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Danbury zoning commission approves rezoning of 27-acre Sawmill Road parcel for multifamily housing
Summary
After a public hearing and lengthy debate about industrial land loss and housing needs, the Zoning Commission approved Blasius Enterprises’ petition to rezone about 27 acres on Sawmill Road from IL40/PND to RMF6; the applicant said it intends to pursue the incentive housing option to add deed-restricted affordable units, subject to later review.
The Danbury Zoning Commission voted 8–0 on July 22 to rezone about 27 acres on Sawmill Road from light-industrial (IL40/PND) to RMF6 multifamily, approving an application from Blasius Enterprises that project attorneys and city staff said is intended to provide market and potentially deed-restricted affordable rental apartments.
Planning Director Waleed Al Bakri told commissioners the parcel contains roughly 27 acres but only about 5–6 acres are buildable because of wetlands, a gas-transmission easement and the Sawmill River. He said staff finds the RMF6 map amendment “meets all the requirements” for a zoning amendment and noted surrounding property is largely residential, including larger developments named Crown Point and The Reserve.
Tom Beecher, the applicant’s attorney, said the rezoning would be “consistent with the plan of conservation and development and the City of Danbury affordable housing plan” and stressed the applicant’s willingness to use the city’s incentive housing option. “The apartments would be rental units … and the applicant is committed to using the incentive housing option permitted by the RMF6 zone designation,” Beecher said.
Engineer Eric Lindquist described a conceptual layout for about 225 apartments in five buildings and a single wetland crossing, and he said the design was intended to preserve wooded buffers and limit disturbance. Traffic consultant Tom Wamser summarized a traffic study concluding that, compared with some office scenarios permitted under the current IL40 zoning, peak-hour residential traffic would be less concentrated and would not cause a substantial increase in peak congestion on Sawmill Road.
Local elected officials and residents raised questions about traffic, school impacts, water distribution and environmental protection for the Kenosha watershed. Councilman Paul Rotello said residential use would likely be “less appropriate than industrial” for certain sites but that, in this case, residential development may be the lesser impact given environmental sensitivity.
Beecher and the applicant’s representative Neil O’Leary emphasized that the applicant would apply for the incentive housing option at the planning commission stage, a process that would require the planning commission’s separate review and that could result in deed-restricted affordable units if approved. Director Al Bakri reiterated that infrastructure (water, sewer, emergency services) could be engineered to meet the development’s needs but that detailed design would be vetted during site-plan and department reviews.
Commissioner Botello moved to approve, citing housing supply and context-sensitive design in the POCD. The motion passed 8–0 (Commissioner Bennett absent), and the commission moved the item from public hearing into old business and then to approval later in the evening. Next steps: if the applicant pursues density bonuses through the incentive housing option, the plan and any required special exceptions will return to the planning commission for detailed review.
