Does the Zoning Commission want to change Residential AA and Residential A standards?  Well, the answer depends on who you talk to.  The Connecticut Post will be covering this story and we can expect to see it published on Friday or Saturday.  At least residents will be made aware of the changes proposed in the Draft Zoning Regulations and can decide whether or not to comment on them before the regulations are approved.  Monday evening, September 22, at 6 PM is the ONLY opportunity that the public will have to speak out on the changes.  Written comments must be received by September 21 to be considered.  After September 22, the public will have no say.  The Zoning Commission will report out to the public on October 4 at City Hall, but there will be no public participation.  Therefore, it is very important to consider the draft to be real, regardless of whether the proposed regulations have "typos" or real changes, because we have no way of knowing what changes were meant or not, and once this chance for public participation passes, we've lost our chance to influence the zoning regulations.

To review the zoning changes click on www.bridgeportmasterplan.com and click on Zoning (on left side) and review Table 3 on Page 154 of the Draft Proposed Zoning Regulations (the whole document is 189 pages long).  You can make comments objecting to these changes in Residential AA and Residential A zoning by sending an e-mail to lynn.haig@bridgeportct.gov or by attending the meeting and speaking up.

Let's take a look at the changes proposed:

RESIDENTIAL AA 

If you live from Lake Avenue to St. Mary's, you probably live in a Residential AA zone, which currently requires a minimum lot size of 11,250 SF.   This would be reduced to 7,500 SF in the proposed plan.  The new zoning plan also affects provides for a reduction in street frontage from 90 to 75 feet (although it later states 90 feet, so there is an inconsistency).  

RESIDENTIAL A

In addition, minimum lot size in Residential A zones would be reduced from 9,000 SF to 7,500 SF and minimum frontage would be reduced from 60 feet to 50 feet (although again, later in the table it states 60 feet, so there is another inconsistency). 

IMPLICATIONS

These changes could change the complexion of our neighborhood as we have a number of oversized lots in both Res-A and Res-AA zones.  Right now the real estate market is slow, but when the upturn occurs homes could be torn down along with trees and one home replaced by two on oversized lots.  These changes do not benefit current homeowners and will decrease the value of our homes.  They are of benefit to developers and current owners of oversized plots of land who want to subdivide.  These zoning changes degrade the value of of AA and A zones.  There are also tax implications to these proposed changes.  For example, building lots are taxed at a much higher rate than excess land.  If your excess land becomes a building lot, your taxes could increase significantly. 

ACTIONS TO TAKE

There will be a public hearing at City Hall Monday, September 22 at 6.00 pm., which you should attend, if you can, and speak out against the changes (whether they are typos or not, it doesn't matter, the public needs to go on record with all the changes to the draft plan and we do not know which items are typos or real changes).  If you cannot attend the meeting, please exercise your right to be heard by sending your comments to lynn.haig@bridgeportct.gov  Urge your community organizations to take a stand against these changes and to attend the meeting on Monday.

To read the previous post on this:

http://www.blackrockonline.org/residential-aa-and-zone-changes-affects-y...

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