GREENWICH, CT — A large housing development proposed on lower Mason Street near the train station was unanimously denied by the Greenwich Planning & Zoning Commission this week.
The commission said the applicant “has incompletely addressed issues regarding traffic, pedestrian safety, stormwater management, zoning compliance and environmental remediation” at the site. Previous occupants of the site have included a machine shop, a stone cutting shop, auto repair shop, gas stations, a blacksmith and a car dealership.
Mason Street Partners LLC had been seeking approval of a final site plan to construct two residential buildings — one on the east side of Mason and one on the west side — with first-floor retail space and a total of 92 units. The west side building was proposed to be five stories tall with 40 units, and the east side building was set at six stories with 52 units.
Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Proposed under the state’s 8-30g statute, 28 of the 92 units were proposed to be below market and deed-restricted for a minimum of 40 years.
Commissioners expressed concerns about environmental issues.
Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“The Commission notes that the environmental site investigation, while reportedly ongoing, has not been completed and a remedial action plan has not been submitted to nor approved by the Connecticut DEEP (Department of Energy and Environmental Protection),” said P&Z Chair Margarita Alban. “The Commission finds that a full remediation of this site to a level acceptable for residential use is essential to health and safety.”
Alban also said further investigation was needed into traffic and pedestrian safety measures for the intersections of Bruce Park Avenue, Railroad Avenue and Mason Street.
“That is because the data history of crashes, traffic and pedestrian volumes and delay suggest improvements are necessary if the development is going to notably increase activity at this intersection,” Alban added.
A vote to approve the application failed by a vote of one in favor (Arn Welles) and four opposed (Alban, Nick Macri, Peter Levy, Dennis Yeskey).
“I’m incredibly uncomfortable with this application as it stands,” Macri said.
“I feel like there are so many things that are open and they are health and safety related and they could be significant and we don’t know what the impact is,” Alban said. “Why didn’t we get this buttoned down? Why isn’t this buttoned down so we can move forward?”
Alban then proposed a motion to deny the application.
“The Commission finds that many of the issues which remain outstanding in this application… constitute public interest in health and safety, which clearly outweigh the need for affordable housing,” Alban said. “The Commission finds the primary among the relevant public interest noted above are safety from environmental hazards, fire, traffic and flooding,” Alban said. “The Commission notes there is not sufficient evidence in the record that these public interests can be protected by modifications to the current application.”
The Commission then voted 5-0 to deny the application.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
No Responses