Opposition Group Mobilizes to “Stop the Senior Living Facility on Belden Hill Rd.”

After a proposed senior living development on Belden Hill Rd. recently cleared its first hurdle in the Town’s approval process, a group of concerned residents began mobilizing an effort to stop it. A “Stop the Senior Living Facility on Belden Hill Rd.” change.org petition has now garnered over 150 signatures as a fledgling opposition group is taking shape and preparing for more organized activity.

Background

As GOOD Morning Wilton previously reported on June 18, Wilton’s Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) recently approved a sewer application for a proposed senior-living development at 329-331-345 Belden Hill Rd., the property formerly occupied by the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

The project envisioned by a developer, Hines Interests Limited Partnership, would consist of 280 units, including 208 independent living units (a mix of cottages and apartments), 48 assisted living units and 24 memory care units.

The WPCA was the first real test for the proposal at Wilton’s various land use boards, though its focus was strictly on the merits of the sewer allocation. The Planning and Zoning Commission has held a pre-application review, but has yet to receive a formal application or hold a public hearing on the matter.

Before voting, the WPCA members considered input from the public. With the exception of one resident’s letter in opposition to the project, the public input received by the WPCA was largely in support of it. As one resident told the WPCA prior to the vote, “The neighborhood wants this, the town needs this, and the seniors of our community deserve this.”

Though P&Z originally did publish two letters it received (one on behalf of the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps raising concerns about potential call volume, and one from SSND neighbors David and Beth Cristini who were in favor of the project), it’s typically commission policy to not publish letters from the public during the pre-application period. Since then (and after objections were raised by one P&Z member), it appears that the letters were removed from the P&Z pre-application file. It is not known what other opinions the commission may have received since the May 12 meeting, but there was at least one submitted in opposition to the project. That letter was sent to both P&Z and the WPCA, and was published on the town website by the WPCA.

The eight-page letter was sent by Wilton residents Kari and Tim Roberts on July 8 — after the WPCA’s decision to approve the sewer application. It offered a detailed rebuke of the data and assumptions presented by Hines so far, including everything from traffic and parking to affordability and fit with Wilton’s Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD). [Editor’s Note: Kari Roberts is running for a Board of Finance seat in Wilton’s municipal election in November.]

The Opposition

Wilton resident Alyssa Brady says she was deeply disturbed to discover that Town officials believed the majority of neighboring property owners are in favor of the proposal — a perception she strongly refutes.

“There’s a lot of neighbors who do not want this at all,” Brady asserted.

“I’ve heard from a lot of different people — all kinds of people with different angles,” she continued. “But the one thing [they have] in common is that they don’t think that Belden Hill Rd. and the School Sisters of Notre Dame property is the place to put very dense housing like this.”

After researching the proposed project and speaking with other residents, she launched the change.org petition on June 25, which now has 155 signatures (as of the time this story was published).

“Wilton should not allow high-density housing in residential areas. The Hines/SSND project has many flaws that will damage the quality of life in the whole town,” the petition’s opening statement reads.

Brady noted that Hines’ outreach only included the property owners in close proximity to the SSND property, but feels many other Wilton residents — both in the broader Belden Hill area or throughout Wilton — have a stake in the matter.

“Nobody came and talked to the rest of the neighborhood. They only spoke to the people whose properties were directly adjacent,” she said. “I didn’t really even know much about this, to be honest, until I started seeing articles about it.”

Though reluctant to call herself the group’s official spokesperson because it has not adopted a formal structure or elected leaders yet, Brady did say she was the “facilitator” for the group’s meetings. She described a “small committee” which has to date held three meetings via Zoom, with a fourth scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, open to all petition signers.

Brady says the group’s current focus is on gathering facts and sharing information with residents throughout town about what is being proposed. Members are actively seeking expert advice, brainstorming ideas for how to proceed, and preparing to formalize an organizational structure.

Wilton resident Robert Monro, who has lived on Belden Hill Rd. since 1992 and is attending the opposition group’s meetings, said the existing traffic patterns are problematic even without any new development, and the prospect of increasing density on the busy road is “a huge concern.”

“We are seeing extraordinary traffic at the Belden Hill Rd. intersection with Wolfpit [Rd.] both north and south,” Monro wrote in an email to GMW. “The SSND project could be the next event to put the traffic at an even higher unacceptable level.”

Brady noted the opposition group is still working on the platform of issues it intends to focus on. The petition highlights traffic concerns, but states “this is not just about traffic.” Another key concern is the potential demand on emergency response.

Nicky LaMonica, a longtime Belden Hill Rd. resident and active member of the opposition group, says the issues are numerous.

“[With] 280 residents, 24-hour staff for the facility, visitors to the facility, the strain on our volunteer EMS, and the addition of artificial lighting… Belden Hill Road is not the place for such a facility,” she wrote in a statement to GMW, adding that she has often counted as many as 30 cars passing by her driveway before she can safely exit.

Response to the Opposition

Scott Gance, president of The Partners Commercial Real Estate Services, a real estate brokerage and consulting firm, has been working closely with SSND since the project was first envisioned. He is also a Wilton resident and a “nearby neighbor” of the SSND property who says he has “a personal investment in the neighborhood’s character.”

“I’ve had a unique perspective on the thoughtful care and deliberate planning that has shaped” the proposal, Gance wrote in a statement to GMW.

He defended the Sisters’ efforts to “actively engage with neighbors over several years,” and to include any questions and concerns in the process — which he described as “collaborative,” “transparent” and “genuine forums for dialogue” that included four neighborhood meetings with approximately 25 residents each. He also praised SSND’s choice of Hines as the developer and called the proposal “a meaningful and welcome improvement over the current site conditions.”

Responding to traffic concerns, Scott said the expected traffic from the new development would be “consistent with current use and lower than other potential alternatives.”

Gance did not comment specifically on the change.org petition or the formation of an opposition group, but highlighted numerous site improvements and features of the proposed development.

GMW also reached out to Lauren Ciotti, director of communications for the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Atlantic-Midwest Province, who responded after this story was first published. She emphasizing SSND’s deep roots in the Wilton community and the “difficult decision to sell our home.”

“We invited our neighbors to participate in multiple meetings with us as we worked to select a good buyer [Hines],” Ciotti wrote.

Ciotti did not specifically comment on the petition or the opposition group’s concerns reported in this story, but did offer assurances that Hines’ plans take the entire Wilton community into consideration.

“Hines is committed to the neighborhood and the entire community,” Ciotti wrote, adding that Hines’ commitment is evident in the architectural and site plans, which include preservation of the chapel and the addition of walking trails which will all be open to town residents, as well as extensive landscaping enhancements and buffers.

What’s Next?

Wilton’s P&Z has not received a formal application from Hines yet. Like many other applicants have chosen to do, Hines has the option to request another pre-application discussion with P&Z. Such discussions are non-binding, but do not include the opportunity for public comment.

If and when a formal application is received, only then will a public hearing be opened, which includes opportunity for members of the public to submit letters and deliver live testimony during a meeting. Live testimony occurs after the applicant finishes their entire presentation and all P&Z commissioner questions have been addressed. Once the public comment period concludes, the hearing is closed (unless the applicant wishes to respond to public comment). The commission then proceeds to deliberate and vote on the application.

All P&Z meetings and agendas are posted on the Town website. All pre-application materials submitted by Hines have also been posted there.

[Editor’s note: this story was updated to clarify Gance represents SSND, not Hines. It was also updated a second time to include comment from SSND, which was received after the story was first published.]