Developer Sues Over Affordable Housing Denial

A Shelton developer who wanted to build a 12-unit affordable housing development on less than an acre on Campfield Drive in Fairfield is suing a town zoning commission for rejecting the proposed development last month.

Landco Holdings, LLC, in a lawsuit filed Friday in the Town Clerk's Office, contends the Town Plan and Zoning Commission's reasons for denying the application on Jan. 25 aren't supported by sufficient evidence in the record, don't represent substantial public interests in health and safety, don't outweigh the need for affordable housing in Fairfield, and could have been remedied by changes to the application.

"The Commission ignored uncontradicted expert testimony in the record regarding the adequacy of the stormwater management system, the safety of the roadways, and the adequacy of the parking," Matthew Ranelli, Landco's Hartford attorney, says in the suit.

Landco also contends in the suit that the town's Engineering Department said the proposed stormwater drainage system was adequate; Michael Galante, Landco's traffic consultant, said the development wouldn't result in unsafe traffic conditions and parking was adequate; and no expert testimony disputed those conclusions.

Town Attorney Richard Saxl said Friday afternoon that he had yet to review Landco's suit but said the burden of proof would rest with the commission because it's an affordable housing denial. "I'll have to take a close look at the record and reasons for denial and see if the TPZ can sustain its denial," Saxl said. "I really won't know for a while where it's headed."

Landco wanted to build 12 condominium units in two buildings on 0.9 acre at 50 Campfield Drive, which is now the site of a single-family house owned by Dean James Capozziello, who also is a plaintiff in the suit. Four of the units would have been designated as affordable housing with sales prices of $142,000 or $202,000; the other eight would have been sold at market rates. Each condo would have included two bedrooms and a two-car garage, and the condos would have ranged in size from 1,800 square feet to 2,300 square feet.

Ranelli, during a public hearing on the application in November, said only 2.21 percent of housing stock in Fairfield is designated as affordable housing - 465 units out of 21,029 units.

During the hearing, commission members questioned the density of the proposed development, the potential for more traffic, whether 31 parking spaces would be sufficient, whether flooding would increase during storms and the quality of materials that would be used in construction.