At the final meeting (Monday, July 28) ahead of its usual August recess, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve one of the most hotly-debated applications so far this year, and set in motion two additional agenda items sure to dominate discussion this fall and winter.
A Vote — at Last — for 118 Old Ridgefield Rd.
First on the agenda was a series of votes on the proposal to redevelop 118 Old Ridgefield Rd. as a four-story, 20-unit, mixed-use complex with two ground-floor retail spaces and 29 parking spaces. The project has been the subject of heated public debate over the last four months and underwent no less than three rounds of design overhaul in the process.
On July 28, P&Z voted unanimously to approve three parallel applications pertaining to the building:
- the zone change to allow the site 118 Old Ridgefield Rd. to enter into the Wilton Center Zoning Overlay, created as part of the Commission’s master plan process
- the text change to allow 118 Old Ridgefield Rd. and 18 other sites in Wilton Center that fall between 0.5-1.49 acres in size to request a 20% reduction in required parking
- the site development plan for the design and layout of the new building on the site itself.
The final vote was not without a last bit of work however, as Town Planner Michael Wrinn flagged unusual language in the proposed public access agreement submitted by the applicant. As part of discussion with Commission, the applicant team for 118 Old Ridgefield Rd. had agreed to allow an easement on the property connecting Old Ridgefield Rd. to an as-yet-unbuilt future river walk along the Norwalk River. This easement would allow the public to walk through the site to access the river walk, should one be constructed.
However, the final language submitted to the Commission by the applicant included two clauses, one stating that if the river walk were not completed within five years, the easement would expire, and another stating that the owners of 118 Old Ridgefield Rd. could choose to revoke the easement at any time given 60 days’ notice. Both qualifications were met with immediate objection.
“They offered this up as a full easement in perpetuity and we should hold them to it,” Chair Rick Tomasetti said.
Wrinn, Tomasetti, and Vice Chair Melissa-Jean Rotini discussed how best to address the discrepancy, ultimately deciding to amend the resolution approving the site development plan to require that the two clauses proposed by the applicant regarding public access be struck, and that the applicant provide a permanent easement and maintain a sidewalk connecting Old Ridgefield Rd. to the Norwalk Riverbank.
The votes on all three applications were unanimous in approving the project. At the prior meeting, Commissioner Eric Fanwick had stated his intention to vote against the project because he found the density on this particular site to be too great. Tomasetti challenged whether Fanwick had standing to vote ‘no’ on these grounds, since the density conforms with the limits set by P&Z’s new zoning overlay for Wilton Center. On Monday night, Fanwick did not join the meeting until moments after the vote on 118 Old Ridgefield Rd. had taken place.
“My apologies for being late,” he said, once added to the zoom panel.
“You missed the vote,” Tomasetti said.
“Oh well,” Fanwick replied.
A Third (and Final?) Pre-Application Hearing for 254 Danbury Rd.
The other project under discussion during Monday’s meeting was the proposal to redevelop the site of the former Baptist Church at 254 Danbury Rd. into 10 condo units, ranging from three- to five bedrooms each. The church building itself, which has already been deconsecrated, would be preserved and reconfigured to house the smaller three-bedroom units. Three additional buildings would be built in a similar design vernacular to the church and will be shorter, to keep the focal point of the site on the historic structure. These secondary buildings will house the larger units.
Owner and developer of the site, William Earls, is a longtime Wilton resident and trustee of the Wilton Historical Society. He told the Architectural Review Board last month that he was driven to purchase the property because there were rumors that Walgreens was eyeing the site.
“I couldn’t let something happen to this one,” he told ARB on July 10. He went on to say that his goal with the project was “to build a place where I wouldn’t mind living.”
Earls completed pre-application hearings with P&Z previously on June 9 and back in September 2022. The project has not changed significantly since it won praise from P&Z in that initial discussion. However, the Danbury Rd. East zoning overlay that was passed by P&Z following the Wilton Center master plan process is now available for development on the site. Much of the discussion this year has surrounded amendments that Earls has proposed to the Danbury Rd. overlay.
The proposed changes would allow multi-family projects that preserve a historic structure to double the current maximum density on site and exempt them from requirements to provide affordable housing if they are under 10 units in size. Doubling the density on site allows existing historic structures to remain and be preserved, while the rest of the site is developed. In cases like the proposed 254 Danbury Rd., where three smaller buildings will replace a vast existing parking lot, increased density on site may actually mean less site coverage overall.
The Commission has seemed amendable to these changes, though discussions at the pre-application stage are non-binding. Overall, the architecture and design of the project have won praise from both P&Z and ARB, with ARB Chair Kevin Quinlin saying on July 10, “This sets the bar for what we should be doing.”
Public comment on the proposal will be permitted once the application is formally submitted and a public hearing is opened.
Looking Ahead
In a final bit of work ahead of the recess, P&Z deliberated in executive session about which firm to select to update Wilton’s zoning code. An RFP went out this spring, with five firms being brought to the Commission to consider. The bids range from $90,000 to $174,200.
No vote was held on July 28, so a final selection will presumably take place at the next meeting of P&Z on Sept. 8. The Commission has placed a target completion date for the project of October 2026.
Todo – I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore…