03/07/09 READER SUBMITTED COMMENTS: Housing

Reader Points Out Greenwich Roundup Mistake

Brian;

You are right about the housing issue, but wrong about the “P and Z trying to pull a fast one”. The responsibility for honoring the town’s obligation under the deed to sale for the power plant to provide 24 units of housing belongs solely with the First Selectman. P and Z cannot legally condition site plan approval on this, as our brief is only with land use, not Town obligations

Dave Thompson from DPW, who is presenting the case for the power plant in front of P and Z, said in a public meeting that the Law Department was trying to prove a case that says that the obligation has already been met. He said that the position of the First Selectman as he understood it was that 24 units have been created since 1997 through requirements of site plan approval, one or two accessory apartments created by property owners in town, a couple of new units built by the housing authority, all totaling up to 24.

As a sitting Commissioner on the Power Plant vote, I won’t make my own opinions known, but I thought that the facts should be known

Many thanks,

Frank A. Farricker

Cos Cob

COMMENT:

Sorry For The Error In Reporting.

Greenwich Roundup Just May Go Down To The Riverside Offices Of The Greenwich Time And Apply For The Next Reporters Job That Comes Open.

I Am Now More Than Qualified To Be A Greenwich Time Reporter, Because I Have Not Gotten The Story Wrong Two Times In Less Than A Week.

First I Incorrectly Suggested That WGCH Should Start A Community Events Board And Then Jeff Weber Informed Me That They Have A HUGE Button At The Top Of THEIR Website That Has A Link To The Viva Pop Community Calender..

Now I Have Accused The Planning And Zoning Board Of Pulling A Fast One, When It Is The Town Itself That Is Pulling A Fast One.

I Should Have Been Smart Enough To Realize That The Planning And Zoning Board Is The Deliberative Body Hearing The Evidence, And That If A Fast One Is Being Pulled It Would Be By Persons Appearing Before The P And Z.

However, I Sincerely Hope That The Planning And Zoning Board Rejects Arguments Like "One Or Two Accessory Apartments Were Created By Property Owners In Town" And Fully Meets The Requirements Of Providing Vitally Housing For Working Families In Town.

PLEASE SEE:

03/06/09 WHAT WILL THE VOTERS THINK? - Will CT Governor Jody Rell Let Her Republican Buddies In Greenwich Weasel Out Of An Affordable Housing Deal?

THE HEADLINES:

No Affordable Housing For Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Teachers, Nurses Or GEMS

Greenwich Resident Bernadette Settelmeyer Caught The XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX TOWN Trying To Pull A Fast One

THE QUOTE:

"We are looking at the history of it, the language of it," says Greenwich Town Attorney Wayne Fox

THE STORY:

Greenwich close to Cos Cob Power Plant affordable housing opinion- Greenwich Time

By Colleen Flaherty
Staff Writer

After 20 years, the town has begun to address the obligation to build affordable housing stemming from its 1989 purchase of the former Cos Cob Power Plant property.

The 24 affordable units Greenwich ultimately promised to build in exchange for the 9-acre property, which it bought from the state for just $1, have never been built, but Town Attorney Wayne Fox said he is reviewing documents related to the sale to see what, if any, obligation still exists......

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