CHESHIRE -- Town officials hope to convince the state to convey 58 acres along Route 10 near Interstate 691 for conservation and passive recreational after the Town Council unanimously rejected a developer's bid to buy the property for a cold storage warehouse facility.
The council voted down the proposal by Southington-based developer 3 Squared LLC by a 9-0 tally this week following a continued public hearing that lasted more than two hours, with every one of the more than 30 speakers other than the developer's representatives speaking in opposition to the plan. The hearing took place in front of an overflow, stand-room-only crowd in Town Hall.
Most of the speakers said they live in Castle Heights, an 88-unit condominium complex for residents 55 and up, or in the nearby Birch Drive neighborhood. Tuesday night's hearing was a continuation of a similarly one-sided hearing that began Aug. 12.
"Can you look me in the eye and tell me that this project is good for me?" asked Victoria Drive resident Merrill Sanders. "...Would you advise your grandmother, your mother, your sister, your daughter ... to live with the noise that this project will bring?
"I implore you to say no to this project," Sanders said.
Others said they shared the same concerns.
"The last thing we need is additional noise from another (cold storage warehouse) operation that's even closer to us than (nearby) Whole Foods," said Victoria Drive resident Ronald Naiman. "...You should vote no on this proposal tonight until an independent study is done."
A major reason for the opposition was that the warehouse -- the size of two football fields -- would have been just 400 to 450 feet from homes at its nearest point, where similar cold storage warehouses often are 1,000, 1,100 or even 1,400 feet or more away from residences, speakers said.
"We have spent a good portion of our lives working hard so that we would be able to afford" a nice place to live "during this last chapter of our lives," said Castle Heights resident Dave Wilkinson of Victoria Drive. "Instead of a cold storage warehouse that brings air pollution, noise pollution ... another Castle Heights ... would be good for everyone."
The state agreed to convey the property to the town for economic development purposes in 2017. But if the town doesn't sell it for development, "the land reverts to the state," said state Rep. Liz Linehan, D-Cheshire, who helped make that happen but said Tuesday night she had changed her mind.
"I no longer support the sale of the land and certainly do not support the cold storage building" because of its impact on both the community and the land, Linehan, the first of more than 30 members of the public to speak out against the plan, told the council.
"Families should not have to endure industrial noise and light pollution," said Linehan said, urging the council to reject the proposed sale and offering to work to try to get the state to agree to sell the property for conservation and passive recreation, with only some frontage along Highland Avenue, Route 10, available for development.
Dennis Ceniviva, a Meriden-based attorney for the developer and a Cheshire resident, said it "became clear there are site plan issues" despite a 25-acre natural buffer between the site and houses to the east. But he pointed out that "a positive vote tonight to sell this to my client is not an approval. It's a vote to continue to the next step," he said.
"This development, based on the very sensitive proposal, will not negatively impact the neighbors," said Ceniviva, who was joined by noise and traffic experts who offered information that there would be no significant impact on the roadway system or the neighborhoods.
Noise control engineer Gene Bove of GZA Environmental said that sound levels would be in the 50 decibel range and would only vary about 6 decibels over 24 hours, based on the firm's modeling. The Connecticut noise code allows up to 61 db for background noise and a peak level of 80 db, he said.
In the end, what Lilac Court resident and former council and Planning and Zoning Commission member Tim Slocum called "a no-brainer" and "an easy choice" turned out to be just that for council members, as well.
"This, ladies and gentlemen, is how Democracy is supposed to look," said Council Chairman Peter Talbot. "We heard from over 100 residents on this subject ... I've served on this council for 14 years and I can count on one hand the number of times I have heard from over 100 people."
He said he knew there has been criticism of the process, but "this is exactly how the process is supposed to work ... Government is not quick." Nevertheless, "I will vote no -- and it appears that the vote tonight will be unanimous."
Council Vice Chairman Jim Jinks, D-2, who was a member of the steering committee that chose 3 Squared LLC, which he said submitted "the better proposal" of two developers that responded to the town's request for proposals, said "that doesn't mean the steering committee was endorsing the proposal."
"What is really special and unique about this situation is that this time, the public gets to weigh in before the project goes to the PZC and Inland Wetlands," Jinks said. "...Over the past of the last six weeks, I haven't heard from a single person who is in favor of this project," he said, adding that this is the first time that's ever happened since he's been involved in town government.
Attorney Kari Olson of Harris Beach Murtha, who represents the Castle Heights Condominium Association and 10 members of the Birch Drive neighborhood, reminded the council that the property was not located in an industrial zone and that warehouse and truck terminals "were expressly prohibited in this zone."
The RFP called for "a project that provides a clear economic benefit to the community" but that it "should be responsible, sustainable" and something that fits the character of the neighborhood.
Boxwood Road resident Yuri Kaplan said the proposed project "may stand for economic growth, but it also threatens our aquifers .... vernal pools ... temporary wetlands."
While previously state-owned land, the General Assembly approved Special Act 19-4 in 2019, which gave the town the ability to sell it for the purposes of economic development. 3 Squared's proposal would have seen the construction of a large, two-story, 119,000 square foot cold storage facility as the primary anchor on the property, receiving truck traffic throughout the day.
In addition, there would be two more 25,000 and 16,000 square-foot light industrial structures on the property that could also have been used as additional cold storage or for other businesses. A proposed second phase would have included three additional buildings with industrial 'flex spaces' totaling 43,000 square feet.
There also would have been space for restaurants along the narrow frontage of the property on Highland Avenue, with the possible of "supportive housing" for employees in the future.
This story incorporates previous reporting by Christian Metzger.