A plan to open a business to recycle construction materials on a vacant North Washington Avenue site has been thrown out by the Planning and Zoning Commission amid concerns that the site would cause traffic problems.
The applicant, Connecticut Transfer LLC, sought approval Monday night from the P&Z for an adaptive-reuse permit. Those permits are needed when a developer wants to use an abandoned property for a purpose different than the earlier use.
The proposal was unanimously denied by the P&Z.
The applicant planned to convert one of the 12 units of the former Bridgeport Brass Co. site at North Washington and Housatonic avenues into a recycling facility for construction debris. After a two-hour presentation by Brian Stone, the applicant's lawyer, several opponents spoke against the application.
Charles Willinger, a lawyer who often represents developers before the city's land-use boards, addressed the commission on behalf of his client, United Rentals Inc. Officials of United Rentals, which owns a separate unit of the Brass site on Housatonic Avenue, were concerned that traffic generated by the recycling business would become a problem. Stone, accompanied to the hearing by several project consultants, said about there would probably be more than 150 truck trips to the site every day. That traffic volume would be inappropriate for the property's light-industrial zone since it would even exceed the level permitted in a high-industrial zone, Willinger said. He also said that Stone, whose presentation centered on the recycling center's design, did not prove that the plan would be appropriate for an adaptive reuse permit. "I don't know how they pass the test here," he said. "I think they fail."The proposed design, calling for about one-third of the existing building to be knocked down, makes no provision to preserve the structure in any way, Willinger said.
He reminded the P&Z that zoning regulations state that there must be a "historic, architectural, economic or other value to the city justifying renovation and preservation" for an adaptive-reuse permit. Marta de Loizaga, a city resident attending the meeting because of her concern about another application on the P&Z agenda, asked the commission to consider the environmental impact of the recycling facility on the city and the bordering Pequonnock River.
State Rep. Christopher Caruso, D-Bridgeport, also spoke in opposition to the proposal. "This area is not part of my district, but the people who live there are fellow Bridgeporters," he said. "I am tired of Bridgeport being dumped on." Connecticut Post