This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.

Move Very Cautiously

I have more questions and concerns for the new zoning application presented at the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting held Jan. 3. The new proposal for housing on Sperry Lane removes 83 units from the original plan. One building will be eliminated. The applicant’s attorney, Bernard Pellegrino, would have us believe the reduction of one building will resolve all the blasting consequences.

The Jan. 3 meeting seemed deliberately scheduled at an inconvenient time of the year for a number of Foxon residents busy celebrating Christmas and New Years.

The traffic study left more questions than answers. Most of us at the meeting felt the gentleman presenting the traffic study was avoiding answers to direct questions about the installation of a light, the distance from the existing Sperry Lane entrance to the newly proposed entrance, and the amount of daily traffic this project would generate. If 250 residents of this project went out for appointments or for any reason—most of us leave our homes once or twice a day—the numbers are much higher The normal deliveries and maintenance for a project this size will demand support and vendors on a daily basis. Other traffic might include buses, taxis, small vans for shopping, emergency vehicles, and EMTs.

Who’ll monitor age restrictions and regulate how many people will occupy a unit, and how enforceable are these regulations? We can learn valuable lessons from cities and towns much larger than East Haven concerning the contributions and failures of senior housing in their community.

I hope the commission will move very cautiously and consider all the long- and short-term effects a project this size will have on the quality of life in this community. I believe development doesn’t always mean progress.

Anthony Martone

East Haven