Despite an abundance of compact, walkable, mixed-use towns

Despite an abundance of compact, walkable, mixed-use towns dating back to the 19th, 18th, and even 17th centuries, Connecticut has been slow to welcome new developments that carry on those traits. Now the affluent town of Madison, about 20 miles east of New Haven, is considering a proposal by Leyland Development of Tuxedo, New York, to build a 192-unit Traditional Neighborhood Development on land occupied by Griswold Airport. Robert Orr of New Haven, who has been trying for years to get new urban projects going in the Nutmeg State, is the lead architect for the proposed 42-acre Madison Landing. John Massengale, Michael Morrissey, Milton Grenfell, Mike Watkins, Douglas Duany, John Regan, and Don Powers also have been involved. Apartments, townhouses, and various sizes of single-family dwellings would be positioned near nonresidential uses such as a general store, post office, meeting hall, business center, and health club. It’s been tough going. Some Madison residents have insisted they would rather have houses on one-acre lots – suburban Connecticut’s ineffectual answer to overdevelopment – than allow a higher-density neighborhood, even when the higher-density neighborhood produces surplus tax revenue. The controversial proposal is now in the hands of the town’s planning and zoning commissioners.