Consolidated Elementary School sits on the second busiest intersection in New Fairfield, the Economic Development Council’s Gregory Manning points out. EDC members have many ideas for the Consolidated property, including hopes for saving parts of the building, but what they are not imagining is a bus lot. From a different perspective, the Permanent Building Committee, school officials, and the town’s top leaders believe that the property, after considering seven locations, is the best spot for the buses to park—shielded behind the heavy scr eening of large evergreens and high-quality fencing—leaving room for existing open communal areas, such as the baseball fields. Several Ball Pond residents have been protesting the proposed bus lot location for over a year, fearing a lengthy list of quality of life issues, visual impacts, and decreases in property values. And, last week, some Zoning Commission members, after denying the Consolidated bus parking area last summer, cried foul about a new development that will move the bus lot forward while bypassing their board’s special permit process.

First Selectman Pat Del Monaco explained that the new plans related to the bus lot are completely above board and that the town’s attorney has interpreted that a 1999 special permit that was granted for Consolidated School covers the bus parking on the property. This interpretation negates the need for a new special permit and requires only the submission of a Zoning Permit application and a revised site plan for a small dispatch building that would need to be built to accommodate the bus personnel. Questioning the interpretation of the 1999 special permit, Zoning Commission members asked for an independent legal review, rather than relying only on the attorneys representing the town, but that request was denied by Del M onaco. A letter from Del Monaco was read at the Zoning Commission meeting saying “I’m confident in the interpretation of the New Fairfield zoning regulations. It is in the best interest of the town to abide by the advice of our attorneys, and therefore I do not authorize expenditure of town funds for additional legal review.” She reiterated after the meeting that the attorneys play a neutral role and “do not have an interest in the outcome of an application submitted to any Board or Commission.” Zoning Commission members equated the move to a legal loophole that maneuvers around their board’s special permit approval, and are concerned that the public’s input on the location for the bus lot is being curbed. The Commission will still have jurisdiction over the revised site plan approval for the project.

While the buses continue to park in a temporary location at New Fairfield High School and the Consolidated Early Learning Academy is rapidly rising above where they were parked for over a decade, the EDC is busily creating a long list of potential uses for the Consolidated property. They propose a community center that they can imagine would make great use of the newest portions of Consolidated—though there are some decrepit areas, other portions are only 22 years old and were only recently paid off— and myriad outdoor areas, including a skate park, a splash pad, space for pickleball, and more. They see the prope

rty as a potential space to draw and entertain residents and enrich the community, making New Fairfield a more attractive place to live and/or run a business. Manning pointed out that the second leg of a sewer feasibility study will map a path for a sewer line to run straight past Consolidated, addressing one of the biggest issues at that property. Looking into the not-too-distant future, the EDC says that they are attempting to raise a flag that the town could save Consolidated’s newer portions and offer the community a resource that would be far more affordable to preserve than rebuild, while avoiding regret over what might be lost.

In the meantime, hand wringing among school officials over the issue has been a matter of course, with NF Public School’s Director of Business and Operations Dr. Richard Sanzo pointing out that “The delay in approvals for the bus lot is resulting in increased costs to the town due to cost escalation. Additional delays will likely result in further escalation of costs.” While Ball Pond residents who have opposed the bus lot are experiencing angst, especially after recent developments, with their attorney Raymond Lubus writing that “Throughout the past 12 months my clients have maintained their opposition to 302 Ball Pond Road being developed into the New Fairfield bus depot. For my clients, exercising their rights to express their position has been costly, time consuming, and many times a frustrating endeavor for each of them.” In  a letter read at the Commission meeting, Lubus identified a need to slow down the decision-making process and pointed to the issues at hand as six-fold: that the Ec onomic Development Commission is seeking to preserve the newer section of Consolidated School for other municipal purposes; that the potential of sewer lines servicing the site and the New Fairfield High School, which opens the entire land area at the high school where the current septic system exists, as a potential alternate bus depot site; there is currently a temporary bus depot at the high school that is meeting the town’s needs; concerns over contractor selections and costs for the new school projects are under FBI and potential Connecticut legislative investigation; and that all of the above should be “properly addressed with the ability for public opinion granted” before proceeding.

In the end, the buses will need a place to park and will very possibly end up at Consolidated. Sanzo noted that the PBC has now “filed a site plan with the Zoning Commission.” He went on to write that “Given a project of this scope, my understanding is that the Zoning Commission would review the proposal at a public meeting with public input and ultimately consider approval based on the zoning regulations.” The EDC encourages residents to speak up about what they would like to see in this central location, whether they agree that it’s the right spot for the bus lot, for other community uses, or a combination of both. But they encourage residents to raise their voices now to have their input heard either at public comments at town meetings or in letters to the Town Hall expressing their thoughts. To summarize the EDC’s Kathleen DiTullio, though we may have different plans, “we all have the same goal. We all just want what we think is best for the town.”

By Sarah Opdahl