East Lyme — Land is being cleared on a parcel approved for an 80-unit affordable housing development on the western edge of town, though without a permit or timeline for construction.

The Zoning Commission in December unanimously granted final site plan approval to local developer Jason Pazzaglia for his Brookside Apartments project on North Bride Brook Road. The development sits on a smaller footprint than the previous plan for 108 units that was rejected by the Inland Wetland Agency last year. Pazzaglia is appealing that decision in New London Superior Court.

He said in a Friday email that he was clearing the land only for timber and firewood and does not yet have a timeline in place for the project.

Zoning Official Bill Mulholland on Friday said Pazzaglia needs to apply for a zoning permit in order to work on the site. "Once he has that, he's authorized to go in and start cutting, clearing, moving his equipment in."

Evidence of site clearing has been visible for at least two weeks.

The zoning official said he has communicated with Pazzaglia over email and expects the developer will fill out the permit application on Monday.

According to zoning documents, the project includes 10 three-story buildings with six to 10 units each. Six of the units have three bedrooms, 20 are "expanded" two-bedroom apartments and 40 are standard two-bedroom apartments. Each townhouse-style unit — with gable roof, clapboard siding and shutters — sits atop a two-car garage.

Mulholland said Pazzaglia has discussed a phased approach that would first take care of infrastructure, including drainage and the road system. Then the buildings could be constructed and rented out one or two at a time as work continues on the rest of the project, according to Mulholland.

The property abuts the southern side of Interstate 95 and is located about a mile away from the eastern side of the Rocky Neck Connector.

Pazzaglia, of Pazz & Construction LLC, purchased the 20-acre property in 2017 from its estate owner Edward H. Dzwilewski for $450,000. A 2018 traffic study submitted as part of the application process shows the project initially was conceived as a 250-unit mix of apartments and condominiums. The next year, Pazzaglia sought and was granted the requisite sewage capacity for 108 units. In 2020, the Inland Wetland Agency denied the application based on concerns about stormwater runoff and how it may impact Bride Brook, Bride Lake and one of the town's nearby drinking-water aquifers.

The latest approved schematics for the 80-unit development show Pazzaglia repositioned buildings and eliminated those sitting within the upland review area, bypassing the need to formally go before the Inland Wetland Agency for a permit.

The Inland Wetland Agency in November extended its upland review area from 100 feet to 300 feet. The agency is tasked with regulating activity within the 300-foot area surrounding any watercourse or wetland, other than the ocean, to ensure such activities will not have adverse impacts on the town's surface water. The decision to extend the review area is being appealed in state Superior Court by developer Robert Blatt.

Gary Goeschel, the town's planning director and wetlands enforcement officer, said this week that the 300-foot upland review area remains in effect "until we're told by the courts otherwise." However, he said Pazzaglia's development is not subject to the expanded requirement because the review area was still at 100 feet when Pazzaglia submitted his site plan application last August.

The Planning Commission in October weighed in with a vote calling the project inconsistent with the Plan of Conservation and Development because of the lack of nearby public transportation options and its distance from the town's two village centers, Niantic and Flanders. It found the project consistent with the plan because there is easy access to Route 156 and the Interstate 95 Rocky Neck connector, and because it adds to the affordable housing stock.

East Lyme's most recent conservation and development plan, approved last year, specifies affordable housing should be focused in areas that are convenient to multiple modes of transportation, town services and amenities like schools, recreational areas and stores. The plan is meant to guide the town's growth and be updated every 10 years.

Affordable housing

When the Zoning Commission authorized the project in December, it was part of a process outlined in state statute that makes it easier for developers to build a high number of apartments for which they might otherwise not get approval.

Commonly known as "8-30g," the affordable housing statute is an incentive to promote fair and diverse housing options in municipalities where less than 10% of the housing stock is considered affordable. It gives developers the right to sue the town if their plans are rejected, and shifts the burden of proof to the municipality to show the risk to public health or safety outweighs the need for affordable housing.

A unit is considered affordable when those residing in it don't spend more than 30% of their income on rent or mortgage payments.

According to 2020 data from the state Department of Housing, 6.27% of living options in East Lyme qualified as affordable housing.

The plan submitted by Pazzaglia shows 24 of the units will be rented as affordable housing, while the rest will be rented at market rate.

Pazzaglia's affordability plan for the development specifies half of the apartments will go to renters who make less than 60% of the area median income, while the other half is reserved for those who make less than 80%. That means a family that brings in less than $56,700 annually would pay $1,117 per month for a three-bedroom apartment that typically would go for $1,879.

e.regan@theday.com