150-Unit Oxford Apartment Proposal Heads To Public Hearing

OXFORD, CT — A proposal to build 150 apartments along Oxford Road will go before the Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday.

The Little River Apartments project is proposed for 11 Oxford Road, on a 16.15-acre property near the Southbury town line. The applicant, B-Wizz LLC, is seeking three separate approvals from the commission.

The first would add an “Oxford Road Housing Opportunity Zone” to the town’s zoning regulations. The developer is also asking the commission to place about 14.95 acres of the property in the new zone.

The third application covers the development itself. Plans call for 150 apartments, with 45 units — or 30 percent of the project — designated as affordable for 40 years.

The application was filed under Connecticut’s affordable-housing law, commonly known as 8-30g. The law limits a municipality’s ability to deny certain housing proposals when less than 10 percent of its housing stock meets state affordability requirements.

Patch previously reported that the proposal was submitted as Oxford considered a nine-month development moratorium.

The moratorium took effect Aug. 12 and temporarily blocks the town from accepting or processing several types of development applications. The Little River proposal was filed before the moratorium began, and the developer’s attorney has argued that it cannot be stopped by the temporary regulations.

The commission’s meeting agenda does not indicate that a vote will be taken Tuesday. The three applications are listed together under scheduled public hearings.

The hearing begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Oxford Town Hall, 486 Oxford Road.

The commission will also continue a hearing that night on a proposed 40,000-square-foot industrial building at 6 East Commerce Drive.

For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.