Thomas MacMillan Photo
A previous developer got permission to put up nine homes on this lot in the Quinnipiac Meadows neighborhood. But when a new owner wanted to put up 12, zoners said nope, after a legal discussion about an indefinite article.
That’s what happened Tuesday night, when Robert Anastasio appeared with his lawyer, Anthony Avallone, before the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) in the Hall of Records on Orange Street.
Anastasio owns 3.4 acres at 1445 Quinnipiac Ave., where he hoped to put up 12 single-family houses. He applied to the BZA for permission to build 12 structures where one is permitted, to have the houses closer together than zoning normally allows. The houses would all share the lot and be accessed by a private drive, in an example of “cluster housing” said Avallone.
After a group of neighbors strenuously objected to the plan, the BZA voted down Anastasio’s request.
Neighbors said they feared increases in traffic and expressed concern that the residents of the new development would not be able to pay for the maintenance of their private road.
In his presentation to the board, Avallone (pictured) began by explaining that the BZA had previously approved a plan that would have subdivided the lot into nine parcels, with a house to be built on each. That proposal was approved several years ago, when a different developer owned the property. Building nine houses was seen as “a reasonable use,” Avallone said.
Operative Word: “A”
The operative word there is “a,” Avallone said. It wasn’t meant to be the only reasonable use that could be approved, he said.
The new proposal is very reasonable, Avallone argued. Under the previous plan, the city would have had to maintain a new road, he said. “This proposal takes that obligation away from the city.”
An “association” of homeowners in the new development would be responsible for the maintenance of the road, Avallone said.
What Avallone pitched as an asset, some neighbors seized as a liability. Eight people raised their hands in opposition to the plan.
The northeast part of the city has a lot of private roads, said Quinnipiac Meadows Alderwoman Maureen O’Sullivan-Best (at right in photo), as Anastasio (at left) listened. The roads present a lot of problems, including not providing proper turning room for fire trucks and not keeping up with necessary maintenance, she said. The city will have to step in and take over when the association falls through, she said.
“I have a great concern about ‘We’ll start an association,’” said Doby Hall. She lives in the nearby Cherry Hill Court condominiums, which she said has 18 units and a private drive. It’s a big responsibility to take on street lighting, trash and recycling removal, and plowing, she said. You need to form a board and find people willing to serve on it, and that’s not something that people moving into single-family homes are going to want to do, she said.
Hall (pictured) later said that she was concerned about the potential for blight if the houses were to be built and an association created with a big maintenance burden on homeowners. It’s not like building condos, she said. “People don’t buy homes to be a part of an association.”
“I do look at this property every day,” said Cathy Rubano, who lives at 1451 Quinnipiac Ave. “I can’t imagine 12 houses squeezed into this lot. … We don’t need anymore congestion.” The neighborhood already has problems with traffic, she said.
“It’s the density here that we feel is the problem,” said Deputy Director of Zoning Tom Talbot, referring to a City Plan Department advisory report that recommended denying the proposal. No more than nine houses should be built on the lot, he said.
During deliberation, board member Patricia King picked up on one of the neighbors’ talking points. “I know from having been on the City Plan [Commission] … what happens with these associations having these type of roads, what happens oftentimes, particularly if it’s a small number of units, is they can’t take care of the space. And then there’s problems and they can’t afford to repave them and then the city has to come in,” she said.
Hall, seated in the audience, nodded approvingly as King spoke.
The board voted four to one to deny the application. Victor Fasano, the first to vote, was the only approver.
On Wednesday, Avallone said he his client had not yet decided his next step.
Avallone said the discussion of the private road and its upkeep was beside the point, when the main issue was whether or not to allow 12 buildings on the lot. Cluster housing is legal in New Haven, and if a property owner wants to build a road on his lot, that’s within his rights, Avallone said.
“You either have a right to do something or you don’t,” he said. “The issue here is nine or 12 houses.”