Setaro insists developers should pay impact fees for housing

By Scott Benjamin

DANBURY – Democratic mayoral candidate Chris Setaro says that Danbury – which was once known for making hats and then was noted for being the home of Union Carbide – has for 18 years used high-density housing on the West Side as an economic driver.

It has helped boost the population from 76,123 in 2001 – when Setaro lost by 127 votes to then-state Rep. Mark Boughton, a Republican, in the mayoral election – to 85,246 people in 2017– an increase of 9,123 residents.

Regarding those changes, Setaro said, “The problem you run into when the model for economic development is high-density residential housing – which is what we have seen in Danbury over the last 18 years on the West Side – what will result is two things: Lots of people and lots of automobiles. You’ve got to require that developers have to pay some sort of impact fee for schools, roads and public safety.”

“There was only one project that had any impact fee, and that was within the last year and the fee was seemingly inadequate for what that project was,” he said in an interview.

The News-Times of Danbury reported in December 2018 that the 400,000-square-foot project at the 1.2 million-square-foot The Ridge - the former Matrix Center that once housed Union Carbide - would have a “student impact fee” associated with the costs of increased enrollment. Summit Development would pay on an annual ascending fee starting at $550,000 that would continue through 2039. Boughton, who is seeking a 10^th term this fall, called the agreement the “first one ever done in the state.” He also said the developer would not receive a tax deferral.

Setaro said The Ridge housing would “exacerbate the system that already exists of overdevelopment in the city.”

In addition to the housing, The Ridge also would include office space and a conference center.

Setaro said developers should have paid impact fees on other high-density projects since Boughton took office.

“What you will run into is that without those things, after a long period of time, as you have seen in Danbury, you see there are thousands of high-density units without impact fees and without a plan for growth,” he said. “You have overcrowded schools and roads that are in disrepair. If you’re the mayor of the city and your primary economic development engine is high-density residential housing, you’ve got to have a plan on how to face these issues, and so I think that is why the city facing the challenges that it has right now.”

Regarding infrastructure, Setaro said, if elected, he would establish a long-term bond program for repairing roads that would be considered by voters at referendum.

“We need to put together a reasonable plan for bonding,” the candidate said. “Interest rates are low. I think the project could be phased-in to replace retiring debt service. I’ve seen it done. It will not impact the mill rate.”

“I talk to people all over the city, and it is an important issue to them because people believe that a chief function of municipal government is paving the roads,” said Setaro.

The budget for the current fiscal year allocated $4.5 million for road improvements.

In a state that reportedly loses a net of 428 residents a week, Danbury has been an exception. It has attracted young families to the point that a Freshman Academy addition recently opened at Danbury High School.

However, William Glass, the former assistant superintendent of schools, told The News-Times in June 2018 that there was a lot more poverty than when he had arrived in 1998.

“I’m not necessarily opposed to market-rate housing downtown,” Setaro said regarding how Stamford now has as many downtown apartments as the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and Jersey City and has attracted millennials.

“Bringing housing downtown is different,” said Setaro, who is an attorney. “It creates foot traffic. That might be part of a mixed-use plan.”

Setaro, who was president of the Danbury City Council when he initially ran for mayor 18 years ago, said that during his tenure the city utilized “public-private partnerships” to foster downtown development.

“I think public-private partnerships can be a very good vehicle for the needs of the municipality in terms of services,” he said. “I do see a role for public-private partnerships.”

Donald Klepper-Smith, the economist for Liberty Bank, has said that Greater Danbury is the only metro area in Connecticut that has recaptured all of the jobs lost from the 2008 Great Recession.

However, both Setaro and Boughton have said in recent months that the Hat City needs more higher-paying jobs. The United Way reported last September, for example, that 31,000 households, nearly half of those in Danbury, are slightly above the poverty line or somewhere below that measure.

Both candidates have said that they agree with David Lehman of Greenwich, the state commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, that although Connecticut - a largely suburban state, faces a challenge in attracting millennials - who often want to live near the Big City innovation hubs, - Danbury and other cities in the state can increase their uhnder-40 populations since they have lower living costs than New York City or Boston.

Setaro also recommended that there be regular communication between the area high schools and the Naugatuck Valley Community College satellite campus downtown and Western Connecticut State University on “matching skills to the local businesses.”

On another topic, the Democratic nominee has noted for months that the Danbury Police Department currently has only 132 of the 154 officers called for in its table of organization.

Setaro said that as mayor he would add officers in his first budget and “eventually fill the table of organization,” although he did not provide a specific timetable.

He said some officers are currently working 18-hour shifts.

“I don’t think that is a good practice,” said Setaro.

On a separate subject, Time magazine reported in 2017 that analysts project that with competition from Amazon and other online commerce outlets that by 2022 one out of every four shopping malls will be out of business.

Danbury ranks first in Connecticut in sales tax revenue and first per capita in restaurants, according to Chamber of Commerce reports, largely because of the Danbury Fair Mall, which is one of the largest in the Northeast. The chamber also has estimated that about 40 percent of the mall’s customers are from out of state.

“I would expect so,” Setaro said when asked if the mall will remain vibrant in the future.

“In a world where so much commerce is done online now, that is a factor,” the Democratic nominee said. “I think in the end there always will be a demand for the kind of retail and entertainment and dining that the mall has.”

On a separate topic, Setaro said he wants the city to follow the steps taken by state Department of Administrative Services Commissioner Josh Geballe, the former IBM executive, who CT Mirror has reported is seeking to eliminate paper and digitize all state operations.

“It’s a business-efficiency argument,” said Setaro. “It’s an environmental argument. I think it makes sense.”

Patch.com reported in 2016 that Boughton said during his tenure the city has been able to reduce costs by having non-profit organizations provide more municipal social services.

Setaro said he would continue that practice, adding that, “There’s always been a relationship between the non-profits and the city.”

Setaro, a graduate of the Catholic University Law School, said his legal career would aid him in managing the municipal government, which has 551 employees, making it the ninth largest employer in Danbury.

“There’s a certain analytical approach that you bring to problem-solving,” he explained regarding his experience as an attorney. “When you’re talking about local government, you’re talking more about problem-solving than ideology.”

Former Derby Mayor Alan Schlesinger , a Republican who served in the state House and was a nominee for the U.S. Senate, told The Litchfield County Times in 2006 that “you cannot use rhetoric” as the chief municipal official.

Additionally, Setaro said being an attorney for clients with workers compensation claims and for neighborhood associations has been emotionally rewarding.

In 2011, Boughton said on WXCI, the campus radio station at Western Connecticut State University, that voters should not support candidates that are “ideological.” He added that also too often elected officials are afraid to change their position after they have acquired new insights on an issue.

Setaro said he agrees with those sentiments.

He said, “If the plan is not what you had thought it was going to be, then you re-think that particular position.”

On another subject, Setaro said his “favorite” part of the campaign has been canvassing neighborhoods and that as mayor he would have scheduled office hours to meet with residents to discuss issues.