Toll is not are friend

Toll Brothers plan is bad for Bethel

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published 8:00 pm, Saturday, April 14, 2007

 What part of "denied for a gazillion legitimate reasons" don't you understand? And yet in spite of these denials, Toll Brothers continues to take our town commissions to court trying to overturn their decisions.

They want to build 129 units on 22 acres (of which only 10 acres are usable) in a one-quarter acre zoning area using the affordable housing gimmick to overturn our town laws.

I'm going to mention just a few reasons why Toll Brothers was denied building its development:

Our town is almost at maximum sewer capacity, and a large development like this could have enormous impact on public budgets such as school and public safety services. It is a very old sewer system, which constantly has to be maintained.

We are also in a flood zone and this development would cause the potential for additional flooding.

We already have an oversaturated traffic problem without adding an additional 300-plus cars on Reservoir Street. There are also wetland problems, ridges that would have to be blasted and environmental issues, just to name a few problems that show this development should never be allowed to happen.

As for the Lexington Meadows and Timber Oaks developments, they both met town requirements and were approved.

Dr. Hubbard is only concerned because he owns this property and Toll Brothers will only buy it from him if they can build on it.

If he really cared about Bethel, he would sell this property to our town for open space. This way, everybody (except Toll Brothers) would benefit. Wouldn't it be nice to be remembered for this instead of selling out your town for 30 pieces of silver?

 

Promoted Stories

Toll Brothers Pays $741,000 To Settle National EPA Lawsuit

November 02, 2012|By CHRISTOPHER HOFFMAN, Special to The Courant, The Hartford Courant

NEWINGTON — — The developer seeking to build luxury homes on Cedar Mountain agreed in June to pay a $741,000 penalty to resolve more than 600 alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act nationwide.
Toll Brothers, one of the nation's largest homebuilders, allegedly failed over a period of years to control runoff from its construction sites, polluting nearby streams and rivers, according to a June 20 Environmental Protection Agency press release.

The alleged violations were concentrated in Virginia and Maryland, the release says.
"The majority of the alleged violations involve Toll Brothers' repeated failures to comply with permit requirements at its construction sites, including requirements to install and maintain adequate storm water pollution controls," the release reads.
The settlement covers 370 sites in 23 states, including 13 in Connecticut, according to the EPA website.
Toll Brothers Vice President John F. Lehane acknowledged a problem in 2009 at a site in Prospect, which he said the company responded to quickly after an EPA inspection.
But Lehane said it was "not accurate" to say there were violations at the 13 Connecticut sites. Toll Brothers voluntarily included the sites in the settlement, he said.
Asked why the company would submit the sites for the settlement if there were no violations, Lehane said, "That goes to the terms of the consent decree, and I can't really discuss the terms of the consent decree because it is not approved by the judge."
Lehane characterized the settlement as an agreement to implement an "enhanced compliance program." As part of a national push to improve compliance, the EPA has reached similar agreements with eight other national homebuilders, he said.
"The consent decree provides for a company-wide compliance program at Toll Brothers Communities," Lehane said in an email. "It includes management and oversight measures that exceed the environmental protection requirements of ordinary storm water permits. The proposed Newington community will incorporate these enhanced management and oversight measures."
Toll Brothers is seeking a wetlands permit from the Conservation Commission to construct 48 luxury homes on undeveloped land on Cedar Mountain. Critics packed a public hearing last month to express fears about nearby wetlands and blasting needed to dig basements and utility trenches.
Conservation Commission Chairman Phillip Block said Thursday some speakers at the public hearing referenced the EPA settlement. For the commission to consider the allegations in its decision, critics must submit documentation before the public hearing closes, he said.
"All information properly presented to the commission will be considered," Block said.
The public hearing remains open and will resume Nov. 13, Block said.
On April 9. 2009, EPA officials checked the Toll Brothers' construction site at the Regency at Prospect, according to the EPA lawsuit. The inspection revealed the company had failed to implement the erosion and sediment controls required by its state Department of Environmental Protection permit, resulting in sediment discharge into a stream that feeds Beaver Pond Brook, the suit reads.

                 From Across the Aisle 2/12/16                                       

Many town residents have approached me with questions about the future of the Country Club of Woodbridge (CCW). It appears that the First Selectman favors a plan presented by Toll Brothers to close the golf course and pool and build 69 age-restricted housing units on 36 acres in the northwest quadrant of the property, near the intersection of Johnson and Ansonia Roads.
This scheme poses a sticky problem, because such dense development is not permitted under Woodbridge’s zoning regulations. The CCW is located in the Residential A zone, where lot size of at least 1.5 acres is required. It is not a trivial matter to change zoning to triple the residential density allowed on the CCW; such a radical change could open the door to similar dense development on some undeveloped parcels throughout the entire Residential A zone—about 90% of the town.
The purpose of zoning is to protect homeowners and safeguard the character of neighborhoods by setting out exactly what uses are permitted on all properties that fall within the same zone. By ensuring predictability in land use, zoning helps maintain property values. When you buy a home, you want to know that your neighbor can’t put up a gas station, or a strip mall, or a condo complex, because that would damage your property value and your quality of life.
Almost two years ago, the First Selectman hired New Haven attorney Marjorie Shansky to give an opinion as to whether the Town of Woodbridge could craft regulations that would allow condo development but confine that zoning change to the CCW property alone. Selectman Joe Dey verbally requested a copy of that opinion in January of 2015 but was refused. Only after Cathy Wick filed a formal Freedom of Information request for the document was it released by the First Selectman. (You can read the opinion on the Woodbridge Republican Party website www.WoodbridgeGOP.org.)
It is understandable that the First Selectman did not want to release Attorney Shansky’s opinion, since it gives absolutely NO assurance that a zoning change for the CCW will avoid a judicial finding of illegal “spot zoning”. Spot zoning is defined as a regulation that benefits a single parcel of land by creating a zone just for that parcel that is different from the surrounding properties in the area. Apparently, since this first legal opinion did not do the trick, the administration has gone shopping for another outside lawyer to provide yet another outside opinion, all at Woodbridge taxpayer expense.
To change zoning regulations to allow dense residential development at the CCW property is to take a colossal risk. Responsible town officials ought not wade into these shark-infested waters. To do so is to invite protracted, expensive lawsuits by deep-pocketed national corporations with a history of running roughshod over small communities like ours. To do so is to destroy a neighborhood and the value of the properties therein, making the sale of a home near the CCW problematic, if not impossible. To do so is to squander Woodbridge’s unique status as the only town in Connecticut that borders a major city but feels like a rural community, just to satisfy short term finances.
           Maria Cruz Kayne, Selectman, is an unaffiliated voter who ran on the Republican ticket.
Contact # 203-887- 9065

How the vote works

Lack of interest foils public works garage vote in Woodbridge

By Bridget Albert, Register Staff

Posted: 07/16/12, 12:01 AM EDT | Updated: on 07/16/2012

0 Comments

WOODBRIDGE -- A special town meeting to vote on a new public works garage became an informational session because fewer than 100 residents showed up.

First Selectman Ed Sheehy said since there was no quorum, the selectmen and Finance Board "in the near future" will vote on the project, per town charter. The project needs a two-thirds vote of each board to pass.

Tony Genovese, finance director, said the cost to taxpayers is $26 per $100,000 assessment.

A public works building committee has met more than 50 times since 2003 to discuss the project. In 1999, gasoline leaked from the underground tank, and since then, the Public Works Department has been scattered in various buildings.

Advertisement

Roth Moore and Kugan LLC, New Haven, has designed the new structure. Proposed are 13 bays. The size is 16,570 square feet. Architect Jerry Kugan said an elevator is still being considered for ADA compliance.

Residents took the opportunity to comment.

"There are people in this town who are shopping at food pantries ... $5 million is a lot of money to spend," Joan Lindy said.

Warren Connors, operations manager for the Public Works Department, said the equipment needs to be parked inside to extend longevity. Justin Parker disagreed, saying preventive maintenance is key.

"Maybe the public works could join with the fire department in their new station and use the bathrooms," Lainie Lipsher said.

Frank Aveni supports the project. "We've got a new firehouse, police renovation, schools remodeled. The highway department has always gotten the short end of the stick. This project is long overdue," he said.

woodbridge town news

From Across the Aisle – 12/11/15

Posted by J.M. Kriz

Date: December 10, 2015

in: Town Depts. & Agencies

“In fiscally challenging times, it is particularly important to understand and consider fully the economic benefits of open space.” The author of this statement is not, as you might expect, the president of Greenpeace, or the American Farmland Trust, or the Environmental Protection Agency. The author of this statement is Thomas DiNapoli, New York State Comptroller. Last week, I submitted to my colleagues on the Board of Selectmen a 20-page report published by Mr. DiNapoli in 2010, entitled “Economic Benefits of Open Space Preservation”. (Go to www.WoodbridgeGOP.org to read the full report.)
This study is particularly noteworthy in that it was prepared by a government finance expert, not an environmentalist or a so-called tree hugger. It has particular relevance at this moment in Woodbridge, as the First Selectman is contemplating the sale of town owned open space at the Country Club of Woodbridge to Toll Brothers. To summarize the report’s relevant findings:

• Open space costs towns less than residential lands. “Open space demands fewer municipal services than lands in other use…In comparison, lands in residential use typically consume services of greater value than the property tax revenues generated by these lands.” (DiNapoli, p. 7)
• Open space helps control tax increases. “Open space preservation can actually help keep taxes lower…Conversely, the loss of open space can increase per capita tax rates in a community.” (DiNapoli, p. 8)
• Open space protects home values. “Open space preservation can contribute to increased land values…due to the aesthetic, recreational, and other potential values of open space, property values of adjacent lands often increase.” (DiNapoli, p. 9)
• Open space preservation is better for the long term health of municipalities. “Decision-making that explicitly considers and values the positive economic effects of open space will best serve a community’s long term interests.” (DiNapoli, p. 2)

Woodbridge is unique as the only town in Connecticut that borders a major city but feels like a rural community. This unique character—and the high property values that have always accompanied it—are a direct result of our longstanding, far sighted zoning regulations. A Toll Brothers proposal under consideration envisions 69 units on 36 acres – triple the residential density allowed by our zoning regulations. If zoning is changed to accommodate the Toll Brothers, we risk that such a change could spread to other large parcels of land in town.
Open space is a precious, finite natural resource that supports the value of our properties. It is central to the quality of life in our Town. It must be preserved, not frittered away. You wouldn’t sell your family heirlooms to go on a lavish vacation; similarly we shouldn’t sell our valuable assets to satisfy short term finances.
Woodbridge’s financial challenges cannot be blamed on the debt from the purchase of the CCW nor will these challenges be solved by selling out to Toll Brothers. When ALL of the costs of residential development are taken into account, it is clear that the most financially responsible option for the CCW is to preserve it as open space.
Maria Cruz Kayne, Selectman, is an Unaffiliated Voter who ran on the Republican Ticket.

Tags:Maria Kayne

Links to CCW

.
2014-18 RFP - Country Club of Woodbridge    
Due Date: 4:30 pm, August 4, 2014
Answers to Questions Submitted by Interested Parties (Posted July 24, 2014)

CCW 2011 Conceptual Site Plan
CCW Capital Needs Assessment
CCW 2011 Expression of Interest
CCW Golf June 2012 financials
CCW Golf June 2013 financials
        CCW Golf Dec 2013 financials
CCW Phase I subsurface investigation, 50 Woodfield Rd
CCW Phase II subsurface investigation, 50 Woodfield Rd
CCW Phase III subsurface investigation, 50 Woodfield Rd
CCW Property Use Options Report
CCW Structural and Architectural Analysis
CCW Summary Appraisal Report

The Toll Mobile

I have been driving all around Woodbridge in my "Toll Mobile" trying to spread the word about the destruction they are planning to do.

I have said this before in Town Meetings that I am not in favor of zoning changes or the development of these cluster homes. I am a proud resident of Woodbridge and love the open space and beauty the town has to offer. These cluster homes would destroy that. The Country Club is a valuable asset to the residents of Woodbridge as a recreational facility.

When you see my Toll Mobile, HONK!  Honk, to show that you are with me on this issue. Remember that voting for Town Selectman takes place on May 4th. No matter what your stance is, your vote counts!