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'Dumbfounded' by Lack of Support, Parkside Village Plans Withdrawn

Last night, Branford Affordable Housing (BHS) chair Douglas Denes announced the application for major design and residential use changes at low-income Parkside Village One was being withdrawn. But, Denes added,"...we are not going away, and this project is not going away."

"I am absolutely dumbfounded that we are not receiving accolades for the work we've done on this project," Denes said. "And in the light of the lack of support from the Town Planning staff (and) from the Fire Marshal's report, we want to withdraw our application (so) that we can preserve our options and explore other avenues to implement this project."

It was a surprising moment for the capacity crowd which turned out at Branford Fire Headquarters on Thurs. Oct. 6 for the continuation of a public hearing on the application.

The first part of the hearing got off to a rocky start on Sept. 15, when members of an organized group of area residents opposed to the plan spoke out and submitted a petition against approving the application due its scale and scope. Other audience members had raised questions about diminishing property values created by the proximity of the affordable housing complex, as well as safety issues and crime incident problems connected to bringing more low-income residents to the area.

The Oct. 6 crowd apparently included more supporters for the project, as Denes also made a point to thank "...our supporters in the audience -- all you people who came and support us who are residents."

Parkside's application for zoning amendments to allow for a Planned Development District (PDD) had been submitted to Branford's Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) by developer Beacon Communities LLC (MA), working with BHA.

Beacon originally proposed re-developing Parkside's three-building, 50-unit complex at 115 South Montowese St. into a single, 71-unit building topping three stories. The application also sought to change Parkside's low-income elderly and handicapped affordable resident mix to include some higher income families meeting state standards for affordable housing.

However, Branford's Staff Report presented by Branford Town Planner Harry Smith on Sept. 15, combined with a Fire Marshal review, outlined several areas of concern within the PDD. See the story here

At the re-opening of the public hearing on Oct. 6, PZC chairman Chuck Andres said Beacon would first present some revisions made to plan since Sept. 15. Beacon had also met with concerned area residents last week, to discuss issues raised on Sept. 15.

Andres also cautioned last night's crowd that there was to be "...no cheering or booing."

"Some people find that very intimidating," said Andres. "I understand that, and more importantly, it's not persuasive; apparently, it has the opposite effect. So we ask everyone to be civil."

Then, instead of presenting revisions, Denes came to the podium to announce the application was being withdrawn.

Before going on to say he was "dumbfounded" by the project's lack of support, Denes first noted, "We have what we think is a really terrific project. We've been working on it a long time. We think we've put an incredible amount of effort into this project. We have responded, we think, with sensitivity and seriousness to the questions and concerns posed to us."

While no one else representing the application spoke during the Oct. 6 meeting, Zip06/The Sound reached out to Dara Kovel, president of Beacon Communities, for additional comments. 

First, Kovel confirmed Dene's statement that plans are still in the works to redevelop Parkside Village One.

"The project will continue; we just have to figure out in what format," Kovel said. "Rather than have a bad outcome, or one that we weren't happy with, we decided to take a breather and figure out how to proceed."

Kovel said her hope is to return with another approach in the near future.

"The goal here was to take little pause," she said. "But my hope would be in the next few months to have a really clear path of where we're headed."

Beacon was selected for the project by all-volunteer BHA, which oversees Parkside Village One and Parkside Village II, a 40-unit complex located on nearby Block Island Road. BHA doesn't oversee any other Branford affordable housing complexes. 

Parkside Village One, built 42 years ago, is outmoded. BHA has been pursuing strategies to redevelop the complex for at least four years. By entering a site development agreement with Beacon, BHA can get the job done with federal low income housing tax credit financing channeled through CT Dept. of Housing. Find more news on the initiation of the project here

On Oct. 6, Zip06/The Sound asked Kovel if she, like Denes, was "dumbfounded" by the response to the project.

"I think we were all a little surprised about the response; partly because the housing is there, and 50 households – actually, 90 households when you count Parkside Village II -- live there, are residents of the community, are part of Branford," said Kovel. "And so the fact that there was such a strong negative response from a group of people -- we were surprised."