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Historic Home to Be Spared

Following a Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) meeting on Sept. 12 where the Commission voted to recommend that the demolition of a historic Waterside Lane house would adversely affect the neighborhood, the State has announced that the property owner is interested in a compromise that would spare the house.

Last month, it was announced that the owner of 69 Waterside Lane intended to demolish the house to construct a private residence. Along with several other houses on the street, the house located at 69 Waterside Lane has historic value. With a construction date of 1785, the house is one of the oldest on the road, listed with the National Register of Historic Places as a “contributing resource” to the Clinton Village Historic District.

The property consists of a main house built in 1785 as well as five cottages with later construction dates. The property is currently owned by JR MAXX PROPERTIES LLC which rents space on the property to tenants. On July 1, a letter from Steve Bugg, listed on the state of Connecticut’s business records as the principal member of JR MAXX Properties LLC, was sent to tenants on the property informing them of his intention to turn the property into his personal residence in the future.

Bugg wrote that his best guess would be to start construction around May of 2023. On Aug. 22 a notice of demolition went up in front of the 1785 house.

The sign a caught the attention of Peggy Adler, a Clinton citizen opposed to the demolition of the house. Adler decided to start an online petition on Change.org that asked for the house to be saved. At press time, the petition has garnered 929 signatures.

In addition to the petition, Adler also contacted the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to loop them in and potentially get the state involved in saving the house. Todd Levine, a member of SHPO explained to the Harbor News how the process would work from the state’s perspective.

Levine said that the first step was for the office to determine if there is “demonstrated community outcry” about the project in the form of petitions such as the one Adler started or letters objecting to the demolition. Levine said the threshold for demonstrated outcry is dependent on the size of the municipality among other factors.

If it is determined there is demonstrated outcry the office would then do an investigation into the merits of the property and if it should be saved.

However, on Sept. 15 the demolition sign in front of the house was removed and Levine told the Harbor News that a compromise is in the works that would save the house and allow the owner to redevelop the property.

“We met with the owner earlier this week, and he said he would not demo and will work with the town of Clinton to come up with a compromise that is acceptable to all parties,” Levine said.

Addler said she was pleased that a compromise had been reached.

“I think it’s great. I think it’s wonderful and I’m thrilled he’s willing to do this,” Adler said. “I think it’s a perfect solution.”

Adler is not the only person who will be happy to hear the house will be saved. The PZC held a public hearing over the petition at its meeting on Sept. 12. The Commission had no actual authority to stop the demolition, though it could rule that the house has historic value or does not. That decision could have been factored into the state’s decision to oppose the demolition had the process gone that far.

The Commission narrowly voted in favor of recommending the house does provide value and should not be demolished. Members Alan Kravitz, Mary Ellen Dahlgren, Martin Jaffe, and Adam Moore voted in favor of the recommendation. Members Eddie Alberino, Jay Mandell, and Mike Florio abstained from the vote.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Bugg told the Commission that members from SHPO had been out at the property touring it so that they could make a determination of the historic value of the property. Bugg also told the Commission he was not aware of the historic nature of the home when he bought it.

Speakers during the public hearing mentioned the aesthetic charm, the value of physical links to the past, and a fear of setting precedent for further demolition of historic structures. Some speakers and Commission members also said they hoped a compromise could be reached where Bugg can still build his house and the historic house is preserved. No speakers at the meeting were in favor of the demolition.

Even though she started the potion to save the house, Adler told the Harbor News she wasn’t opposed to Bugg building a house on the property, just the demolition of the historic house.

However, not everyone in town agreed that every historic structure needs to be preserved, especially if it prevents an owner from doing what they wish with their property. Several community Facebook pages that had posts about the issue had commenters who objected to the petition.

This is not the first time there has been an outcry from concerned citizens about the potential demolition of a historic house or the first time the state has been involved. Last year Adler started a similar petition to save a historic house located at 151-153 East Main Street known to some as “the 1800s house or “the Dowd house.” Adler’s petition drew over 800 signatures and drew the attention of SHPO and the preservation council. Ultimately, a developer seeking to build condos on the property agreed to spare the house from demolition.