Letter: Objection to Pending 8-30g Applications

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I strongly object to the four applications that I know of to the Greenwich P&Z under 8-30g for new buildings at:

1. 5 Brookridge Drive / East Post Road
2. Church Street and Sherwood Place – in an Historic District
3. 240 Greenwich Ave., behind Bank of America
4. Benedict Court, behind St. Mary’s Church.

My objections are as follows:

  • Greenwich has infrastructure problems:
    • We regularly are having sewage breaks. When we have heavy rains, the overflow pollutes the waters of the Sound off our coast – an environmental issue.  We have flooding in low-lying areas now. With the increasing impact of global warming, flooding will become more of an issue here in Greenwich.
    • Aquarion is sore pressed to provide sufficient public water lines with sufficient pressure to meet the needs of homes. Our Fire Department has been hampered by low hydrant water pressure to fight fires.
    • Eversource already is having problems meeting all the electric needs of the community and are trying to solve the problem.
    • Many of our school properties are deteriorating physically, resulting in at least three schools having been closed in the past five years for emergency repairs.  With almost 500 new units in Town, we will have to face some 1,000 new students.  The schools don’t have the capacity to handle them.
    • The Fire and Police Departments are seeking more people.  If we increase our population, those departments will have to grow – thereby increasing our taxes.
  • Traffic and parking already are problems.  With almost 500 more units, which will add some 360 cars within ½ mile of Greenwich Ave., parking will be even more difficult.  At the moment stores and restaurants are having difficulty getting patrons because downtown parking is almost impossible.  If you add all those units, some businesses will have to close, leading to less employment and less taxes paid by those businesses.  Projects 3 and 4, above, will be built on existing parking lots, further reducing parking in Town.
  • Historic Districts and buildings fall under environmental laws and are recognized under Federal law, receiving tax benefits under the law.  A developer does not have the right to destroy an Historic District or building.  Project 2, above, should be rejected just for that.
  • I moved to Greenwich 41 years ago after working 13 years overseas. I bought a home in Greenwich because of the Character of the Town, with the understanding that zoning will remain basically unchanged. If you approve these applications, Greenwich will eventually look like Stamford. You therefore are taking away much of the value of my largest investment. The legal concept is “bait and switch”, which is illegal. A town’s character is everything – like integrity. Without it we will lose our souls!

Besides the general objections above that apply to all the projects, the following are more specific reasons for P&Z to turn down the four applications:

  • Property 1:  That part of the Post Road is extremely busy before, during and after schools are open.  With more residents there, fire and police response times in Town will be even more negatively impacted. The single family home on that property is currently on septic.  Can the public sewage system handle the proposed 86 units?
  • Property 2 is in an Historic District. Besides all of the above objections, my understanding from CT169 Strong is that Historic Districts are covered by environmental law.  The destruction of 9 historic properties is therefore illegal. Adding 192 units in that area will surely overburden all of the infrastructure issues raised above.
  • Properties 3 and 4 are envisaged to be built on existing parking lots. That will exacerbate parking and traffic in downtown Greenwich, impacting the ability of local merchants and restaurants to operate profitably. In turn, that will reduce tax revenue for the Town and employment opportunities.

P&Z has to turn down those four applications. You have good reason, under the law, to do so. To not turn them down is not meeting your obligations to your Greenwich neighbors, and would show lack of integrity.

Richard G. Schulze
Greenwich
Board member of NEGA

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