Carr insists Brookfield Town Center 'was a missed opportunity'

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – Tara Carr, the Republican candidate for first selectman, says she doesn’t think that “the Brookfield Town Center is being developed the way it was intended to be about 10 years ago” since, among other things, “major apartment buildings are being built throughout the phases of the whole project.”

“It was a missed opportunity and not a destination of choice,” Carr exclaimed regarding the development of the 198-acre central business district near the Four Corners intersection of Federal Road.

“If you go out for a nice dinner on Friday night, nobody goes to the Four Corners,” she said in an interview with Brookfield Patch. “People want to go to Newtown to New Milford to Lake Waramaug. . . I’m not anti-development. I’m pro good development.”

“Brookfield is not the field of dreams,” she said regarding the construction of apartment buildings in the Brookfield Town Center. “It is not let’s build it and they will come. . . These developers come in. They don’t care about Brookfield. They’re just trying to line their pockets.”

In 2007 The Brookfield Journal reported that Hal Kurfehs, then the chairman of the Economic Development Commission, said the Brookfield Town Center would include apartments above many of the stores so that there would be additional revenue for the business tenants and a group of potential customers living nearby. He said many of the regular customers would come from a short radius of the business district.

Carr, who grew up in Brookfield, said, “Where you have an uptick of people, you’re going to have an uptick in responses. We continue down this trajectory of continuing to build and putting up potentially three or four more huge apartment buildings, and that is creating more people, more drain on our resources. So my question is: What is the return on our investment?”

After being contacted by Brookfield Patch, Democratic First Selectman Steve Dunn, who is seeking a fourth term in the November 2 election, wrote, “New development does place additional burdens on all of the town’s services, not just fire, ambulance and police. New development also brings in large amounts of new tax revenue. The key is to manage that development in a thoughtful and careful manner. That revenue from taxes that new development brings more than offsets any additional costs the town has incurred. It will continue to do so in the future. Every dollar that a new commercial development pays is a dollar we do not have to ask residents to pay.”

Dunn added, “While we have had some significant development in town, it has been carefully planned through the use of the Town’s Plan of Conservation and Development and the creation of a completely new set of Zoning laws from the ground up three years ago. We have not increased our police force for many, many years. Our fire departments, who are all volunteers, are more than able to meet all of the needs of the town. Our EMS services have seen an increase in the number of calls, but we have been able to meet the need and additional expense for EMS services as most calls for EMS services are paid for by the insurance of the person who calls for assistance.”

Dunn stated, “In addition, all of the work we have done in rebuilding and developing our downtown by installing sidewalks, lighting, parking and other amenities has been overwhelming paid for by aggressively applying for grants. Grants have paid for 85% of all the work the town has done in the Four Corners. We have started to build a real downtown that residents can be proud of, visit and take advantage of shopping in an easy to access and friendly environment.”

Brookfield Patch reported last year that Dunn has said that he believes that the town’s commercial revenue, which then made up 16 percent of the grand list, could increase to 20 percent in the coming years.

Affordable housing has been a prime topic in the last two municipal elections with Republican Selectman Harry Shaker, who ran for first selectman in 2017, and Republican nominee Mel Butow in 2019 saying the town needed to take a harder line on the issue since it can impact property values.

Dunn recently told Brookfield Patch that he expects the state to grant an extension of the town's 2017 moratorium regarding the 8-30g provisions. The first selectman said the moratorium largely restricts affordable housing to the Federal Road corridor.

Said Carr, “Yes, he implemented the moratorium. But that is just kicking the can down the road, buying time and kind of prolonging the inevitable.”

Dunn wrote, “Ms. Carr also evidences her lack of understanding on how affordable housing laws work and what a moratorium does to allow a town to retain local control over development in a town. Six years ago we had a developer come into town and propose a six story affordable project in the Four Corners. Because it was submitted under the State’s 8-30g law, the town had no way to stop him from building that 6 story building as once a project is proposed under 8-30g, all of the town zoning laws are thrown out the window except for those that have to do with health and safety. That means that that developer who wanted to build a 6 story building could have proposed and built a 10 or 15 story building and there would have been nothing the town could have done to stop him."

Dunn continued, “I was able to convince that developer that it was a better decision to come back with a 3 story building design, which he did and which was approved. However, we only had the power of persuasion to get him to agree to build a three story building. With the granting of the affordable moratorium to the town, the town retains our zoning laws and all developers must follow them. Without an affordable moratorium, developers can do anything they want as long as they follow the 8-30g law. Since we received the affordable moratorium, we have been able to stop an affordable town house project with 29 units on Stony Hill Road, just down from the Whisconier School.”

Dunn stated, “Without the moratorium we have in place, we would very likely have that 29-unit affordable development already built. Far from kicking anything “down the road”, the affordable moratorium allows the town to continue to control all development in town and stop developers, many of them from out of State, from running roughshod over the desires of our residents, circumventing our zoning laws and coming into our town and building anything they want and then moving on to their next project.”

Carr said, “As first selectman, I would ensure that we take control of our zoning laws.”

She indicated that residents should be concerned about legislation that Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) signed earlier this year that, according to the Regional Plan Association, provides statewide zoning reforms including legalizing accessory dwelling units, addresses parking mandates and removes the term “community character” as a consideration in development applications.

Said Carr, "This is a great example of where a First Selectman has a critical role in ensuring that Brookfield maintains local control. This bill allows a community to opt out of these provisions. Opting out requires a 2/3 vote of the Zoning Commission and the Board of Selectmen. As first selectman, I would be committed to opting out of these new statewide zoning mandates by ensuring it's 2/3 approval on the Board of Selectmen and strongly encouraging and advocating for it's approval on the Zoning Commission."

On another topic, Carr criticized Dunn for his August 13 decision to require that people wear masks at businesses in Brookfield starting August 16. She said it violated the executive order that Lamont issued on August 5, which left decisions up to the municipalities.

“It specifically stated that municipal governments – with an ‘s’, plural – will make the decisions for their municipalities and towns,” she said. “It did not say first selectman or mayors – singularly – make that decision. So it is Dunn’s responsibility to go back to the town charter – which is our governing book of law – and it says it is illegal. He did not use the Board of Selectmen in the decision-making process. He should be following the town charter 100 percent.”

Dunn wrote, “Ms. Carr has shown that she does not know the law and is more interested in playing politics than saving children's lives. My actions, made in conjunction with every first Selectman and mayor in our area, are to protect people. We have been through this once, and we owe it to families and businesses to keep our economy open. A mask mandate in times of extreme transmission amongst the unvaccinated and children is of course legal. Our executive orders are in full compliance of the law to address the Covid-19 pandemic.”

He added, “Our emergency powers are coterminous with the governor’s. Brookfield's town attorney has reviewed all of the actions that the town and I, as first Selectman, have taken to address the pandemic and we have fully followed all laws in issuing the mask mandate to protect residents and businesses. I, along with the First Selectmen of Bethel, Redding, Ridgefield, New Fairfield and the Mayor of the City of Danbury have all issued the same mask mandate which has been implemented to improve the safety of our residents while we fight this pandemic.”

Dunn stated, “I have responded to an email Ms. Carr sent the town attorney telling her what the actual law is but she seems not to want to accept that, based on your question in your email. She is wrong. And her inability to understand the basics of the law raises concerns.”

On fiscal issues, Carr said, “I’m not promising no new tax increases, but I would like to hold them to a minimum.”

Brookfield’s tax mill rate increased 1.52 percent in the budget for the current fiscal year.

Regarding the $78.1 million Candlewood Lake School, which was approved at referendum by a vote of 1,846 to 1,033 in March 2019, is slated to open in a year and will educate students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, Carr said, “We’re going to be paying for it for a very long time. I’m not convinced that we need a new school. We have other needs in this town.”

On a related subject, a recent ad-hoc committee report recommended that Center Elementary School (CES), which will become vacant with the opening of the Candlewood Lake School, would be a good choice for a news municipal library. Library officials have been seeking additional space since at least 1999. A proposal to build a $14.7 million structure on the municipal campus on Pocono Road was rejected in 2018 at referendum. The current library on Whisconier Road opened in 1975.

Said Carr, “At first glance I would say ‘yes’ ” regarding placing the library at CES. “I think it is time for a new library.”

However, she said her chief priority after the completion of the Candlewood Lake School would be expanding the police headquarters on Silvermine Road, which opened in 1988. The expansion has been discussed since at least the early stages of Dunn's administration.

Carr noted that "our female police officers do not even have adequate space in our current station to properly change, which is appalling. As a female veteran myself, I will always advocate for these brave women, as well as our entire stellar police force."

Additionally, she said that she is concerned that the recent increase in inflation, will make future municipal construction programs far more costly than had been anticipated. .

Regarding extending the term from first selectman from the current two years to four years, Carr said, “I honestly agree with that.”

Brookfield Patch has reported that Dunn has said there is a large learning curve for a new first selectman and that any first selectman could concentrate more intently on the job if they didn’t have to campaign every two years.

Dunn and Austin Monteiro, a petitioning candidate for first selectman, have endorsed trying to build a municipal skate park. Some residents have contacted the Board of Selectman about such a project, and Dunn recently told Brookfield Patch that the skate park would be ideal for children from age 12 through 17, many of whom are looking for additional recreation activities. He said finding an appropriate location and securing funds are potential obstacles, but the project might appear in the proposed budget for the next fiscal year.

“I’m not sure that a skate park is the right answer at this point,” Carr remarked. “We have so many other needs.”

Carr - who has four children, ranging in age from 6 to 12 – said, for example, there are not enough athletic fields in Brookfield.

What did Carr learn in the U.S. Army – where she served for 25 years and retired as a lieutenant colonel – that would help her serve as first selectman?

“The Army taught me so much,” she said. “I think that is the difference between me and every other candidate. . . People can manage, but not everybody can lead. The Army taught me about strategy and long-term planning and long-term budgeting and negotiations. It was every facet of leadership that you can imagine.”

Carr said as first selectman she would hold regular office hours for constituents at the town hall – similar to the program that former Danbury Republican Mayor Mark Boughton had during his 19 years in office.

During a phone interview when asked what Carr would offer the town as first selectman, Brookfield Republican Town Committee Chairman George Blass replied, “How much time do you have?”

After underscoring her military and academic credentials and fluency in foreign languages, he added, “People comment that she is so approachable. They find that it is like meeting an old friend when they get introduced to her.”