Opinion: Resident Bids Farewell to 'Little Country Town'

A Letter to the Editor from Victor Bucci.

Brookfield seems to have abandoned the condo cap ( multifamily housing units cannot exceed 26 percent of all the residential units in the town), which was a legal and fair way to control growth.

Brookfield Zoning Regulations (quote)

(2) Location [amended 10/25/76, 4/18/85] (a) Multifamily dwelling projects in excess of twenty-four (24) dwelling units shall only be located in areas where the main access drives thereto access directly upon Whisconier Road and Route 133. (b) Multifamily dwelling projects in excess of forty-eight (48) dwelling units shall only be located in areas where the main access drives thereto access directly upon Federal Road. (c) No multifamily dwelling project shall contain more than one hundred fifty (150) dwelling units. (d) At no time shall the total number of multifamily dwelling units approved by the Zoning Commission exceed twenty-six percent (26%) of the total of all single family units, as calculated by the Commission, utilizing the monthly tax category reports prepared by the Town Assessor. Elderly conversion shall not be included with the 26% cap. Elderly conversions shall be excluded from all calculations relative to the 26% multifamily cap. [added 5/23/93, deleted 11/9/93, readopted 2/10/95, amended 6/27/95]

Goodbye, little country town!

Victor Bucci

Brookfield, Connecticut

• Four Corners – Inventory – residential units approved or in the approval process.
• Dense housing comes to “rural” Brookfield.
• Residences At Laurel Hill - Dakota Partners – 72 rental units (two bedroom) 20% incentive housing +13 “luxury” residential units = 85 units - 5 million dollar state loan – Brookfield provided $106,000 from a Connecticut STEAP (Small Town Economic Assistance Program) grant for sidewalks and lighting
• Greene Acres - 100 residential units – 857 Federal Road
• Brookfield Village Tax Incentive 1.3 million from town - Front Parcel – 79 rental units (59 one bedroom and 20 two bedroom units) + commercial - 11.6 million CHFA money – four buildings
• Brookfield Village - Back Parcel Condo – 24 – 39? residential units – not in process - not approved
• 101, 103, 105 Laurel Hill Road – 100 residential units + commercial 5000 sq. ft. - five buildings
• The Enclave at Brookfield Center - 854-874 Federal Road – 30% Affordable Housing – seven buildings – 187 units – not approved – Public Hearings – Zoning Commission (8/13/15) and Inland-Wetlands Commission (8/17/15). The 187 units exceed the 150 unit maximum in the Zoning Regulations (see below).
• Cost to date: $250,000 – Town’s share of a state of Connecticut STEAP (Small Town Economic Assistance Program) grant for sidewalks and lighting
• $1.3 million tax incentive for Brookfield Village front parcel – four buildings

Other Current Housing Developments:

• Barnbeck – 165 residential units
• Oak Meadows – 125 residential units
• Riverview – 42 residential units
• Newbury Village - 120 residential units – 55 plus community