North Haven approves zone change for senior housing development on Quinnipiac Avenue

NORTH HAVEN — A proposal to add 60 units of senior housing on Quinnipiac Avenue recently advanced when the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a zoning change.

A development team for 61 Quinnipiac Avenue, an 11.5-acre parcel that abuts Cindy Lane, requested a change to an elderly housing zone. The parcel had previously been split into three zoning districts. 

"There's an incredible need for age-restricted housing in our town,” said attorney Bernard Pellegrino. Pellegrino, a resident of the town. "We want to stay in town, if we can, after we sell our house and our kids go away, and there just is not enough age-restricted housing in our town. We think it’s a need this project would fill.”

He said North Haven's demographics are changing and age-restricted communities are growing in demand due to a desire for aging residents to downsize. 

A number of local municipalities have developed age-restricted housing communities for residents 55 and older under the Fair Housing Act, including the existing Tuscan Villa project in North Haven.

A previous proposal for the Quinnipiac Avenue project failed when introduced in January over local concerns about the proposed four-story height of the 60-unit building. Developers said their proposal now is similar and has the same number of units, but includes three stories which was accomplished by increasing the number of one-bedroom units and decreasing the number of two-bedroom units.

Commissioner Ken Quick said he had some of the same concerns at Monday's meeting as he did in January, such as the added stress to public services and the distance from the proposed housing project from downtown North Haven.

Pellegrino said that, although the site is not especially close to downtown, it is located directly on a bus line.

Commission Chairman Vern Carlson said many of the issues raised by other commissioners and members of the public would be better addressed during the site plan review.

"I see no reason not to approve this," he said of the zone change.

Neighbors Joe Palmucci and Hans Strilbyckij said they were concerned about potential traffic impacts in the area of Quinnipiac Avenue, especially collisions.

Pellegrino said age-restricted housing tends to have minimal impacts on traffic during peak hours, as senior populations do not travel as often during normal commuting hours.