zahn

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

Hanna Snyder Gambini

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.