Southington residents raise concerns over affordable housing proposal on South Main Street

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SOUTHINGTON — While some residents were not opposed to new affordable housing coming to town, they said the proposed location on South Main Street was not the best spot for such a large project.

The project would build a four-story, 14,687-square-foot residential apartment community with 65 units.

Regina Coviello was one of the residents expressing that sentiment about the location at a recent Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

"However, Southington needs a lot more affordable apartments, not houses," she said. "I wish the percentage was higher for affordable apartments per complex. We have to start thinking about all people. But something will go into this property, whether it is an apartment building or a business. I think that we'd be better as an apartment complex than, say, a gas station convenience store.”

The developers, Southington-based 3 Squared LLC, are seeking to change the property located at 1104 South Main St. from a business zone to an affordable housing zone. They've also asked for a text amendment to add the affordable housing zone to the Southington zoning regulations, and filed a site plan application.

The developers also submitted a proposal for a housing project in Manchester.

The Southignton project is being submitted under state statute 8-30g, which puts the responsibility on the town to show the health and safety risks outweigh the need for affordable housing if the project is denied as long as at least 30% of the units are affordable.

Approval would allow for them to demolish the single-family home currently on the approximately two-acre lot and build a 65-unit, multi-family residential community in one “L” shaped building.

It is expected to have 55 one-bedroom units ranging from 560 to 673 square feet, 10 two-bedroom units ranging from 806 to 840 square feet and parking along the front of the building with two driveway entrances.

Pam Kastner, who lives next to the site, said there are currently an L-shaped building and a couple of garages.

"It's not a big piece of property," Kastner told the Planning and Zoning Commission. "How are they going to fit this in? It's absurd. Where's the playscape for the children? If you're going to have kids here, where's that going to go? There's not even enough parking.”

Kastner, also said the renderings didn’t properly show the property and were misleading.

"We just renovated Plantsville for the past four months, " Mary Peterman told the commission. "As a retired teacher from Southington, I worked here for 40 years I could not get down the street in Plantsville."

She said there's already a loft of traffic there, especially with Interstate-84 there.

"I don't believe that the plan supports what Plantsville should be looking like, if you would like a village,” she said.

Asia Quinones, the mother of a teenage son who attends John F. Kennedy Middle School, said she worried about the students walking across the street to school, riding their bikes on the street and playing in the already small area. She said the construction and then finished complex create safety issues and noise.

Resident Ruth Benham brought up similar safety issues with the JFK students who walk on field trips to help out the wellness centers and the local daycare who walk the toddlers around the neighborhood. She said there are already safety concerns with people already parking on the streets and speeding.

Whether emergency vehicles, especially firetrucks, could get in the area if the new development was built were brought up by both residents and commission members as well.

Resident Wyland Clift, who is an attorney and served on an inland wetlands commission in another town for about nine years, brought up wetlands concerns. He suggested the commission not rule on this application until the applicant presents its site plans to the town’s inland wetlands and water courses agency.

“It is very likely that the intense building activity and coverage of the property with paved parking will have an impact on and affect the nearby wetlands and water courses,” Clift said.

The public hearing was continued.