The Treetops of Ridgefield townhouses back up to five acres of wooded former Schlumberger land that town hopes to sell for commercial development. Back porches like the one visible at right are just 10 or 15 feet from the property line. —Macklin Reid photo
It was all green woods next door. Then — surprise! — the surveyors came, followed by bulldozers, pavement, buildings, people.
It’s a story as old as the suburbs, and neighbors of Schlumberger land that the town hopes to sell are recounting it once again.
“The backs of our properties have decks that open on to, right now, basically a forested area. And that was what everybody bought,” said Mitchell Fink.
He lives at The Treetops of Ridgefield, the townhouse complex at Grove Street and Old Quarry Road.
The nearly 20 unit-owners there are uneasy about the town’s plans to sell off parts of the 45-acre Schlumberger purchase for development — particularly five acres on the north side of Old Quarry Road, across the street from the rest of Schlumberger and just behind the Treetops.
Town Engineer Charles Fisher has been working with the selectmen on a request for proposals, or “RFP,” to see what developers interested in buying the five acres are willing to pay, and what they want to build there.
The plan is for the property to be developed under the B-2 commercial zoning that has long governed the site. The selectmen reviewed Mr. Fisher’s draft last Wednesday July 31, and the final document soliciting developers’ plans and bid prices was expected to go out this week.
“I know some of the residents who live at Treetops have questions about the setback,” First Selectmen Rudy Marconi said.
Treetops units that back up to the town property are set back just 20 feet from the property line, and the B-2 zone has no “side setback” to protect that border.
“What you could do is put a conservation easement along the edges,” Mr. Fisher suggested.
“I think we owe it to the folks,” Selectwoman Di Masters agreed. “They exist, and they deserve some protection.”
Four Treetops of Ridgefield residents had attended the July 17 selectmen’s meeting . “We’re here because we have great concern about that five acres of land. We live next to it,” they said.
“We were grossly misinformed as to what that property is zoned as,” said Mr. Fink.
Mr. Fink and Anthony Pascente, president of the Treetops of Ridgefield Homeowners Association, later reiterated the complaint.
“At the time everybody bought in the development, the real estate agent told us that piece of land is not going to be developed. That was lie,” Mr. Pascente said. “We can’t blame the town for that.”
Most of the Treetops units were sold in 2010, he said — admittedly, before the town’s 2011 vote to buy and re-market the Schlumberger property. Still, Mr. Pascente and Mr. Fink said, prospective unit buyers had not been given a clear understanding of the status of the woods behind the townhouses.
“It was zoned commercial when we bought the property. But the selling real estate broker lied to us, and nobody bothered to check it further,” Mr. Fink said. “That was on us: Buyer beware.”
Town Planner Betty Brosius, whose office would be a logical first stop in an effort to research the zoning status of any land in town, said it’s a common tale.
“We hear that all the time, just in general,” she said. “We frequently hear that people are misinformed about what can go on next door. It is ‘buyer beware.’ We encourage buyers to do their own research. And we’re here to help them.
“I’ve had some meetings with groups of real estate agents and encouraged them to do the research on adjacent properties as part of their disclosure to potential buyers.
“Some of the real estate agents are very good about letting their prospective buyers know about what can happen on a vacant property next door,” Ms. Brosius said. “But we have had many homeowners who have been surprised.”
In separate interviews, Mr. Pascente and Mr. Fink elaborated on the Treetops residents’ experience.
They understood that in seeking to sell off parts of the former Schlumberger property — the five commercial acres off Old Quarry Road, and 10 acres off Sunset Lane recently rezoned for multifamily use — the selectmen were trying to recover the $7 million voters approved spending on the Schlumberger property in December 2011, largely with the goal of limiting development there.
“We know it’s a commercial lot. We’re not against the town making whatever money they have to make,” Mr. Pascente said. “But we have a level of concern about whatever kind of business is going in there.
“The concern is naturally the noise, and what kind of business, and the traffic.”
Not only are many Treetops units set back just 20 feet from the property line, the town’s wooded five acres protect their back porches from activity farther down Old Quarry Road — the town highway garage, recycling center, transfer station, sewer plant.
“The trees right now serve as a buffer,” Mr. Pascente said.
At the selectmen’s July 17 meeting Mr. Fisher, the town engineer, said his request for proposals would warn prospective developers that the site adjoins the Water Pollution Control Authority’s treatment plant, and town highway department: “A 24-hour operation next door, WPCA, highway garage,” Mr. Fisher said.
Mr. Fink said Treetops residents do hear trucks at the nearby town facilities — the beeping when they back up, the air brakes — but with a wooded hillside protecting the townhouses, the noise isn’t too bad.
“We’re up the hill from it and there’s open space between us. It’s not annoying to anybody. We hear the noise,” he said.
Town records show the Treetops’ two- and three-bedroom units were sold in a range from under $500,000 to about $700,000.
Of the 20 units, 18 are owner-occupied, Mr. Pascente said. Most are uneasy about the town selling the land next door.
“We’re concerned about whatever use it is put to,” Mr. Fink said. “Sound is a concern, if there’s going to be some form of manufacturing facility there.”
For decades a B-2 business zone has governed the five-acre site. The zone was tightened in 2007 — a year after the 20-unit Treetops at Ridgefield townhouse project was approved under its rules. But the zone still allows a wide array of business uses — with some residential mixed in.
“Primarily it is considered to be a light industrial zone,” said Ms. Brosius, the town planner. “It allows manufacturing, production, fabrication, processing, assembling, packing and sorting and distribution of goods.
“And it does also allow research and development laboratories, contractors’ yards, and it would allow in addition to that business, professional or medical offices.
“It does not allow retail,” she said, “but it does allow banks and restaurants.”
A few other uses are permitted. “Recreational facilities, either indoor or outdoor,” she said. “It would allow a hotel, motel or inn, education, philanthropic, religious uses.”
Residential uses are also allowed. Ms. Brosius said the site could hold five free-standing residences, or 11 units if they’re located above commercial structures.
Mr. Fink and his wife moved from Battery Park City in Manhattan in 2010 and enjoy the community and its cultural facilities.
In addition to attending selectmen’s meetings, Mr. Fink went and spoke with First Selectman Rudy Marconi.
They looked over town regulations, including one that gives the Planning and Zoning Commission authority to require a landscaped buffer of up to 45 feet when non-residential projects go in beside residences.
“In essence, a setback,” Mr. Marconi said.
And the request for proposals Mr. Fisher is preparing is expected to warn prospective developers that the town may put a conservation easement along that property line — though the depth probably won’t be specified.
“You have 20 condominiums there,” Mr. Marconi said. “They’re very concerned about noise, and rightfully so.”
“We’re not being contentious at this point,” Mr. Fink said. “There’s no need for that. We want to work with the town.
“I was a resident who was absolutely for the town buying the Schlumberger property,” he said. “I can’t complain about that.”