Alders Approve Union Station Rezoning

It’s official: Union Station and its adjacent lots are now a ​“Transit Oriented Community,” where taller, denser developments supporting car-free living may soon take shape — so long as new housing builders can navigate an extra bureaucratic step.

Alders unanimously voted to create a new ​“Transit Oriented Community” zone and apply it to the train station at an eventful meeting on Monday evening.

The full Board of Alders had convened for its first May meeting in the Aldermanic Chamber, where over a hundred protesters listened for a long-awaited vote on a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza. That public audience seemed to hold a collective breath throughout the meeting — and then erupted into irate chants of ​“Shame!” after alders voted to ​“read and file” the proposed resolution.

Within the tense half hour before the ceasefire resolution came up, alders approved the zoning legislation as a key step toward a planned redevelopment of properties adjacent to Union Station.

Prior to Monday evening, the properties at 170 Union Ave. had been zoned for ​“wholesale and distribution” uses, such as warehouses and car dealerships. 

Now, developers can instead use that land for restaurants, grocery stores, offices, and (if a special permit is granted) housing.

The Transit Oriented Community Zone enables a relatively high floor-area ratio of 10 — a ratio that developers can increase to 12 if they follow certain sustainability guidelines. This could lead to buildings of up to about 34 stories, compared to the current limit that could theoretically permit a 17-story building, according to the New Haven Parking Authority.

The zone also enables developers to propose a higher density of housing, while capping parking at 85 spaces per acre.

In an April presentation to alders, City Plan Director Laura Brown framed the rezoning as a means of fostering sorely-needed housing aligned with a growing movement for ​“transit-oriented development” — the placement of housing by communal transportation hubs. 

Alders wound up permitting housing — and hotels, conference centers, and assisted living facilities — in this newly defined zone only if developers secure a special permit from the City Plan Commission. In that same April committee meeting, Westville Alder Adam Marchand cited the​“prevalence of flooding” in the Long Wharf area, amid the rising sea levels and intensifying storms anticipated as part of climate change, as his motivation for the special-permit-requiring amendment.

The new ​“Transit Oriented Community Zone” had been championed by the New Haven Parking Authority, which manages operations at Union Station, with support from the City Plan Department.

Parking Authority Director Doug Hausladen heralded the rezoning approval. 

“It’s really exciting to take the next big step in the process of redeveloping our parking lots for better use,” he said.

“This neighborhood, the Hill, has not seen a lot of investment until as of late,” he added. ​“It’s wonderful to really start seeing investments in the Hill.”

Hausladen was alluding to an influx of planned developments and street redesigns slated for the currently car- and highway-dominated area where the Hill transitions into Downtown — including a proposed overhaul of the adjacent Long Wharf neighborhood, a now-in-construction mixed-use building where the former New Haven Coliseum once stood, the Housing Authority’s planned redevelopment of the former Church Street South complex, and a revamping of State Street to better accommodate active transportation.

Hill Alder Carmen Rodriguez, whose ward encompasses Union Station, echoed this sentiment on Monday evening. The rezoning ​“will bring much needed development to this area,” she said.