First, the guide to decisions by the Planning & Zoning Commission is our "Plan of Conservation & Development". It contains reasoning for many interconnected aspects of a municipalities operations such as schools and enrollment projections, emergency response needs of fire and police, traffic and roads infrastructure, water collections systems and sewer treatment capabilities, etc.
The services required and demands on staff or equipment are impacted by decisions made by our PZC. A development approval for an office complex may require road improvements with signalization at intersections. A residential development may impact the school systems. Both approval types may impact the sewer system and pumping station facilities. Certainly, any decision for development increases the grand list upon which the mill rate multiplies to generate our property tax revenue to operate, and the impact can vary with the scale of the proposal being approved.
Second, a typical suburban residential development is a net cash flow negative for the City. The property taxes generated by a house on an acre lot is far outstripped by the costs of City services such as roadway plowing, refuse pickup, police protection, and the most impacting component: education costs of children that such style of development typically attracts. Empirical studies of Old Dairy Estates and Mayflower Lane subdivisions prove this without doubt.
There are styles of development such as condos, where the character of the building's design or neighborhood layout, is not attractive to families with children, and are target marketed toward empty-nesters or "active adult lifestyle" folks. Typically, that is accomplished with a more dense building design that doesn't require leach fields or septic systems with reserve areas that eat up acreage. These developments occur where there is access to the City's sewerage system, and also where there is access to City Water (which is a misnomer as it is a private company's water system not a municipal owned network - Aquarion Water Company, fka Bridgeport Hydraulic Company.)
Three, these systems of sewer and water are not available in significant portions of White Hills section of town. These ares are defined by the Water Pollution Control Authority as a "non-sewered area" on their maps, and there is no plans to expand into that area, in fact it is an area that they are avoiding expanding into with such capacity demands they would bring. There is significant acreage of raw land in that section of town, and while much of it is protected from development via Open Space acquisition (title is in public ownership) or Purchase of Development Rights (title remains in private ownership), there remains large tracts that have potential to impact the City's future if they were to change from their current natural character which has no guarantee of continuing in perpetuity.
Land in private ownership has the ability to be developed as of right's granted via that ownership. Those abilities are molded by the zoning associated with the land parcel, what can be accomplished on land given such zoning regulations, and subdivision regulations that breaks the land into smaller parcels (by a developer) so that they can have construction of structures (by builders).
Result, Being knowledgeable in the aspects of residential subdivisions, including construction and sales of such real-estate, there is a network of participants that desire to have the economy of scale that comes with dense development that takes advantage of sewer capability. This has caused applications for residential component development in the Bridgeport Avenue corridor, however that region is zoned for commercial development.
Allowing zone changes to City plans and maps is appropriate in certain circumstances, however doing such a change in this corridor has several impacts:
- It takes away grand list creation of the highest potential, weakening the municipalities capability in the future to address its costs via grand list increase instead of tax rate increase. (income is largely made from grand list or tax base multiplied by the mill rate or tax rate)
- It introduces conflict of zoning types and subsequent uses. A 24hr gas station or pharmacy can cause issues of public nuisance when in close proximity to residential living areas.
- Current commercial corridors do not have provisions for pedestrian movement such as sidewalks or crosswalks, both of which can cause conflicts with vehicular corridors.
- Infrastructure needs planned for (sewage treatment, roadways) or prepared for by utilities (water, electric, telecommunications) are impacted.
Conclusion the zoning regulations for the Bridgeport Avenue corridor should be adhered to for the future viability of the community. Recent approvals of assisted living facilities or apartment type complexes, are not appropriate in my personal opinion.
Recent applications for similar style development as those recently approved is a result from the encouragement that has been given to such applicants having witnessed the recent approvals via PDD methods (Planned Development Districts).
