Ridgefielders should finally have the opportunity to vote Wednesday on a $1-a-year land lease designed to allow Ability Beyond, an organization that serves the disabled, to build a group home for six on Prospect Ridge.
The Board of Selectmen propose leasing of half an acre at the corner of Prospect Ridge Road and Halpin Lane to Ability Beyond, and the agreement is scheduled to go to both a public hearing and a town meeting next Wednesday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m. in town hall.
Based in Bethel, Ability Beyond operates about 100 group homes, mostly in Connecticut but also in New York state.
It has run a group home for the disabled for more than 20 years on Ritch Drive in Ridgefield.
In addition to housing, the group also provides disabled people with employment support and a variety of other services.
“We have a very simple mission, which is to make it possible for people with disabilities to be full participants in the community,” Ability Beyond President Tom Fanning told a May 6 hearing. “…Make it possible for disabled individuals to enjoy the same things you and I do.”
The organization has “a 62-year history” of serving disabled people in southwestern Connecticut, he said.
The proposed group home for six planned on Prospect Ridge would be staffed 24 hours a day, Fanning said, similar to the Ability Beyond home on Ritch Drive.
The proposal had an initial public hearing May 6, and was scheduled for a town meeting May 27, but that had to be canceled and rescheduled due to a mix-up with meeting notice requirements.
At the initial public hearing on the plan heard speakers on both sides of the issue.
Bev Barnard, a resident of the Quail Ridge I condominiums, raised concerns about developing the site, which is right next to the condo project’s entranceway.
“You’re taking the last little bit of woods on Prospect Ridge,” Barnard said.
Ed Tyrrell, a regular at town meetings and selectmen’s meetings, supported the plan.
“Given the choice between keeping some trees and taking care of some disabled people, I vote for the disabled people and so should you,” said Tyrrell.
First Selectman Rudy Marconi defended the proposed site as good for a group home, noting that it is walking distance from town and a variety of amenities.
“The location itself, it makes this particular piece of property very attractive for this exact kind of use,” he said.
Marconi discussed the plans with Barnard and also with Ray Goddard, the president of the Quail Ridge Condominium Association.
He told them he would urge Ability Beyond and its architect to make its plans clearer to neighbors.
“They have Mr. Craig Studer, landscape architect, working on the plans, illustrating the location of the building, and which trees are to come down, trees to be saved, and future screening to the north side, which is the Quail Ridge side,” Marconi said.
Goddard told The Press May 27 that the proposal hasn’t sparked widespread concern among Quail Ridge residents.
“I have had a couple of inquiries from owners, all of which were supportive of Ability Beyond,” Goddard said.
He did say that he’s still hoping to see more detailed plans.
“I asked Rudy to let me know when the architect had completed his plans so we could review them to discuss any concerns,” he said.
The plans should be fully discussed at the hearing and town meeting on June 10.
“If people do have an interest, I hope they do show up and have their questions answered,” Marconi said.
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