ROCKY HILL: Court ends battle over development

By Kristine Snodgrass, Staff Writer
   ROCKY HILL — A state appellate court has ruled the Planning Board’s approval of a controversial age-restricted housing development in the borough was legal.
   In a 41-page opinion handed down last week, the court upheld a September 2007 ruling by Superior Court Judge Allison Accurso, sitting in Somerville, that the application for construction of 34 age-restricted duplex-style, single-family homes was reasonable.
   ”In her thoughtful and thorough opinion, Judge Accurso concluded that the Planning Board’s findings were adequate and supported by the record,” the appellate court wrote. “She carefully analyzed the proposed structures and found that the record supported the finding that the structures were compatible with the structures in the District.”
   The Rocky Hill Citizens for Responsible Growth, which formed in response to the controversy surrounding the development, filed a legal action in 2006 challenging the board’s approval of Rocky Hill Estates on the former Schafer Tract, off Princeton Avenue.
   Approved after months of Planning Board hearings, the planned development includes 34 age-restricted, single-family homes in 17 duplex-style buildings, each between 7,000 and 8,000 square feet.
   Members of the group called the plan out of character, particularly in terms of size and scale, with other buildings in the historic neighborhood. The group also challenged the underlying ordinance and alleged Pulte Homes seemed to receive special treatment for its project.
   In March 2004, the Planning Board presented a proposed ordinance to rezone portions of the borough to be consistent with the Master Plan, which included the 15-acre Schafer Tract. The owner, David Schafer, filed an objection to the proposed zoning and later that year entered into a settlement agreement with the borough that resulted in an amended ordinance.
   The group, which formed in response to the issue, filed an appeal to Judge Accurso’s decision, saying the judge had erred in, among other things, finding the board’s actions were not arbitrary and capricious.
   Mayor Ed Zimmerman said last week that he hopes borough residents can move on from the controversial issue.
   ”Now that it’s over, it should be over,” he said. “We should move on and work together on other issues.”
   He added although he doubted the project would go forward in the economic climate, it would create revenue for the borough, which has seen dramatic cuts in state funding.
   ”Obviously, a ratable in this town right now would be a good thing,” he said.
   Susan Bristol, a cofounder of the citizens group and a plaintiff in the suit, said Saturday that although they lost the appeal, residents had been contacting her to say thanks.
   ”We’re being credited within the community, if for nothing else, for delaying the construction,” she said, adding that, in the current economy, the project could have been left incomplete as a “real eyesore.”
   She added the Rocky Hill Citizens for Responsible Growth has no regrets about filing the lawsuit.
   “’’’”Calls to Donald Daines, attorney for David Schafer and Pulte Homes, and Pulte Homes were not returned by press time.