NEWS

YMCA Mahackeno Plan Meeting Draws Large Crowd

Printed in the WestportNow.com

The one hour and 15 minute session was held by the Code Enforcement Committee made up of town department representatives who will eventually have to make recommendations on any plan presented.

Many attending the meeting were residents in the camp's Wilton Road area. They are opposed to the plan because of traffic and congestion issues they say will overwhelm the already busy neighborhood just off of the Merritt Parkway's exit 41.

The Y contends that it has outgrown its 74,000-square foot building built in 1923 at the corner of Main Street and Post Road East. Y officials said preliminary plans called for a 94,000-square foot facility on the 30-acre Mahackeno site.

"The project honestly is just in the beginning stages," said Ted Davis, chair of a Y steering committee overseeing the Mahackeno project.

A traffic consultant hired by the Y, Michael Galante, told the meeting while plans are still very preliminary, he does intend to begin traffic studies of the area as early as next month.

Katherine Barnard, director of Planning and Zoning who chaired the meeting, said she saw three main issues regarding the plan:

--Whether the town sewer system or a septic system is used.

-- What the impact of increased traffic on the area will be.

-- And whether the use qualifies for a "special permit" under zoning regulations.

Fire Marhall Fred Baker said he was most concerned about emergency vehicle access to the Mahackeno site.

He noted that Mahackeno was in a relatively remote area in the northwest part of town – one of the farthest areas from fire headquarters on Post Road East, the closest fire station.

For this reason, Baker said, he wanted to ensure that any facility built on the site contained the most advanced fire protection systems.

Alicia Mozian, conservation director, urged the Y planners to extensively investigate the potential impact on any wetlands on the property.

Police Chief Al Fiore said parking was a major issue for him. He said there has to been plenty of parking capacity on the site so cars would not be parked on neighboring streets.

Dick Foot, executive director of the Y, said no architect has yet been hired for the facility and that it has not been determined exactly where on the site the building will be situated.

Foot said he anticipated that work would be done on areas adjacent to the Saugatuck River but that nothing was definite at the moment.

Barnard suggested that as soon as an architect is hired, the Y go before the Architectural Review Board "so they can have input very early on."

She reminded Y members that under a new ordinance, the Planning and Zoning Commission had the authority to hire independent experts at an applicant's expense in order to get additional information about a proposal.

When asked if he had a timetable for the project, Foot said in view of not having hired an architect or site planner yet, not having begun a capital campaign, and not having sold the downtown property, "it is difficult and probably inappropriate to put a time frame" on it.

"We will keep you posted," he said.

Michael Stashower, a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, urged the Y to try to estimate how much parking is required by the present downtown Y building as well as number of trips generated to the building.

"I'd like to see some really good statistics, but I know it's a tough question that is hard to get at," he said.

Eleanor Lowenstein, chair of the P&Z, asked whether the Y had been in touch with state Department of Transportation people. She was told there had been some preliminary contacts and that a detailed traffic study would be made.

Lowenstein said it was important for the Y to be able to say early on what the hours of operation will be for the new facility.

A member of the public asked Barnard to outline steps those opposed to the facility could take to make sure their views are known.

Barnard urged them to attend public hearings and keep abreast of ongoing developments following any formal application.

Mary Young, a planner in the P&Z office, suggested that opponents might want to think of making suggestions about what would make the project more palatable to them instead of merely opposing it.