Aug 1, 2007
Tesei opposes housing plan; town presses on
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Speaking at a campaign fund-raiser last week, Republican first selectman hopeful Peter Tesei said he opposes a plan to build affordable housing on a four-acre plot of town-owned land.
“My personal opinion is that people in town would like to see open space,” Mr. Tesei told the Post Tuesday, explaining his objection to “Affordable Housing One,” a proposal the Greenwich Housing Authority unveiled earlier this year.
Under the plan, the Housing Authority would achieve a net gain of 172 housing units by rebuilding its Quarry Knoll senior development, as well as expanding the McKinney Senior Complex and building 39 units on adjacent “scrub woods” in Byram.
Mr. Tesei said that even though he favors building more housing for working families, he doesn’t think the town should pursue a “macro” solution and try to force large numbers of apartments into single spaces.
“I think that exacerbates problems with traffic and impacts neighborhoods,” he said.
He said he’s in favor of adding new units one or two at a time, as well as looking at ways to adapt commercial buildings to accommodate residents.
“I do think the adaptive reuse of commercial property should be put forward,” he said. “I would certainly look to raise that and make that a priority.”
If elected, Mr. Tesei said, he will work with various community groups, including area employers, to develop housing solutions everyone can live with.
The Housing Authority’s plan has drawn flak in recent months from residents in the western end of town. Critics have said Byram often bears the brunt of these kinds of town projects, and that the plan would lead to increased traffic congestion and the destruction of one of the area’s few remaining patches of open space.
Mike Bocchino, head of the Byram Neighborhood Association, has been a vocal opponent, as has Vince DiMarco, head of the Pemberwick Community Association.
Anthony Johnson, executive director of the Housing Authority, declined to comment on Mr. Tesei’s words, not having been at the fund-raiser.
He said “Affordable Housing One” is a town project, not just a Housing Authority project.
“We continue to try to build support for our plan, just in general,” Mr. Johnson said. “I don’t think people think it’s a bad idea. I think people are just saying it’s open space.”
He said he’s not sure when he and his colleagues will go before the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission with an application concerning the Byram land.
Mr. Johnson said the Representative Town Meeting will get the final say, since the town body will eventually be asked to approve the lease on the Byram land.
Applications pertaining to the Quarry Knoll portion of the project will likely be presented to the P&Z Commission first, he said, since the Housing Authority has a 99-year lease on the property.
“We’re just trying to put forward a plan in a very calm and deliberate manner, to slowly build support and let people know what we’re trying to do for the community,” he said.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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