Michael Peloquin has a new idea for property he seeking to develop.
It’s on Milton Road in Litchfield and he says the idea is for housing for homeless teens who are attending schools in Waterbury.
“The town of Waterbury, I’m told, has more than 500 students that are homeless,” Peloquin said, during a recent telephone interview. “That disgusts me. That needs to change. So I’m coming in with six buildings for the homeless in Litchfield.”
Peloquin, who sued the town in 2024 after it denied a plan to change the zoning on his 39-acre Milton Road property to allow a luxury townhouse development, has appealed the decision, and is still waiting for a Hartford Superior Court judge to decide on that appeal.
If the judge were to rule in his favor, he said, he could move ahead with developing the land.
The zoning commission in May 2024 denied the application based on its density, how much of the land could be used for the project, and concerns about the ability of the town’s Water Pollution Control Authority to provide enough water and sewer for the project. To date, no decision has been made by the court.
As of last week, no proposal or site plan for a housing project for people experiencing homelessness has been presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission, according to Chairwoman Carol Bramley.
Bramley, a longtime member of the commission, is also serving as its land use administrator. The board, she said, has been interviewing candidates and will soon make an announcement about hiring a new administrator.
She said no decision has been made on the property zone change, and that the commission was cautious about changing it now.
Bramley said the appeal was made in June 2024. “We’re still waiting on that decision,” she said.
“We have affordable housing developments in Litchfield; the latest is the Litchfield Housing Trust houses (on Route 202),” she said. “They may be planning to build more, so we’re not in a hurry to change the zoning regulations now.”
Another plan for luxury homes was also put forward by Peloquin earlier this month.
The PZC discussed correspondence from Peloquin as an agenda item at its Feb. 2 meeting. That discussion, however, was based on another project proposed by the developer, titled Moose Creek Lodge. According to the commission’s meeting minutes, PZC vice-chairman Peter Losee led a discussion with Peolquin.
That project would include a 60-room lodge, 64 duplex housing units, a saloon, swimming pool, pickle ball court and an ice skating rink. The commission was presented with a preliminary rendering of this plan, but without drawings or maps.
“M. Peloquin stated that the project would add to the grand list and was similar to the two new hotels in town,” according to the minutes. Peloquin was referring to The Abner on West Street and the Belden House on North Street. The Abner is in the old Litchfield County Courthouse, while the Belden is in the former Rose Haven nursing home.
During the Feb. 2 discussion, Losee asked Peloquin whether the WPCAQ could supply enough water pressure and volume for the project; Peloquin stated it could.
But this week Peloquin said he was focusing on the homeless housing plan. “If they change the zoning (for the Milton Road property) from rural residential to multi-family, then I can go ahead with that,” he said.
“I may not even do Moose Creek,” he said. “I want buildings for students, homeless. That’s what I’m looking to do.”
Public pushback to the luxury townhouse development was intense, including nearby property owners signing a petition against the proposal and hiring a lawyer to oppose it. Martin Connor, a retired land use planner and a director of the Litchfield Land Trust, in a letter to the commission, said Peloquin’s land is correctly zoned for low-density, low-impact development and shouldn’t be rezoned for multifamily use.
The PZC is scheduled to meet again on March 3.
Reporting by Don Stacom is included in this story.