Protect the Partrick Wetlands
and our Community


Synopsys of the Opposition to the 22 Cluster House Development on the Patrtick Wetlands.

This is what was essentially presented on May 22, but more will come as others present.

There are three areas in the Westport's regulations that the development must adhere to:

  • Section 17 of the P&Z Regulations, the Open Space Residential Zone (OSRD)
  • Sections 43 & 44 of the P&Z Regulations, the Special Permit
  • Town Plan of 1997
They don't meet Section 17 in a few places.

Arterial Road & Major Thoroughfare
ARS doesn't have access to an Arterial Road or Major Thoroughfare as called for in 17-1, 17-3 and 17-15. Partrick Road and Newtown Turnpike are both designated as collector roads in the 1997 town plan, both one level below arterial. In the CT DOT designation Newtown is a collector and Partrick is a local, two levels below arterial.

In an attempt to circumvent this, the Town Attorney has said the 1960 Town Plan should be used, since that's the plan that was in effect in 1981 when the ORSD zone was created. He bases his opinion on a Wilton case, which does not apply since it deals with approved subdivisions and not an undeveloped zone. Even if they go back to 1960 Partrick Road was designated a secondary road (one level below major thoroughfare) and not a major thoroughfare. Since two principle access points to this development come from Partrick the proposal fails 17-15 which requires access to a major thoroughfare.

Usable Open Space
The proposed development fails to meet the regulations in usable open space, areas for use by the new community, 17-11. The area is supposed to be usable, but they are proposed to be in the wetland non-disturbance zone and is in violation of the Conservation Commission decision as well as the P&Z regulations. One of the areas actually is in the wetlands and in part of one of the houses. This violates the P&Z regulations as well.

But the big question is why is the usable open space in the wetlands? Because every other possible place has a house proposed on it. In order to maximize the number of houses and the return on the developer's investment, no usable open space has been created. This is a perfect example of how profit is being sought at the expense of the town, the local community and even the new community they are creating.

Lots
The question of lot size was raised a number of ways. The first was that they are creating three "neighborhoods" so there are three lots, not one. The land is divided by a stream and wetlands which according to the zoning regs essentially creates 2 lots. The third is if they sell off the property under each house they are creating 22 lots. All of this shows the proposal does not meet the regs and should be denied, technical reasons or not.

And by the way, while ARS might call them neighborhoods, there is no way a two house cluster or a six house cluster is a neighborhood. The 14 of course is. The theory of the OSRD is to have one big community not dribs and drabs because ARS has a piece of land to stick houses on.

Randall Arendt (the ARS Expert)
Before moving to the Special Permit considerations, let's discuss the expert Larry Weisman and ARS brought to defend their proposal. His name is Randall Arendt. He is the godfather of the OSRD or as he calls them conservation sub-divisions. He has written 5 books and numerous articles on the subject and he said the ARS proposal was great. ONE PROBLEM - his writings say something different. In reading his writings one sees a basis for design that ARS did not use. They do not protect the views from the roads, they do not protect abutting neighbors from the project, they do not save half of the buildable land for usable open space and most of all they do not site the houses 100 feet from the wetlands. The expert they paid and brought up to defend their project did not design their proposal and if he had, and used his own theories, maybe 2 houses at most could exist. NOT 22.

Special Permit

22 Houses on 9 Acres
And on that 22 house idea, it is on 9 acres. Yes, the total land is almost 56 acres, but only 9 are buildable. So while ARS spins it that they are developing a small percentage of land in reality they are over-crowding the available land and abusing the regulations in order to maximize their return.

What does this over building create?

  • Houses and a design that is out of character with the surrounding neighborhood and Westport.
  • Increased Density and over-crowding of the land
  • Increased Traffic and Safety Issues
  • Increased Tax Burden for the Town, it costs more to school the kids than the property tax taken in.
  • Loss of Open Space.
All these are issues that Sections 43 and 44 of the regulations cover quite specifically and gives P&Z great lattitude and authority.

Overcrowding and Unenforceable Deed Restrictions
Since they are cramming in the houses on the available land they have placed 18 of the 22 houses on the 35' wetland setback. The Conservation non-disturbance zone is only 10' away. These people will have no back yards and will be tempted to increase their backyards. This will not only harm the wetlands, but will create an undue burden the town to protect them. In approving the proposal Conservation proposed Draconian restrictions which P&Z is obligated to add to. These restrictions will never be able to be enforced, especially the use of pesticides to stop Lyme and West Nile. Instead of proposing fewer houses spaced away from each other and the wetlands ARS, to maximize their return, is creating a potential nightmare for the town and the environment. This is a special Permit issue.

Contamination
The issue of contamination of the land and harm to the environment, well water and the new inhabitants is still at the forefront here. The Partrick Wetlands Preservation Fund has again asked the town to independently test the land and the hydrology to once and for all see what is up there. A hired expert again said there are signs there are problems and that full testing should be done. Health is a major concern and is specifically outlined the Special Permit.

Town Plan
Sewer Sprawl The last issue is of Sewer Sprawl. A sewer extension is proposed to come from Norwalk to service this development. This sewer will change the shape and face of North Western Westport. The WPCA is deciding to draw a thin jurisdiction, that of only protecting the Westport treatment plan, handed the decision on the sewer off to P&Z. Remember the effluent is going to Norwalk so WPCA had no choice after the Town Attorney gave them the out. The ball is now in P&Z's court, the Town Attorney gave it to them. They now have jurisdiction over the sewer. The 1997 Town Plan has no sewer proposed for this area. Section 44 says the P&Z must adhere to the Town Plan. There are other legal issues and precedents which may play into this, but suffice it to say this sewer could extend up to Weston, Wilton and will come around and serve the proposed Y at Mahackeno adding more density and traffic to North Western Westport. It will be our own out of control Hydra.

There are real reasons for P&Z to deny this application. We hope they will. Stayed tuned for more issues to be added here as the public comment contunues on June 12th at 7:30.