Ansonia aldermen approve deed restriction barring housing and combustion uses on 60-acre Copper & Brass site, authorize statewide grant acceptance and developer

The Ansonia Board of Aldermen on Oct. 14 approved a resolution to record a deed restriction across the city-owned 60-acre Copper & Brass site that prohibits residential development and combustion-based energy production, and authorized staff to solicit redevelopment proposals for the entire parcel.

The restriction, as explained by Corporation Counsel John Marini, will be recorded on the land records and can be altered or removed only by a public referendum requiring a two-thirds vote of Ansonia voters. "A deed restriction prohibiting housing and prohibiting trash burning and similar uses involving combustion…will be recorded directly onto the land records," Marini said. He told the board the restriction was intended to prevent solid-waste incinerators and other combustion-based industrial facilities that could raise public-health concerns.

Mayor Cassetti framed the vote as protecting the community and its future tax base, urging aldermen to "lock Copper and Brass property" against housing and combustion uses. "No high density housing. Not now, not ever," the mayor said, arguing the site should generate jobs and revenue rather than add residential density to the city.

An amendment offered by Alderman Steve to exempt the burned-out office building at 75 Liberty Street from the restriction so it could be considered for residential reuse failed. The board then approved the original resolution; the motion carried with one opposition and one abstention, according to the clerk.

At the same meeting the board unanimously accepted an $8,000,000 grant award from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to support remediation, demolition and redevelopment work at 35 North Main Street, 75 Liberty Street and 7 Riverside Drive, parcels that together comprise the Copper & Brass holding. Economic development staff said the grant covers remediation, access-road and site-pad work and related demolition.

City staff also announced plans to issue a broadly worded solicitation for proposals covering the full 60 acres. "We're looking for plans for the full 60 acres," Marini told aldermen, adding the city will require bidders to demonstrate financial capacity but will intentionally leave the solicitation open to diverse concepts so developers can propose different combinations of reuse, remediation and preservation.

Sheila O'Malley, who presented the city's economic-development update, said draft solicitation materials already exist and that a solicitation could be prepared within weeks; she recommended allowing developers several months to perform due diligence and prepare responses. The city will provide information on parcel boundaries, remediation completed to date and potential infrastructure needs to help proposers craft realistic concepts.

The board also accepted a separate $500,000 DECD grant for renovation of the city’s bridal shelter at 2 Division Street and moved several related financing and remediation motions associated with site cleanup.

What happens next: staff will finalize solicitation materials, advertise the request for proposals and return to the board with recommended timelines and review processes. The deed restriction will be recorded consistent with the resolution and may be altered only by the referendum process specified in the measure.