The Greenwich Planning & Zoning commission again discussed an application from Eagleview Holdings for a special permit to demolish Greenwich Woods nursing home and construct a 4-story, 170-unit assisted housing development where 30% of the units (51 units) would be designated affordable per state statutes. There would be parking for 294 vehicles on about acres at the 1165 King Street property.
Previously 215 apartments in a 5 story building were proposed.
Attorney Tom Heagney said a financial assistance loan had been approved by the affordable housing trust fund board who worked with the applicant to convert the project to “government assisted” so that rents could be priced at 150% of State Median Income instead of Area Median Income.
Rendering created by Granoff Associates.
Rendering created by Granoff Associates.
Mr. Heagney said planned amenities will include a theater, gym, indoor pool, indoor children’s play area, outdoor playground, pickleball courts, walking paths and a roof deck, and he noted that the location is near non-residential uses including schools and houses of worship.
Outstanding Issue: Wastewater Treatment
The main issue for the P&Z commission concerned an existing agreement for wastewater treatment with Westchester County, NY that is due to expire before the 40 year deed restriction on the affordable units.
The agreement, which has previously been extended twice, is set to expire Dec 31, 2064.
On an annual basis Greenwich Woods pays Westchester County between $100,000 and $200,000 annually, based on flow.
Heagney said there have been positive discussions with Westchester on extending the sewer agreement, but that the situation would not be resolved in time for the Nov 12, which is the last meeting the application can be extended to.
He said a second option, should Westchester Country decline to extend the agreement, would be for the development to build its own dedicated wastewater treatment facility and discharge into the Byram River like Sacred Heart Greenwich does.
P&Z suggested that if Westchester were to decline to extend the agreement, it would rise to a “health and safety issue,” which is the only consideration for which an 8-30g may be denied.
“We are here for the health and safety,” Alban said. “Our commitment is to advancing housing diversity and to serving the state’s goal in that regard.”
Heagney suggested the applicant record a document in Greenwich’s land records requiring the final design and implementation of an alternate septic plan be started 10 years prior to the expiration of the existing agreement with Westchester.
Commissioner Arn Welles said he had “severe concerns” about a backup plan that would send up to 50,000 gallons of treated wastewater into the Byram River.”
Byram Beach. File photo
Contamination of Byram River
“Everyone knows Byram Beach is one of the worst beaches in the state as far as water quality,” Welles added. “I’d like a list, as a health and safety, of all the projects that are sending wastewater into the Byram River. Where’s the tipping point there? We have Sacred Heart, American Lane…At some point it’s going to be too much.”
A sludge treatment plant on site would treat the solid sewage, “sludge,” that would then picked up and removed.
Eric Avila from S.E. Minor & Co said solids would be treated on site and trucked away, though there was not a plan yet for where it would go.
The Byram Neighborhood Association’s land use chair Al Shehadi submitted a letter objecting to wastewater being discharged into the Byram River. The letter was read into the record.
“The BNA is strongly opposed to any consideration of a future on-site wastewater treatment facility which would discharge into the Byram River in the event the property’s existing treatment arrangement with Westchester County is not renewed at the end of its current term in 2064. Any such sewage discharged into the Byram River eventually flows down through the community of Byram and therefore is a potential health and safety concern for residents of Byram.”
“I grew up in Byram in the 1960’s and have strong memories of not being able to swim along Byram Shore because of improperly treated sewage making its way down the Byram River into Long Island Sound. No one in Byram wants to see that happen again. While in theory any new sewage treatment plant would have to meet much higher regulatory standards in order to discharge into a public waterway, the reality is nether the Town of Greenwich nor the state of Connecticut have the enforcement capacity to ensure such a private facility is operated properly for the decades that it will likely operate. Without guaranteed enforcement capacity, the risk of un- or incompletely treated sewage being discharged into the Byram River falls on the residents of Byram. We are not willing to take that risk.”
The commission had some discussion about the possibility of closing the application (ending discussion between applicant and P&Z entirely) and inserting “milestone conditions” into an approval, but Alban said that would be tricky once the development already has a certificate of occupancy and she said it was preferable to “work it out together.”
The item was left open….
See also:
Aug 11, 2025
P&Z Watch: Greenwich Woods New 8-30g Proposal is 4-Story Apartment Building on King Street
June 29, 2025
Greenwich P&Z Hones in on Sewer Discharge Agreement with New York for Proposed 8-30g on King Street
Dec 17, 2023
Greenwich Woods at 1165 King Street in Greenwich. June 27, 2025
See also:
P&Z Watch: Greenwich Woods New 8-30g Proposal is 4-Story Apartment Building on King Street
June 29, 2025