FAIRFIELD HILLS MASTER PLAN REVIEW COMMITTEE
HOUSING SUBCOMMITTEE
PREAMBLE: Housing is not a permitted use at Fairfield Hills. The FHMPRC was asked to look at all aspects of uses for Fairfield Hills Campus including housing. The housing subcommittee decided to look at the housing issue with an open mind especially looking at whether current conditions, trends, economy, and future of FH viability would influence the use of housing today at Fairfield Hills.
HISTORY: The original master plan did call for housing to be considered at Fairfield Hills. When the 2005 amended master plan met, housing had already been removed with the FHAR plan by P&Z. No one seem to know exactly why it was removed but speculation from everyone we spoke to centered around the feeling there would be increased school age children, there was already too much development in Newtown, and people felt single family homes would hurt the open space currently at Fairfield Hills (there would be one large subdivision).
DO WE WANT OR NEED HOUSING AT FAIRFIELD HILLS?: First we would need P&Z to approve housing at FH. The subcommittee looked at only one and two bedroom apartments in one or two buildings not single family homes. The individual units would be leased and not purchased. The developer collects the rents while Newtown collects taxes and lease money from developer. In our discussions we felt the following items should be looked at, reviewed, and debated in today’s environment in order to determine if housing should be allowed. We also felt they may provide some (not all) educational benefits for our future attempts to receive public
opinion.
- Developer has indicated commercial projects in Fairfield Hill are not possible without residential development to use the commercial development
- With the projected drop in school age children in the future, school enrollment increase does not appear to be a concern.
- The apartment housing fits with the “smart growth” developments we are seeing in other areas which provides for continued open space vs. development of single family houses
- The residents will certainly help our other businesses in town.
- There will be less use of Town services vs. single family homes.
- Added income to Newtown
- 25% should be deemed “affordable housing”.
The control of the housing at Fairfield Hills will fall on the professionals in P&Z. They will determine traffic concerns, infrastructure requirements, number of permitted units, size, etc as they do with all Newtown housing developments.
We look forward to working on public opinion and education on this issue.
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