TPZ short-circuits tighter rules on generators -- for now

After living seven years on Henderson Road -- in a home abutting Interstate 95 -- April and P.J. Clyne thought they'd abandoned the noisy residential life for good.

They moved into a house on Hillside Road in lower Greenfield Hill. And for three years, things were mostly quiet.

Then, last December, without warning, a 350-kilowatt generator went in at a commercial property across the street.

"It's beyond loud," April Clyne told the Town Plan and Zoning Commission (TPZ) at a public hearing July 13. The hearing was for Clyne's proposed zoning amendment, which would tighten the town's regulations for installing generators.

The amendment was essentially two-fold: It sought to expand the property setbacks for generators -- pushing them farther away from other properties -- and to bring the application process for installing generators into the public's eye.

Specifically, she wanted anyone seeking to install a "fixed" generator -- not a portable one -- to be required to apply for permission from the TPZ, as well as notify property owners within 200 feet of the proposed site, and be subject to a public hearing on the proposal.

The TPZ would then weigh the application against the new regulations. Among other points in Clyne's proposal, they would forbid generators on commercial or industrial properties within 100 feet of a residential district.

On Tuesday night, the TPZ rejected Clyne's proposed amendment unanimously, although the board did not entirely close the door for some kind of generator regulations.

"The issue deserves treatment, though I don't know if this application is suitable for approval," said TPZ member Matt Wagner.

TPZ Chairman Seth Baratz said he'd like the commission to study the issue, but that he's not sure how quickly it will be able to do so.

Since Clyne did not attend Tuesday's TPZ meeting, the commission decided not to make changes to her proposal in her absence that might not be to her liking.

"That's probably not a good idea," said Joe Devonshuk, the town's planning and zoning director.

So, for now anyway, the fixed generator application process will remain: An application is submitted with the town's Building Department, which ensures the proposed generator complies with various codes, such as fire and electrical. The department passes the application to the Planning and Zoning Department, which checks that the proposed generator abides by the general setback rules set for the town's residential districts.

When the application gets both departments' approval, the generator can be installed. It still must comply with the town's noise ordinances, which are enforced by police.

Because the generator across the street from the Clyne house passed through the town's application process legitimately, Clyne said she wasn't looking to have it removed.

Instead, she was taking issue with the fact that the generator was proposed and approved without her knowledge. By forcing applicants to go before the TPZ -- and to send notices to neighboring properties -- Clyne hoped to prevent other residents from being surprised by a new generator landing on their block.

Comments made during the July 13 public hearing on the proposal were largely in line with the TPZ decision Tuesday night.

At the hearing, John Jones, of Shetland Road, the president of the Greenfield Hill Improvement Society, said the generator issue "needs to be addressed," regardless of whether Clyne's language was adopted or not.

James Thompson, of Bronson Road, the architect who designed the Hillside Road generator, criticized the proposed amendment as "poorly focused" and said it would conflict with other town regulations. It could also provoke lawsuits, he said.

Both April and P.J. Clyne said they're open to rewording the proposal. Neither of them, April said, has experience with zoning matters and she relied heavily on Devonshuk and Assistant Planning Director Jim Wendt to bring her proposal before the TPZ.

The overriding issue, she repeated, is that existing regulations failed to "protect" her family.

How widespread are generators in Fairfield?

According to Tom Conley, the Building Department's electrical inspector, the number of "fixed" generators in Fairfield is "in the thousands." He estimates that between 50 and 80 applications for new permits come through his office every year.

He identified the Hillside Road generator as one of the town's largest, capable of about seven times more wattage than the one backing up Sullivan Independence Hall (where many of the town's departments, including planning and zoning, building, finance and the first selectman's office, are headquartered).

The Hillside Road generator is capable of powering the two two-story commercial buildings it services -- 129 Hillside Road and 1260 Bronson Road -- Conley said. This includes heating, air conditioning, lighting and powering computers.

Seen up close, it resembles the back end of an 18-wheeler, cemented to the ground. A retaining wall stands behind it, dug into a steep hill rising to Hillside Road. The Clynes' front yard sits directly across the street, about 10 yards away. There are large pine trees screening the generator from view, though not from sound.

As it does most weeks, the generator kicked into gear at 1:04 p.m. Tuesday. A thin cloud of dust rose from its top. The machine groaned monotonously for nine minutes. From the Clynes' front stoop, it sounded about as loud as a large lawn mower churning on a neighboring property line.

The generator, to be sure, typically runs only 15 minutes or less a week -- between 1 and 1:15 p.m. Tuesdays -- to stay operational. But when severe storms rip through the area, cutting power to the neighborhood, as happened during the March nor'easter, the generator runs day and night.

During the March storm, it ran roughly 48 hours, Clyne said. This was on the weekend.

And since no electric appliances able to run in her own home, the generator seemed to groan even louder, Clyne said.

The Clynes' 22-month-old baby had difficulty sleeping, she said. The family nearly checked into a hotel.