At the public session of the Jan. 24 joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), several residents stepped forward to address their concerns.
Reinhard Maier addressed members of the Board of Selectmen about the Sewer Studies and expressed concern about the water table, leaky sewer pipes, sub-pumps, and the sewage treatment plant in Simsbury and further expressed concern that when it gets overflooded with water that the Simsbury plant dumps sewage into the Farmington River as they have a permit to do so. Maier also expressed concern over the breakdown and percentage of how much each municipality owns of the Simsbury sewage plant.
Robert Flanigan, Jr. addressed members of the Board of Selectmen and the P&Z with his concerns about issues regarding the Salmon Brook Park pump station. Flanigan also inquired about the Affordable Housing Plan document and who would fund the trust and if the Town of Granby would be going into partnership with the developers. He felt it was not the Town’s responsibility to be entering into a partnership with private developers. Flanigan also informed members that after his speaking with State Rep. Mark Anderson, that the Town was not required to follow the State of Connecticut bill requirement to adopt an affordable housing plan, especially as there were not penalties to do so. He noted that he felt the Town did not have the infrastructure to move forward with this plan and that the Town would not meet the 10 percent mandate of affordable housing. Flanigan further thanked members of the various boards for their service.
Answering the questions from the public, First Selectman Mark Fiorentino explained that the Town was not committed to doing anything yet regarding a trust but looking into what other towns are doing.
He further explained that the work currently being done at the Salmon Brook Park pump station was routine maintenance. He also noted that he felt that Affordable Housing is something that the Town should be doing and there were good discussions and that he and others are committed to doing them.
Maureen Eberly addressed members regarding the potential impact of a Town Center Study and she felt it was important to take into consideration this will have on taxpayers. Eberly further expressed concern that she felt many people are pushing for a modern-looking municipality. Eberly explained that she did not want to see the Town of Granby looking like Blue Back Square or having high-rise buildings.
John Morrone told members that the agenda was confusing and he didn’t see many opposing views and that he was not a ghetto guy. He mentioned an article he read in the Granby Drummer about transit stops and asked whether or not members had recently gone into Hartford or Waterbury on the FastTrack and expressed concern that the people riding the bus were homeless. Morrone further expressed concern with the Affordable Housing Draft item #5 as he thought that the word “partnership” was a legal definition. He expressed concern that there were too many rental units being approved and was concerned about where all these people were going to be coming from. Morrone further expressed concern about where all these store owners were going to be coming from, and which property owners would be giving them a break on their rent in order to have a successful business.
Answering these questions, Fiorentino explained that the first step in the process is to inventory what property the Town owns and review the single-family lots that are developable. Fiorentino further explained that the apartment units currently under construction are preleased and there is clearly a market for this type of housing.
Glenn Ballard thanked members of the boards for their work and believes that there is a more efficient way of working. Ballard inquired about the Town Center Study expressing concern that the Affordable Housing Plan has no goals and recommended that the boards create goals and objectives, so it is clear as to why they are doing this and how we will know if we have succeeded. He wanted to know if the goal was to increase the population or increase the tax value per acre and why the Town was doing this. Ballard noted that this is the third meeting which a Town Center study has been discussed and yet no one has defined what a town center study is. He hopes that the boards would give consideration to meeting again soon to develop goals.
Answering questions from the public, P&Z Alternate Member Paula H. Johnson, noted that it was important for members to review the conservation plan. Fiorentino further clarified that affordable housing does not mean density and that the current housing projects recently/currently being constructed may not be considered “affordable.”
Selectman Mark Neumann commented that the Affordable Housing plan was a state requirement but that while he served on the committee they felt it was important to increase our affordable housing and that the diversity of housing makes for a better Granby.
P&Z member Matthew Peters expressed his opinion that when we hire teachers to be a part of our community that they may not be able to afford to live here. Director of Community Development Abigail St. Peter Kenyon noted that she felt it was good and necessary to be having these discussions.
Selectman Margaret Chapple noted that it is a problem when our children and retirees want to move back to town but can’t afford to live in Granby.
Selectman Kelly O. Rome said that it is important to consider a Town Center Study as we do have vacant spaces that need to be filled.
Town Manager Robertson noted that affordable housing does not mean low-income, and that change can happen with thoughtfulness and planning and that the character of the town doesn’t necessarily need to change. She indicated that the focus should be on filling vacant storefronts, walkability, and working on landscape.