Orange TPZC Denies New Turkey Hill Plan

By Brandon T. Bisceglia

The third denial by town officials for a developer who wants to build a controversial housing development off Turkey Hill Road in Orange took only one meeting.

The Town Plan & Zoning Commission on March 2 opened – and closed – discussion, then unanimously voted to reject a site plan application proposed by a team representing town resident Richard Meisenheimer, who wants to build 10 multifamily residential buildings and a single community building on a compilation of parcels on the 22.5-acre property that he owns.

A different proposal for the same property was the subject of strong opposition in 2018 and was ultimately denied by the Town Plan & Zoning Commission. The current plan for the multifamily development also faced vociferous disapproval from neighbors, who have argued the proposal is too dense for the area. The plan was denied in January 2020 by the Inland Wetlands and Water Courses Commission – a decision is currently being appealed.

The current proposal includes an affordable housing element, which under state law prevents zoning boards from denying applications for reasons other than health and safety.

A related petition to amend zoning regulations to allow for special use standards for an active adult community in a residential district was set aside because it had not yet been vetted by other town departments.

TPZC Chair Oscar Parente said that neither Meisenheimer nor his representatives intended to appear before the commission to defend their application. In a letter that Parente read aloud, he said that Meisenheimer’s team believed that it already had an approval for their site plan because the commission had not acted on it in a timely manner.

The letter noted Connecticut state statutes require zoning boards to approve a site plan application within 65 days after receipt of the site plan. An additional 65 days can be granted with consent from the applicant.

The letter argues that Meisenheimer’s site plan application was delivered to the commission on Oct. 6, 2020 and no extension was given. Emergency orders from Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration during the coronavirus pandemic give boards a 90-day extension, but Meisenheimer’s team said that could only be invoked if they had consented to the extra 65 days first.

Parente immediately shot down that argument after he finished reading the letter, pointing out that the 90-day extension given under the emergency orders superseded any consent required from the applicant.

Town counsel Barbara Schellenberg echoed Parente’s position.

“I think the plain language of the executive order makes clear that the 90-day extension is automatic and there does not have to be a 65-day extension granted by the applicant first.”

Additionally, Zoning Administrator and Enforcement Officer Jack Demirjian had determined that the plan was inaccurately scaled, that the applicant did not receive the proper approvals from the fire marshal, the traffic commission or the police chief and that there was no traffic impact study or lighting plan submitted.

“In this case, the matter never got put on the agenda because the application was never complete,” Parente said in explaining the delay.

“Let’s consider the following,” said Commissioner Kevin Cornell shortly before the vote to deny. “We have no input from the police department because the applicant refused to meet with them, so we don’t know about any public safety issues. We don’t have any input from the fire marshal about whether his equipment can service this development because the applicant refused to meet with him, so we have that public safety concern. We have anecdotal evidence from the adjoining property owners in the neighborhood that there’s a traffic concern that could cause problems with school-aged children from the Turkey Hill School immediately adjoining it, and the bus stops, and people trying to enter and egress the site.”

“We have significant health, safety and welfare questions” that can’t be answered because the applicant refused to appear before the commission, Parente said.