Protect the Partrick Wetlands
and our Community
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Presenter: Matthew Mandell |
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They are building 22 houses on 9 acres.
18 of the 22 houses proposed sit on the 35 foot wetland setback
10 of the 14 in the north section, 1 2 3 4 ......here and here etc...
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all 6 in the south east
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and both in the southern.
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Why is this the case? Why aren't the houses farther way? Because in order to maximize the number of houses to be built ARS stretched the available land and used a shoe horn to get these houses in. This was done at the expense of the environment, the town, local community and but more importantly at the expense of the people that will living there.
We already know these people will have no usable open space, but they also won't have any place to live like every other Westport resident. Some will have no front yard and almost all won't have any back yard. And to complicate matters there is a laundry list of restrictions that will be placed on them to control their lives.
And speaking of this list. Where is it? The list I am referring to are the deed restrictions. Conservation asked for them, Flood and Erosion asked for them. WPCA asked for them and last session you asked for them. Mr. Weisman for the past year and half has come up with excuse after excuse not to produce it. Why? Simple because once this long list of Draconian restrictions are put together and written up in legaleze any reasonable person will realize that this proposal is just unworkable. They don't want you to see them. They don't want you to realize that this proposal is just smoke and mirrors and that in the end it will be quite harmful, to the environment, the town and the people who live around it and in it.
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No decks, no play sets, no patios, no fertilizers, no pesticides, no rooms in basements, no attic rooms, no rock walls, no fences, no planting outside of 15 from your house, must maintain the sewer line, the roads, and undertake the liability for the land the community owns etc.....
It's mind boggling and why, so that houses can be built where we know they shouldn't be. If the houses and people can't live like the rest of Westport, means there is a problem. If normal everyday life is not allowed, the houses should not be allowed either.
Let's take a closer look, let's pick one house and see what's up.
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Let's take house 18, its my lucky number, my birth date. Like so many of them it sits on the wetland setback and 10 feet from the non-disturbance zone, which we have already discussed..
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ARS says all the people will own the land under the house and 15' around their house. This is the area that they can call home and landscape and use. Well there is a problem right off the bat. Of the 15', 5' is in the non-disturbance zone. This means they can only landscape and use 10' from the house. 10 feet that's about me to Mr. Stashower. That's a back yard? Oh but they have a front yard. No they don't, they have a driveway and a turnaround.
The people living there will encroach into the non-disturbance area, what's a few more feet as they take 20' more so they can have place with some privacy to just exist, remember they can't have fences. They will fertilize the garden they build, they will spray for bugs because they are in the wetlands and Lyme and West Nile are real threats and the Integrated Pest Management plan will be ignored.
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Two things now occur.
1. The wetland, habitat and environment will be harmed - That's why there is a non disturbance zone and wetland setback.
2. The town is going to have to enforce the restrictions.
It can't be done, the Town cannot police it efficiently. And the town cannot prevent it. What is someone from P&Z and Conservation going to come down every couple of months to make sure that all 22 homes are in compliance with all these restrictions? No. And if this neighborhood group gets together and collectively decides to violate the deed restriction, it is then abandoned legally and unenforceable.
The simple fact is there are too many houses and they are all too close to the wetlands and it is effectively inviting these people to become outlaws.
Why is this a P&Z matter? Conservation has already approved this.
The reason is that Conservation had black and white rules and acted upon them. They had a foot print and just a foot print to look at and if it did not extend over the wetland setback it met their rules. They were not afforded what you at P&Z have, the luxury of knowing what the house will look like, how it will be utilized and most of all you have the special permit, which gives you an objective and subjective eye to this situation.
44-5.7 is a fail safe mechanism to address these issues. With the special permit you can step back and look at this whole design and see the flaws in it in total.
The future owners will be tempted to violate the deed restrictions. Why? Because people will be people. They won't have come to Westport for a 10' foot back yard. And the town won't be able to stop them from creating a bigger one. The environment which is supposed to be protected will be harmed and the town will have huge expenses trying to stop and or fix what has gone wrong.
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If Randall Arendt had designed this proposal he would have done two things.
1. He would have set aside half of the available land for use by the new community
2. He would have sited the houses 100 feet from the primary conservation area, the wetlands.
If this had been done the problems I outlined would not occur. The problem is I don't think it can be done, the configuration of wetlands in this property does not yield enough available land.
Which goes to the fact that this land this property cannot support such density and over crowding of the land.
§1 LEGISLATIVE INTENT
In order to lessen congestion in the streets;...to promote health and general welfare; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population.
§2 INTERPRETATION
In considering issues arising under these regulations, the applicable
ordinance, statute, law, rule or regulation which imposes the most restrictive obligation
upon the use of and/or construction of buildings and structures and upon the use of land
shall be applied to the extent consistent with laws.
44-5.7 Character and Appearance
That the location, size and design of any proposed building structure or use, as well as the nature and intensity of operations involved in or conducted in connection therewith, will be compatible and harmonious with the character and appearance of the surrounding neighborhood, and will not be hazardous or otherwise detrimental to the appropriate and orderly development or use of any adjacent land, buildings or structure as indicated by the exterior appearance of existing buildings (bulk, height, roof style, materials and color), their location on the site in relation to streets, parking and adjacent residences and their relationship to the natural terrain, watercourses, waterbodies, wetlands and vegetation.
44-6 Special Permit Standards
In reviewing a Special Permit application or an application for a change in a Special Permit use,
the Commission shall consider all the standards contained in § 44-5, Site Plan Standards and
Objectives, herein, and shall take into consideration the public health, safety and general welfare
and may prescribe reasonable conditions and appropriate safeguards to assure the
accomplishment of such standards and objectives.
Next part of Speech is Sewer Sprawl.