Politics & Government

Flatto Quietly Supports JHE's Effort to Expand

Letter Given to Zoning Commission at Tuesday Night's Hearing

First Selectman Ken Flatto has stepped into the fray over the Jewish Home for the Elderly's attempt to change town zoning regulations to allow bigger and taller buildings on its Jefferson Street property.

Flatto wrote a letter that was handed to members of the Town Plan and Zoning Commission at Tuesday night's public hearing in which Flatto wrote the JHE's attempt to expand "can be a win-win for for the town of Fairfield and for the Jewish Home community."

"I am hopeful Town Planning and Zoning makes a determination to allow the project to go forward in a way that works for the Jewish Home for the Elderly, while protecting concerns that other unrelated parcels are not misused. Town Planning and Zoning has always afforded density bonuses for senior facilities, and, given even more generational needs coming down the road, we need to allow some flexibility for nursing home and senior facilities," Flatto states in the letter, which wasn't read aloud or mentioned at Tuesday night's hearing.

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The JHE hasn't filed an application to build a development on its 15.6-acre property at 175 Jefferson St. But the JHE wants, in concept, to demolish buildings on its property and construct bigger and taller buildings in their place.

The JHE's proposed expansion would cause the number of beds in its facility to drop from 360 to 320 because the rooms that would be built for residents would be larger and resemble a home, compared to current rooms that are smaller and more institutional in appearance, according to Andrew Banoff, the JHE's president.

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Before it can build a new facility, the JHE needs the Town Plan and Zoning Commission to amend its regulations. The regulations now limit the height of buildings on properties zoned "Residence 3" to 40 feet or three stories, whichever is less, and limit lot coverage, or the "footprint" of buildings, to 15 percent. The regulations also now limit the total floor area of buildings to 30 percent of the total square footage of a property.

The JHE wants the height limitation raised to 60 feet and the lot coverage limitation raised to 20 percent. The JHE also wants the total floor area of buildings to be 50 percent of the total square footage of a property.

The proposed regulations would apply to hospitals, homes for the aged, rest homes, chronic and convalescent nursing homes and buildings, and assisted living facilities.

Stratfield residents oppose changing the regulations because the proposed regulations would affect all Residence 3 properties, and plans already are under way to build medical buildings at 5545 Park Ave. and 3160 Easton Turnpike, which both have that zoning classification. Cambridge Manor, a nursing home on Easton Turnpike, also is on land zoned Residence 3.

Austin K. Wolf, the JHE's attorney, is scheduled to give a rebuttal to residents' objections at 8:15 p.m. July 13 in McKinley School.


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