Judge Dismisses Appeal on Seaside; Opens the Door for Development?

This week, a judge denied an appeal on a decision by the Waterford Planning and Zoning Commission, which should help pave the way for Seaside Sanitarium to (finally) be developed.

This week, Judge Joseph Purtill of New London Superior Court dismissed an appeal by Kathleen and Alan Jacques on a decision made by the Waterford Planning and Zoning Commission regarding the Seaside property. The dismissal will mean one less obstacle for Mark Steiner, the developer looking to turn the former sanitarium into high-end condos and build single-family homes on the property.

“We are pleased with the decision as it supports our efforts to redevelop the property,” Steiner said Tuesday.

The Jacques have long protested Steiner’s proposal, and this lawsuit caused a year-and-a-half of uncertainly at the property. The Jacques could appeal Purtill’s decision in appellate court, which could cause further uncertainly regarding the property.

Meanwhile, Steiner refused to comment on the record if this lawsuit has delayed him from submitting plans to the town. In the summer of 2012, he gave the Planning and Zoning Commission an idea of what he wanted to do at the property, but has yet to file a formal application.

“We don’t have a timetable for submission,” Steiner said. 

Background

Seaside Sanitarium is a state-owned, waterfront property at 36 Shore Road that was formerly used to house the mentally handicapped until it was shut down in the late 1990s. It has sat vacant since, with the state not maintaining the property and allowing the historical Cass Gilbert-designed buildings to deteriorate.

Steiner, meanwhile, has been trying to buy the property for more than a decade. In 2007, he was close to finalizing a $7.1 million deal with the state, but then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell nixed the deal at the last second.

In 2011, he reached another tentative deal with the state to buy the property, this time for $8 million. That sale is contingent on Steiner getting site approval for the property.

Right after reaching that tentative deal in 2011, Steiner asked the Waterford Planning and Zoning Commission to change zoning amendments to the district that covers Seaside. After several months of hearings and protests by Jacques and others, the Planning and Zoning Commission passed several regulations in accordance with Steiner’s wishes. Namely, the commission dropped a 55-and-older age requirement on people living at Seaside and allowed Steiner to knock down the historic buildings, but only if he could prove they were incapable of being saved and he must rebuild them in the existing style.

The Jacques appealed that decision in New London Superior Court, mostly on technicalities about the town allegedly not giving enough notice about the public hearings and not writing exactly what the public hearings were about. On Monday, Purtill said the town did follow the correct steps and dismissed the Jacques’ appeal.

The Jacques can still appeal that decision in appellate court, a step they have taken before in previous lawsuit regarding the Seaside property. If they do, at least three of nine appellate judges would have to agree that there is justification for an appeal, or else the case is dismissed.

Steiner didn’t say on the record if the suit delayed his submission of plans. He can submit his proposal anyway and gain approval to the town, but if a judge later agrees with the Jacques' appeal, that town approval would be overturned.