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FAIRFIELD, Conn. Plans for a 33,400-square-foot medical office complex on Black Rock Turnpike were shot down Tuesday night. Fairfields Town Plan and Zoning Commission ruled that the controversial plan was a nice idea, but it would have put too much strain on the mostly residential neighborhood.
It was a great building on the wrong site, vice chair Seth Baratz said before the commissions unanimous vote against the project.
Fairfield Gateway LLC hoped to put up two buildings totaling 33,400 square feet of space at 4185 Black Rock Turnpike, just north of the Merritt Parkways Exit 44. The site is the former home of the Fairfield Plant Factory, a nursery that closed last year. Fairfield Gateway said it planned to use the buildings for private practice and specialty medical offices.
The company asked the Plan and Zoning Commission to rezone the area around the proposed site and grant a special exception to put the project there. The land is currently strictly residential, but Fairfield Gateway hoped that the commission would change the regulations to allow for a commercial development.
Plan and Zoning Director Joe Devonshuk told the commission that legally, to change the regulations, it needed to meet certain criteria. Among other things, the change must fit in with the overall plan for the town, must fit in with the surrounding neighborhood and must not add undue traffic. Gerry Alessi and the other commissioners said Tuesday the plan failed on all counts.
I dont think this commission wants to change the way this town looks, Alessi said. It has a character to it. And I dont think we want it to become a city.
The proposal caused a stir in the neighborhood, prompting two nights of public hearings in October and November. Fairfielders wrote about 45 letters regarding the project, and the commission heard three hours of testimony from neighbors both for and against the idea.
Nearby resident Jane Connors said Nov. 1 that she was initially against the project but changed her mind when Fairfield Gateway made its case in a meeting for neighbors. Understanding what they want to put there and that the lands going to be sold anyway, and what the alternative could be, I honestly think that its a very good choice, she said.
Still, the commission voted to deny Fairfield Gateways application Tuesday. The developers could appeal the decision to higher bodies, or they could come up with a new plan. Jim Kennelly and other commission members said they would not oppose development entirely, if builders came up with a plan that more in line with whats already in the area.
Something small and attractive that fits the zone would be appropriate, Kennelly said. Someone threw out the idea of a small group of stores."
"If something like that appears, its not the end of the world.
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