KENT, Conn.—The members of the Inland Wetlands Commission took note at their May meeting of correspondence from resident Bonnie Bevans, who urged that a public hearing be held on the proposal to build 80 units of housing on a meadow near town hall.
The letter can be read here.
“We don’t have an application before us, so we can’t have a public hearing,” IWC Chairman Lynn Werner said. “Her letter is not enough to call for a hearing. We would call a hearing if we were to determine, based on information from the applicant or our consultant that [the development] could have a significant impact. The second way [to have one called] is for 25 people [to] request it.”
She noted that Jim Millstein, managing partner of Kent Housing Development Associates, and his team came before the commission to discuss their concept for the project, but have yet to formally apply.
Land Use Administrator Tai Kern explained that a Planned Development District, or PDD, was approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission in April for the parcel. The PDD restricts use of the land to the project proposed by Kent Housing Development Associates, a group established by Millstein for its development.
A Planned Development District, designated as PPD#1, establishes the team’s “vision” of the project but gives no specific details. “Where the buildings are, the number of buildings, units and roads are approved and will be filed on the land records,” Kern explained. “The plan stays with the property forever. But they still need to go to wetlands for the details of engineering to be sure there is no impact. And they have to go to the Architectural Review Board for esthetics, and then back to PZC for site plan approval.”
She said site plan approval looks at specific details the concept plan does not have. “They have a check list,” Kern said. “If they meet the requirements, it will be approved with no further public interaction.”
IWC Chairman Lynn Werner asked what would happen if the engineering of the site called for something other than what the master plan shows.
“From the applicant’s point of view, he has been working with his team and has some assurance it will work,” Kern reported. “You can hire your own consultant, and the applicant has to meet your standards. If it means removing a building, he might have to circle back and do it all over again.”
Millstein and his associates originally intended the project to be entirely affordable housing, a commodity the town desperately needs. But he was unable to obtain the federal tax credits that would have made the project feasible and is now proposing 80 units in 14 buildings, 20 percent of which—about 16 units— will be classified as affordable. He has clustered the buildings at the north end of the 12.5 acre property, leaving five acres of open space and wetlands on the southern portion.
