Community Corner

Potential Long Ridge Road Developments Put On Hold

Representatives of a resident plan to convert undesirable housing on Long Ridge Road to real estate office buildings have opted to schedule a public hearing, but are unsure how soon it will take to make that hearing happen.

Long Ridge Road residents seeking both a text change to that area's zoning rules and a special exception to allow some of the residences to be converted into real estate office buildings may not see either happen for some time.

"It's no small task to get a special exception awarded," application representative Jim Murphy told Stamford's Planning Board at a Tuesday, Feb. 14 session at the . In the ninety minutes that Murphy was allowed to speak to the board and no one else, Murphy elaborated on a long-developed plan to change the zoning text for Long Ridge Road as it currently exists, the first step in the goal of converting "undesirable" homes along LRR to real estate office buildings.

At the planning board's suggestion, Murphy will return to his clients and recommend a public hearing. According to the planning board, if Murphy wants a public hearing, he will have to have one before both the zoning board and the planning board.

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There are 12 subject properties according to Murphy's outline of the application, and the properties were considered undesirable due to the heavy traffic on Long Ridge Rd., its lack of sidewalks, and noise from the road.

"Nobody will invest in them because they know they can't sell them...no one would zone these properties for single-family residential," Murphy said.

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Murphy described the effects of a text change to the area's zoning regulations and its subsequent special exception:

  • The subject properties shall have frontage on a state highway
  • The subject properties will be located south of the Merritt Pkwy, within 2,500 feet of the southerly boundary of the Merritt Pkwy, and be adjacent to or directly across from commercially-zoned property.
  • Structures proposed for conversion must have been in existence before Jan. 1, 1990.
  • Modifications to bring such structures to up to code with federal, state, or local law will be permitted.

Murphy and his associates, among them Carl Tooker of the prominent William Raveis real estate company, claim that property values along Long Ridge Road will increase under their proposed change, and that a successful application and development will "create a buffer for a residential neighborhood."

"We don't need a master plan change," Murphy stressed for the planning board.  Currently, city regulations do not allow the subject Long Ridge Road properties to be "altered" without a special exception.  Special exceptions can be as difficult to obtain as a successful zoning text change, if not more.

In general, to schedule and hold two public hearings can take a long period of time. However, the planning board appeared to receive Murphy's presentation well, and expressed a willingness to assist with getting the word out in regards to an eventual public hearing for the Long Ridge Road application.

"There's a lot of work to be done," Murphy said.


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