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West Haven's Most Energetic Advocate
Van Selden believes there's gold just of Exit 42
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Business New Haven
1/5/2004
By: BNH
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Edwin Van Selden of Branford is commissioner of planning and development for the city of West Haven. Previously he was executive director of the Tweed-New Haven Airport Authority. Selden spoke about to BNH about his city's economic-development prospects in a December 22 interview.
Tell us how you got from the Tweed Airport Authority to West Haven.
I had met the goals I set out for myself at Tweed and was looking for a new challenge. Mayor Richard Borer came to me and said, 'Would you be interested in working for the city of West Haven?' We had some discussions, I met the staff - I was extremely excited about the talented [economic-development] staff that the city had assembled - and on March 3 I accepted the position of commissioner of planning and development for the city of West Haven.
What were the goals you say you accomplished at Tweed?
The goals were: 1) to establish the authority into a functioning, operating unit, which meant educating a board of directors and obtaining a management company for the airport. The major goal that I was after was to develop an airport plan, which was adopted at the end of 2002. My biggest disappointment is that we haven't yet been able to get the permitting through the [state's] Department of Environmental Protection for the runway safety areas at the airport [which would in effect lengthen the runways]. That's a project that has been going on for close to 20 years, and the amount of work, and constant new work, the DEP seeks is obscene.
What are your goals for the West Haven job?
Two goals: One is to grow the economy of West Haven, and at the same time enhance the quality of life for West Haven residents. One of the things we have started and should complete [by next summer] is redoing the Plan of Conservation & Development for the city. It's a state-required document that helps a community focus on its vision and its goals. Late this winter we will start holding public hearings on the document. The second goal is to rewrite the land-use regulations so they will mirror the Plan of Conservation & Development. The city is fortunate to have a very talented city planner, Phil Bolduc, doing that work.
First-time visitors' impressions of West Haven are formed by what they see when they enter the city on one of the principal arteries. What are those arteries, and what kind of impression do they create?
There are three major gateways. The Boston Post Road, which abuts both the New Haven and Orange entrances into the city. The more pronounced gateways are those coming off of Exit 42 [of I-95] and Exits 44 and 45 coming into West Haven on Kimberly Avenue. These two entranceways are the primary gateways to the city, and we have major projects under way to try to enhance the impressions that people gain. Currently you see off Exit 42 a vast cleared area that is the Saw Mill site, for which the city is seeking to establish retail development. In the next 12 months or so we should start construction on a Hilton franchise - probably a Hampton Inn & Suites - at that exit, plus some other activities. On Exit 44 and 45 we are looking at three sizable proposals [a/k/a the West River Crossing project] that have been presented to us by developers who are seeking to invest - at a minimum - $200 million in the revitalization of this gateway.
What's the overall picture?
West Haven is a mature city that has very little vacant land to develop. Fifty-two percent of the property produces [tax] revenue; the balance is tax-exempt. Since 41 percent is residential property, [just] 11 percent is commercial and industrial property. Most of that commercial and industrial property is old and in need of rehabilitation. And reuse is the most costly development that one can enter into.
As New Haven's population is shrinking, West Haven's is growing. Is this cause and effect, or coincidence?
West Haven has become a community that because of its residents' income - which is 75 percent of the state median - a magnet for many people, including many who have moved out of New Haven. These residents bring with them a variety of needs and expectations, and the city must figure out ways to assist these people as required [by state and federal statutes].
What will determine whether West Haven or Orange get the new Metro North train station, and what exactly is at stake?
Over a year ago the south-central regional Council of Governments voted that West Haven be the first and Orange the second choice for a new Metro North railroad station. The stretch from New Haven to Milford is the longest in the state for which there is no station, and the state Department of Transportation in trying to remove cars from I-95, believes that a station in West Haven or Orange will assist in that process. State policy dictates that West Haven, being an urban center, is where that investment will be made. The DOT is about to sign a contract to assess from an environmental and design point of view the feasibility of placing the station in West Haven as a first choice or Orange only if West Haven is not feasible.
About a quarter of Connecticut's public beachfront lies within the West Haven city limits. Does that pose an economic-development opportunity?
West Haven is extraordinarily fortunate [in this regard]. In addition to its beachfront it has a walking trail, or boardwalk, that stretches about a mile and a half from Bradley Point to the Oldfield Creek open space area. When we look at this area, on the inland side is a natural open-space area, which if we could develop from the point of view of including bird-watching stands and passive recreation for walking trails would be an absolute godsend for the community. On the Sound side we have an enormous birding area that contains some of the most interesting waterfowl in Connecticut. So this waterfront is a true hidden treasure.
When you were at the Tweed Airport Authority, you were a proponent of 'regionalism,' at least to the extent of building inter-municipal support for the airport. In your new job you find yourself potentially competing against neighboring municipalities such as Orange or Milford for new businesses, etc. Has this involved a major attitude adjustment?
That's a great question. The answer is, yes and no. I still am a great proponent of regionalism, and I would very much be an advocate for much more of a county government function for some of the common services municipalities provide - parks & recreation, snowplowing, wastewater treatment. At the same time there are other functions of government - in large measure attributable to the state's tax structure - where there is a great deal of local competition. Your example was locating a big-box store on the Post Road in Orange or Milford. We would go fight for that. And we are fighting for those kinds of investments. But it becomes a very difficult fight between towns because of the state's tax structure, which relies so heavily on local property taxes that you have got to get rate-ables in a town in order to stabilize the tax rate. So if we could correct the state's tax structure and make it more equitable, then regionalism would have a much great [role] for some of the functions of municipal government.
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