On Wednesday, June 8, New Fairfield’s Zoning Commission unanimously rejected the application for a bus lot building site plan that was submitted for Consolidated’s property at 302 Ball Pond Road. The location for the bus lot was a hotly debated topic for more than a year and will possibly continue to be.

At the special meeting, the Zoning Commission members each voted No, explaining that they respect how difficult the Permanent Building Committee’s position is, but that they agree about the location’s unsuitability. Regarding the site plan, a number of regulations were listed to support their stance, including that a purpose that’s being approved should be to conserve and stabilize the value of a property; that there should be a prohibition of any activity that creates a nuisance including but not limited to the emission of gasses and fumes; that noise should be prohibited; and more.

Members acknowledged the modifications that were made to the plans for the property to attempt to address neighbor concerns. However, Dr. Steve Hanrahan pointed out that for neighbors, their home is “Possibly the biggest investment they will make in their lives.” Members also cited the increased traffic on a main town artery being a problem. Ms. Jane Landers stated that she believes, “it would be very damaging to the business district.”

Noting the high tensions surrounding the bus lot topic, Mr. Kevin Van Vlack stated that he is “trying to take the emotion out of it” and look at the issue purely from a zoning perspective and what makes sense in the town. “I tried to do my due diligence to talk to people around town and get input from the community…to really solicit local unbiased feedback that hasn’t been so influenced by the meetings we’ve been in,” he said, “and, pretty unanimously, people have told me that it’s not a good spot.” He went on to say that he wants “to make sure that we are protecting the value of the properties, the planning that goes into New Fairfield, and how we are utilizing the properties around us.”

The Commission was careful to double check with the town’s attorney Mr. Neil Marcus to be sure that the vote was fully legal, including the elevating of an alternate member for voting after another member recused himself. Marcus attended the Zoom meeting at the request of First Selectman Ms. Pat Del Monaco who asked that he attend the meeting to monitor and help with procedure and process.

Van Vlack noted that the group will “probably come back to the table again at some point” on this topic and that, moving forward, he’d like to see more partnering throughout the process, “so maybe we don’t end up in a situation like this where there’s been some conflict.” Before the vote, there was a good amount of public comment for and against the location and suggestions by some for alternative locations. The commenters responded to each other’s comments until Moran closed the public c omment session. Permanent Building Committee Chair Mr. Don Kellogg spoke during public comment to reiterate all the thoughts that had gone into the recommendation for 302 Ball Pond Road as the bus lot location.

By Sarah Opdahl