Supportive housing plan widely opposed at Westport P&Z hearing

A plan to build 12 units of affordable supportive housing at the town-owned Linxweiler property at 655 Post E. was met with heavy opposition at Thursday's Planning and Zoning (P&Z) public hearing. Concerns varied from personal safety to environmental problems, to a violation of Joanna Linxweiler's wishes when she bequeathed the land to the town.

"We want to make sure that everyone knows we're not NIMBY [Not In My Back Yard] people. We're certainly for helping people ... but this plan has to make sense. We feel it doesn't make any sense with certain issues of density," said John Marchak, who lives on Crescent Road, adjacent to the property. "We're talking a very small piece of property that's kind of sausaged in between Crescent Road, a shopping center and a very busy Post Road."

A proposed text amendment set forth by the Stamford land-use consulting company Redniss & Mead Inc. would set regulations for supportive housing in commercially zoned areas. Seven zoning districts -- which equate to 43 potential sites throughout town, including properties on Post Road West, Myrtle Avenue and Railroad Place -- would be affected by the zoning change.

Richard Redniss, principal of the company, said that less parking than the current zoning regulations require is needed, since not everyone living there will have a car. The driveway can also be narrower than what's required.

"All this change that we're proposing does is allow [the property] to be green and allows this site to be more condensed with more open space," Redniss said.

The home and 1.3 acres of land were donated to the town in 1981, and three years later the land was leased to the nonprofit Homes with Hope (previously known as Interfaith Housing Association) for $1 a year. The property was used as a halfway house for recovering drug and alcohol addicts, and most recently for a family that had been faced with homelessness.

Now, Homes with Hope is seeking a 75-year lease of the property and early plans call for three buildings to be constructed around the original house, which was built in 1904. First Selectman Gordon Joseloff is seeking a report on the lease, but this was not discussed at the meeting due to time constraints.

"I could have blocked it, but I don't normally when [such a] request comes in unless I have a real issue with it," Joseloff said. "In this case I did not."

He added: "[Homes with Hope] has a long history in Westport. I've been very supportive. The town has been very supportive. This is a somewhat unusual request, but it's based on their need for funding from state and federal authorities."

According to P&Z regulations, supportive housing, which is in the same vein as affordable housing, provides supportive services "for persons who have been homeless or at-risk of being homeless."

In a story that appeared in the Feb. 25 issue of the Westport News, Redniss cited a "moral imperative" as one of the reasons for going forward with the supportive housing plan. Dan Katz, speaking at the meeting on Thursday, disagreed with that view.

"I think this commission should completely disregard ... a lecture from someone from Stamford telling Westport taxpayers what their moral imperative is ... and if there is a moral imperative here, it's to obey the wishes of Mrs. Linxweiler that the town agreed to," Katz said.

In Linxweiler's will, the life-long Westport resident didn't include any legal restrictions on what the land can be used for.

The will states: "I feel that there should be some green areas preserved along the Post Road rather than only commercial buildings. Without placing restrictions or a trust on this gift, it is my hope and desire that the property be used as a park or recreational area. If the town fails to accept this gift within six months after my death, I direct that property be sold and the proceeds of the sale ... be distributed to Jacob F. Linxweiler III and his wife, Ruth Linxweiler."

Marshall Levin, a Crescent Road resident whose career involves soliciting large donations worth millions of dollars, said he spoke with numerous lawyers about the plan for the Linxweiler property and what she stated in her will.

"Unanimously and instantaneously, everyone of those senior partners said that this would be, in anyone's terms thinking of making a gift, a violation and they would no longer give to that entity," Levin said. "I don't want the town of Westport to be in that position."

Making the trip from New Hampshire to Westport was Jacob Linxweiler, who was mentioned in the will. He said the intention of her gift was for the land to be a remembrance of the way Westport used to be.

"A reminder that ... the Post Road wasn't always strip malls and commercial zones and car dealers and what have you," he said. "That there were farms and families and houses and homes all along the area and that's what she wanted maintained."

According to Redniss, the part in the will where Linxweiler grants permission for the property to be sold is overlooked by people arguing that open space was her dying wish.

"We need to look at this will and we need to look at in this total context," Redniss said. He added, "If Mrs. Linxweiler wanted this property just to be used for open space, there were opportunities for her to donate that land for open space."

Marc Fischer, who lives on nearby Suit Terrace, was concerned about the effect new development would have on the already strained sewage system in the area. He showed photos of flooding in the area that occurred in the past few years.

"When we have a rain event like the ones you're seeing up there, it's not just the flooding," said Fischer. "The sewers are backing up into our homes. The sewage mixed with storm water comes up through the toilets and through the tubs in the downstairs of our homes. This isn't getting better. This is getting worse."

Supportive and affordable housing guidelines in Westport are based on Connecticut statute 8-30g. Under that law, which requires municipalities to have 10 percent of their housing deemed "affordable," Redniss said that developers can push forth projects with some affordable housing units and stand a good chance of getting the development approved, since Westport is not currently compliant with 8-30g.

By beefing up the town's stock of affordable housing, Redniss said a four-year moratorium can be achieved and such developments can be stopped temporarily.

Matthew Mandell, chairman of the RTM's P&Z committee, said the moratorium should not be the goal because after the four years are up, developers will once again be able to push their plans through.

"The 8-30g should not be something that we should capitulate to. It's something we should fight," Mandell said. "There are fish in the sea that taste bad when they're bitten, so bigger fish don't bite them. We should be a distasteful fish and not allow developers to bite us and if they do, maybe it'll taste bad and they won't not come back and they tell their friends, `Hey, don't bite Westport. They don't taste good.'"

Nick Sunjka, of Suit Terrace, spoke of the danger of the intersection between McDonald's, the Post Road and the Linxweiler property that he feels would be exacerbated by new housing.

"This is just a very dangerous area and you need to consider that," said Sunjka, who said he never attempts to take a left at the intersection because it's too risky and visibility is low because of the hill on that section of the Post Road.

While the safety of the roads was brought up by several people, the safety of the resident living in proximity to people who may be recovering from substance abuse or dealing with mental illnesses was also a concern for some.

Scott Friedman, of Crescent Road, said there are 15 homes in the immediate area of the proposed supportive housing and 65 homes along the road.

"Are we to just pay property taxes for a community we all chose to live in and watch as our property values plummet as we consistently worry about our safety and our children's safety?" Friedman asked.

Redniss said that there haven't been any problems at the Linxweiler property in the past.

"Has there ever been a problem? Ever been a threat to a neighbor? Even been an issue where anybody's safety was at risk?" Redniss asked. "The answer is no and we're talking about essentially the same use [for the property]."