A Bad Evening for the Elderly Residents of Stonegate Village Mobile Home Park

Yesterday evening the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) voted 4-1 to approved a stipulated agreement with the owner of Stonegate Village (an age restricted mobile home park) that will result in a 50% increase in the number of dwelling units from 80 to 120 in the community; will permit on-street parking on narrow 22' roads that will delay emergency vehicles during snowstorms – and without sidewalks, will create a safety hazard for elderly residents and residents who are wheelchair bound; will permit permanent duplex and triplex buildings on tiny 6000 square foot sites; will remove the security gate at the emergency entrance to the community; will permit removal of the berms that screen the property from Gallup Hill road; will allow the permanent removal of axles, wheels, and hitches from the mobile homes by the developer; will result in a community center that is too small and congested; will result in inadequate RV parking; and will cause too much traffic, too much noise, and too much congestion in the community. The agreement will cause multiple conflicts with the 30 year resident site leases, and with the Connecticut mobile home park laws. It is a horrific agreement for the residents. Worse, P&Z, during the meeting, would not allow the residents to address or even petition the commission. The P&Z refused to accept their signed petitions, where 29 residents opposed the agreement. Each petition included a listing of 10 reasons for the resident's opposition. These reasons should have been considered by the Commission. Except for the meeting yesterday evening, all deliberations regarding the proposed agreement have been conducted in secret during executive sessions. And last night, although the meeting was public, no public input was allowed, not even from the residents. It might technically be legal (as advised by the attorney), but failure to accept public input from those who will be directly affected by the agreement is wrong. It is a perfect example of the new P&Z "rubber stamping" the changes it thinks are "best".  The residents have the right to be disappointed and angry at the way they were treated by their government.