Key Points
- Restarting redevelopment discussions, Hines promises more community outreach as commissioners press for clarification on traffic and density.
- Potential road improvements and preservation of the historic Vollmer House are under consideration.
- Commissioners seek clearer building height comparisons to assess Hines’ proposed zoning changes.
Why It Matters: The discussions could shape both redevelopment of the School Sisters property and zoning standards for similar projects elsewhere in Wilton.
Developer Hines SL Wilton Associates LP pledged to engage with Wilton residents “in more deliberate ways” about its plans to redevelop the former School Sisters of Notre Dame property on Belden Hill Rd. as it appeared before the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) Tuesday night seeking to restart its application process.
Commissioners repeatedly emphasized their concerns about the potential increase in traffic that could be created by the proposed 280-unit continuing care retirement community (CCRC) and questioned the appropriateness of the planned building density and heights on the 38-acre site throughout the free-wheeling pre-application review during P&Z’s Oct. 13 meeting, which ran a little over two hours.
The pre-application review is Hines’ attempt to restart discussions with a clean slate after withdrawing its applications earlier this month as a result of P&Z’s decision to hold a separate public hearing for the developer’s proposed changes to the town’s zoning regulations.
Local residents have expressed concern that the developers’ proposal to enshrine a new building height measurement standard in the town’s zoning regulations would set a precedent for allowing excessively tall and densely packed residential buildings, not just on the School Sisters property but for other similar projects. Hines argues, however, that the prior use on the site is the compelling distinction.
“I’m trying to understand why you’ve proposed a [building] density that requires all these changes,” P&Z Chair Ken Hoffman said. “And I think that understanding that would help us make a sound decision.”
“I think that we’d be having a very different conversation if this was a site that was forested or comprised of single-family homes that we were demolishing and trying to put up a use like this. That’s not the case here,” Hines’ attorney Lisa Feinberg replied. “The reason that Hines was attracted to this site is because of its existing use and its existing intensity of use.”
Is a CCRC an Appropriate Use of the Property?
In stepping back from a formal application to a pre-application review — in which commissioners provide non-binding feedback allowing applicants to fine tune project proposals ahead of the formal public review process — Feinberg said that Hines was not seeking to pitch a particular project, but instead wanted “to really understand whether this commission believes that this use could be appropriate for the school sister’s property, and if so, at what scale.”
To make their case, Hines organized its presentation to address four questions: why a CCRC would be good for Wilton, why a CCRC would be an appropriate use for the site, why changes to the zoning regulations would be necessary to construct it, and what development standards would be appropriate for such a use on that particular site.
Feinberg argued that a CCRC would be good for the town because it conforms with two goals of the 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD): first, to conserve natural resources and open spaces by limiting new construction to the existing building envelope and protecting approximately 18 acres of wooded land, including 10 acres of wetland; and second, to increase the diversity of housing options in the town, particularly for retired residents.
A CCRC would be an appropriate use for the site, Feinberg said, because the property is already zoned for institutional use. She noted that although the surrounding area is zoned residential, it also contains several non-residential properties including Miller-Driscoll School, two churches and a South Norwalk Electric and Water (SNEW) facility.
“To us, replacing an existing institutional use with a similar institutional use in a neighborhood like this, with these existing institutional uses, makes a lot of sense,” Feinberg said. “That’s why we believe the property is really an ideal location for a CCRC in town.”
While senior housing is allowed in the residential neighborhood by special permit, the range of services provided at a CCRC is much broader than what the zoning regulations currently allow.
To help demonstrate that the proposed development would blend in with the existing neighborhood, Perkins-Eastman architect Valerie Mutterperl and landscape architect Wes Stout reviewed the proposed facility’s architectural and landscape features in detail. Mutterperl emphasized that the buildings would be set back 150 feet from Belden Hill Rd. — another requirement that would be specified in the updated zoning regulations — and the large interconnected main buildings would be constructed “long and low” to minimize their visibility from the street and neighboring properties. Stout explained that the setback would allow for nearly four acres of greenway along Belden Hill Rd. that would include trees and a walking trail.
Hines Lays Out Density, Building Height Rationale
As to the necessity for changes to the zoning regulations, Feinberg and engineer Craig Flaherty of Redniss & Mead explained the rationale for the proposed building density, setbacks, coverage and building height. “Those are the standards that really create the framework for development scale,” Feinberg said.
Hines has proposed a density standard of eight dwelling units per acre, which would include wetlands and land underwater as long as those are deed-restricted as conservation areas. The existing code permits congregate housing at 12 units an acre and does not include wetlands and land underwater.
On the question of deed restrictions, Hoffman asked whether Hines would commit to ensure that they would be enduring and not unilateral. Feinberg assured him that the deeds would run with the land and that the town would be a signatory to them.
Although not explicitly stated, Hoffman may have been referring to the deed restriction on future development that the School Sisters put into place in 2013 in exchange for being connected to the town sewer system. The deed restriction stipulates that the gross floor area of the site could not be expanded by more than 10% for the next 50 years, and then only in a manner allowed by residential zoning. However, the town is not a signatory to that restriction; furthermore, during the discussions of Hines’ previous applications, Feinberg previously indicated that the School Sisters intended to waive the restriction to allow the CCRC to expand the gross floor area from 200,000 to 380,000 square feet — or by nearly 90%.
Flaherty said that while the main building would have four finished levels, it would have no more than three stories except for one tower. Flaherty explained that this approach is consistent with the current regulations. “As long as you can put a plumb bob down and not go through four stories, it’s considered a three-story building,” he said.
Hines is arguing that the proposed “weighted building height” measurement, which measures the average of the midpoints of the building’s various roof lines from the average elevation, is required because of the slope on the property.
Traffic Alleviation Could Be “Silver Bullet”
Commissioners emphasized their concern about the potential increase to traffic along Belden Hill Rd., especially during commuting times and school drop-offs and pick-ups. While the developer has said shift changes for the approximately 50 on-site staff would be scheduled to avoid those times, the commissioners wanted to see more solid data about the proposed impact.
Hines managing director Grant Jaber explained that their calculations showed an estimated 69 additional vehicles per hour during the afternoon peak, and Mutterperl noted that her firm’s experience with other CCRCs suggested that residents would gradually use their cars less over time, which could eventually lead to less traffic. Since many amenities such as a hair salon, a fitness center, and dining would be available on site, Jaber said, there would be less need for residents to travel into town for those needs.
In response to a question from commissioner Trevor Huffard about whether installing turning lanes would be an option, Jaber said that while Hines was looking at the feasibility of adding a turning lane on Wolfpit Rd., the developer would “happily study” adding one on Belden Hill Rd. as well. P&Z Vice Chair Mark Ahasic suggested that Hines explore the feasibility of installing a traffic light or a rotary at the intersection as well.
“I think, as part of this development, that may be the silver bullet that fixes a lot of the congestion and traffic issues,” Ahasic said. “So, I would encourage you to look at that.”
“A Big Apartment With a Couple of Cottages”
Intimately bound up with the debate over traffic, the proposed density of the new construction was the other concern that commissioners hit on repeatedly during the discussion. Commissioner Jill Duncan said the facility felt more like “a big apartment building with a couple of cottages just sprinkled in,” rather than something appropriate for a residential neighborhood.
“Even if it had the same number of units but you could guarantee us that there wouldn’t be a traffic issue, I think a lot more people would be amenable to it,” Duncan said. “At least, that’s my take on it.”
Related to the density question is the proposed “weighted building height” measurement. Director of Planning and Land Use Management Michael Wrinn explained that the current rules use a building’s highest roof, measuring a peaked roof at its midpoint. Hines’ proposed “weighted building height” method would instead average the heights of multiple roof sections.
Flaherty said the current rules would classify the proposed building as 57½ feet tall, a measurement he argued does not accurately reflect its height because it steps down the slope.
He said Hines proposed the weighted building height method partly to avoid establishing a 57½-foot height allowance that could let future developers construct a taller building on flatter ground. The intent, he said, was to limit the space within which construction would be allowed while better accounting for the building’s placement on the sloping site.
To help the commissioners visualize the building heights, Hoffman asked Flaherty to prepare an illustration showing the heights of the individual buildings. Flaherty said he would amend the table of weighted average building heights with another column listing the building height if measured from the average grade on the property.
“I think there’s a general sense [of], ‘Is there a way for you to do a project that represents less intensity?'” said Hoffman. “The one thing that seems to be on our minds is … how would this look with maybe some more smaller buildings and how would it look if it didn’t require this average change.”
Preserving the Vollmer House and Solar Panels
During the discussion, Hoffman asked Jaber whether Hines would be willing to consider preserving the historic Vollmer House, which the now-withdrawn development plans had proposed to demolish to make way for new residential cottages. Hoffman noted that Wilton’s Historic District and Historical Property Commission (HDHPC) had submitted a letter to P&Z urging it to insist that Hines preserve the building.
The house, built in 1930, is listed in Wilton’s Historic Resources Inventory, which is maintained by the Wilton Historical Society. Hines proposed demolishing the building because any efforts to remediate the asbestos and lead present in the building would compromise its historical integrity, a contention with which HDHPC “respectfully disagrees.”
“Of course, we’re going to work and discuss some of our site plan with the community in a more deliberate way before we come back to you the next time, and hopefully address some of their concerns if we can, if they’re reasonable,” Jaber responded. “Yes, one of those is the preservation of the Vollmer House and how we can do it in a way that meets the preservation commission’s goals and still makes sense.”
Jaber noted that the building has numerous non-historical modifications such as aluminum windows and “some unfortunate architectural additions.”
“We’d be happy to say we’re going to study it more over the coming weeks, and we’ll put a plan together and we’ll come back to you with our thoughts,” Jaber said.
During the Oct. 13 meeting of the HDHPC — which occurred concurrently with the P&Z meeting — chair Lori Fusco said that she received a letter from Jaber acknowledging their concerns for the house and offering to meet to tour the house and hear about the HDHPC’s ideas for preserving and restoring it. After briefly discussing the matter, the commissioners voted to approve Fusco’s proposal to respond to the invitation by letter and take advice from the town on whether she could meet with Jaber.
“If it is appropriate [to meet], then I certainly don’t mind going there and touring and seeing what the house is all about, but I think we can all agree that, at a minimum … we’re preventing the … home from being demolished, because we want it to be kept,” Fusco said.
During the P&Z meeting, Commissioner Jessica Rainey asked whether Hines planned to preserve the solar panels located on the property, and Jaber said that the plan was to try to relocate them to the roof of the main building along with implementing other green-energy initiatives such as eschewing the use of gas and fossil fuels.
What’s Next?
Hines left the meeting with an extensive list of requests from the commissioners related to clarifying the traffic and building heights questions, as well as for additional information that would help the commissioners and the public better understand the proposed development. For example, Ahasic suggested creating video renderings of the proposed facility from the ground and air to understand how the various buildings related to each other and the surrounding neighborhood, and Huffard asked for illustrations showing what the facility would look like from neighboring properties at various times of day and during the winter, when the buildings would not be screened by leaves.
Aside from the concerns about traffic and building density, the commissioners’ comments were largely favorable toward the architectural and landscaping choices, and the tone of the meeting was cordial.
“This is a piece of property that we all drive by regularly and want to see something nice happen to it, and you have a lot of thoughtful design ideas,” commissioner Margit Ritz said. “I think that it’s in everyone’s benefit to come up with something that sort of both works for the town and works on this property. And I’d like to continue to see what ideas you guys can bring to the table.”
