Discussions between the developer and the board began in June. But the project drew pushback from neighbors who were worried about the effect on their single-family neighborhoods. In a letter to the Zoning Board, nearby resident Ann Powers expressed frustration that abutters were not notified early.
“First and foremost, many of us were unaware of this proposal until recently," she wrote in the letter. "As residents in the immediate vicinity, we are disappointed that we were not notified directly. It feels unfair that only the commercial abutters on East Main Street and Quarry Square were informed via direct mail.”
Powers and others also raised concerns about construction impact, traffic congestion, water supply, sewer capacity, egress and roadway plans, lighting, and snow and water runoff.
In response, Wood Partners met with neighbors and made several adjustments to its proposed design. Changes included increasing fence height to increase privacy, reducing the project's scale (from 200 units to 180), expanding landscape buffers and modifying the parking layout.
Despite the changes, ZBA members said Milford’s current affordable housing levels made the proposal difficult to support. About 14% of Milford's housing stock qualifies as affordable, above the 10% needed to avoid being affected by the 40B law. Six 40B projects have been approved in town over the last eight years.
www.fairfieldresidential.com
