Aquarion Worried About 100-Apartment Complex Planned In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — A local water company has questioned the safety of a proposed affordable apartment complex that would have over 100 units and be located in the Cricker Brook watershed.

In a letter to Fairfield conservation officials, Aquarion Water Co. said the plan for 4480 Black Rock Turnpike could impact a 48-inch main near the northeast property line. Of particular concern to the company was the possibility that retaining walls planned for the development could prevent crews from repairing the main.

“This is a significant safety concern,” the utility said in the March 1 letter.

Aquarion also questioned what it said was a lack of information in the project’s permit application. A public hearing for the proposal was delayed last week after developer 4480 Black Rock LLC requested a continuance during an Inland Wetlands Agency meeting where the letter was briefly discussed.

The proposed site for the complex is 4.72 acres, steep and populated by mature forest. If the developer were to move forward with the project, it would be a roughly 36,000-square-foot, U-shaped structure with two levels of parking. The development is set to fall under state law Section 8-30g, meaning at least 30 percent of the apartments would be affordable.

Town staff have expressed apprehensions about the proposal's detention and drainage design, resource protection, and erosion and sediment control. As of late February, the town did not know the planned height of the structure.

The development would disturb about a half-acre of the site's upland review area, but would not disrupt the wetlands, according to the application, which said the project would add an additional 1.55 acres of impervious surface to the site.

“This is a large project,” Inland Wetlands Agency member Jay Fain said at Wednesday’s meeting. “There’s a lot of stuff going on.”

Attorney Chris Russo, who is representing the developer, acknowledged receipt of Aquarion’s letter while appearing before the agency. Following the meeting, he said his client’s application to the agency was full, but not final, and that responses would be drafted to the comments the applicant received from officials.

Although the public hearing was postponed, agency Chair Luke Thomas allowed several residents to speak. Thomas also read aloud letters from abutters who discussed worries about erosion and traffic.

Residents in attendance had concerns about the removal of tens of thousands of cubic yards and nearly 50 trees, lack of public transportation, contamination of Cricker Brook, water service verification for the site, and mosquito breeding in detention basins. Among those who spoke were state Rep. Laura Devlin and Representative Town Meeting member Melissa Longo.

“We know what can happen to wetlands when they are not taken care of,” said Roger Schulman, whose home backs up to Cricker Brook and who gave comments via Webex. “There’s no way that once impacted these things come back.”

The public hearing is rescheduled for April 6.