STAMFORD - For the second time in four months, members of the Board of Representatives have voted to appeal a developer’s case that so far has gone against them in court.This time it involves Building & Land Technology, which earlier this year won a ruling in state Superior Court. A judge said the board does not have the authority to validate a protest petition from residents seeking to stop BLT from building a bigger high-rise in their South End neighborhood.
Representatives this week voted 20-12 for their attorney, Patricia Sullivan of Cohen & Wolf, to file a petition for certification with the Appellate Court. If the court accepts the petition, Sullivan may appeal. If not, the case is over.
If the case ends, BLT may act on a zoning change and build a high-rise with 476 apartments on a South End parcel , instead of the 128 allowed under an existing regulation.
The board’s vote to pursue an appeal followed a nearly two-hour discussion behind closed doors, which elected officials are allowed to do when deciding matters involving pending legal cases.
It was similar to what happened in March, when the board voted for Sullivan to file a petition for certification in a case involving developer George Comfort & Sons, which is seeking to build a large LifeTime Fitness complex in High Ridge Office Park.
As with the BLT case, residents in the LifeTime case asked the Board of Representatives to intervene on their behalf in the zoning matter.
Sullivan said representatives, in pursuing the appeals, are acting on authority given them by the city Charter to review decisions by the Planning Board - in the BLT case - and the Zoning Board - in the High Ridge case.
“That is part of the board’s obligation under the Charter,” Sullivan said.
The developer, which is remaking a large swath of the South End in a project called Harbor Point, has “complete confidence” in its case, said Ted Ferrarone, co-president of BLT.
“It is discouraging that the Board of Representatives would choose to continue to fight both the Planning Board and the clear and decisive ruling by the Superior Court,” Ferrarone said in a statement.
Representatives and BLT have said the change would allow BLT to build 108 units per acre instead of the 29 units per acre allowed under the original density allotment.
Residents have said that BLT’s plans for denser, taller buildings threaten to destroy what’s left of the character of their neighborhood. They petitioned against the density change BLT requested from the Planning Board and a similar one requested by city planners who want to establish consistent zoning regulations in the area.
A few weeks after representatives rejected the Planning Board changes and
supported the residents’ protest , BLT sued the board, saying it did not have the authority to accept the petition, and that it was invalid.
In March, Judge Marshall Berger, who handles land-use cases in Hartford and also ruled in the High Ridge case, agreed.
“The judge said he did not believe the petition was valid,” Sullivan said. “In both cases he said the board doesn’t have jurisdiction to determine whether a petition is valid or not.”
Berger blamed it on the city Charter, which he said doesn’t explain who has that authority, according to his decision.
“My response to that is, ‘OK, if the board can’t determine it, who can? And if you don’t know, how can you eliminate the board?’” Sullivan said.
If the judge thinks representatives have no jurisdiction, then their vote on the petition was irrelevant, Sullivan said. It should not affect their subsequent vote to overturn the Planning Board decision to allow denser development on the South End parcel, she said.
In the other case representatives are seeking to appeal, developer George Comfort & Sons plans to build a large LifeTime Fitness complex in High Ridge Office Park, which is surrounded by single-family homes and condominiums. That developer also claims representatives accepted an invalid protest petition from residents.
Representatives in that case decided that a Zoning Board change to allow construction of the fitness complex would have opened the door to development that could harm the character of neighborhoods surrounding High Ridge and half a dozen other office parks in the city. They also fought for the right of condominium owners to be counted as property owners.
But
in February, Berger ruled that, not only do representatives have no authority over the validity of such petitions, but also that condo owners aren’t landowners under the city Charter and so have no right to protest.
NEWINGTON – The Town Hall and Community Center Project has been completed on budget, on schedule and in conformance with plans and specifications. Town staff began moving into the newly-built facility July 15, after the certificate of occupancy was signed and remaining code compliance issues were cleared.
Stonington — A Boston-based developer has unveiled plans for 82 mixed income apartments on the site of the former Campbell Grain Building site .Winn Companies , which builds and manages similar projects across the country, outlined the $30 million project at the end of Coggswell Street to the Economic Development Commission during a virtual meeting Monday night. A virtual public presentation is slated for July 29 at 5:30 p.m.