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"Pouring a sidewalk on Federal Road from Route 133 to the New Milford border (an industrial/commercial zone area) is going to cause people to abandon their cars and shop," he stated in the fiction section of the "facts and fiction" component of his campaign Web site in an apparent reference to the potential development of the emerging 198-acre Village District near the Four Corners intersection of Federal Road.
"In fact, most of Federal Road from Route 133 to Silvermine Road is zoned industrial," he stated.
Republican candidate Bill Tinsley said that, if elected, he would establish a Brookfield Economic Development Corporation during his first month in office.
He said during a Sept. 14 presentation that by seeking Chapter 132 powers under the Connecticut state statutes, Brookfield could issue revenue bonds and even exercise eminent domain, which would foster more rapid commercial development since the town could, for example, buy some properties along Federal Road instead of just waiting for some of the private investors "to do their own thing on their own time."
Mr. Tinsley, who owns Play It Again Sports near the intersection of Federal and Candlewood Lake roads, said that over the next 10 years he believes that by implementing his plan the commercial grand list in Brookfield would, by a conservative estimate, increase from the current $364 million to $728 million.
He has said that the town currently generates 14 percent of its tax revenue from commercial/industrial sources.
Brookfield interim town Controller Jay Wahlberg has said that Ridgefield, where he served as the controller for 15 years, was getting 14 percent of its revenue from commercial/industrial sources when he retired last year.
A recent e-mail message from Howard Lasser, the Democratic candidate for one of the other seats on the three-member Board of Selectmen, indicated that Danbury currently receives 24 percent of its revenue from commercial/industrial sources.
Some municipal officials have said in recent years that Brookfield needs to develop more commercial establishments to ease the burden on residential taxpayers.
They have said that part of the reason for the town's having more than one budget referendum in six of the last eight years is that the residential taxes have to pay for too large a portion of municipal and education services.
Fred Standt, a former member of the Board of Finance and a former candidate for first selectman, said he doesn't believe that the commercial development in Brookfield through the years has helped residential taxpayers.
"For years Ray Bolek said that there was an increase in the grand list, yet there also was an increase in taxes," he said, making reference to the former longtime town controller.
"I think that the Village District is going to happen," said Mr. Standt, who supports Mr. Nepomuceno in the election campaign. "But no one should tell me that there will be lower taxes because we increase commercial development."
Democratic nominee Bill Davidson, who owned Davidson Insurance Services in Danbury for 20 years, has said that the town needs to hire a municipal planner to provide assistance to the land-use commissions and provide information to developers who want to submit applications for projects.
He also has called on Brookfield to join the other municipalities in the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials by establishing a computerized geographic system for its land-use office.
"As Bill Schappert has indicated, you can only do so much" along Federal Road, said First Selectman Robert Silvaggi, who is not seeking election to a second term, making reference to land-use enforcement officer and former Zoning Commission Chairman William Schappert.
"There are limits to what you can accomplish," said the first selectman, who was elected two years ago as a petitioning candidate.
Mr. Silvaggi said that when he moved to Yonkers, N.Y., in 1955 it was a small town and Central Avenue was a two-lane road "that over time became overwhelmed with construction and overwhelmed with high-rise apartments.
"The town was ruined," said the first selectman, who is supporting Mr. Nepomuceno in the Nov. 3 election.
"Unfortunately, because of the poor economy I don't think much is going to happen soon in the Village District," said Mickey Consalvo, the vice president of Tower Realty in Brookfield, which specializes in commercial properties.
"I think that something could have happened three or four years ago when the market was stronger, but you didn't have the water service throughout northern Brookfield at that point and you still don't have the zoning regulations to make it happen," he said regarding potential development of the Village District into the pedestrian-friendly streetscape that residents have talked about for years.
"However, I think during this slowdown in the commercial real estate market, the town should take the steps to make the Village District more accessible for retail establishments when the market does improve," Mr. Consalvo said.
"I think that Brookfield could have what Bethel has with Greenwood Avenue," he said, making reference to the down retail area near P.T. Barnum Square in a neighboring municipality.
"You need some overall philosophy, not just individual applications," said local developer Dennis Stone, who served in 1996 on an ad-hoc task force on land-use issues that was appointed by the Board of Selectmen. "What we haven't had in Brookfield is a plan."
"The important issue with a town planner is that he has the trust of the land-use commissions, which was the case for years with Ozzie Inglese when he was the town planner in Ridgefield," he said. "Sometimes a town hires a planner and they don't listen to him."
"A good planner who has the trust of the commissions can provide insight to a developer before he submits an application," said Mr. Stone, who, along with partner Marty Handshy, forwarded funds to pay for the first section of a water system that opened in the northern corridor of Federal Road in December 2005.
State Rep. David Scribner (R-Brookfield), who supports Mr. Tinsley, said that he advocates the town's hiring a municipal planner, saying that in his experience in the General Assembly, he has seen several municipalities benefit from having that service.
"I think that it is a logical approach," he said, noting that some towns have shared the same planner.
Mr. Consalvo said that the development of a municipal economic development corporation is "an interesting idea" since the town might be able to accelerate development in the Village District and possibly reconfigure some of the parcels.
"That would be a large undertaking," he added when asked about Mr. Tinsley's proposal. "A lot of things would have to fall in order."
"I think you have to consider the risk to the town of taking over properties, because it would become the developer and would have to land the tenants," Mr. Consalvo said of the utilization of state Chapter 132 provisions on acquiring properties.
"The problems facing commercial development in Brookfield now are that the southern corridor doesn't have a public water system and the northern corridor of Federal Road doesn't have the zoning regulation changes," he said.
Mr. Silvaggi and Mr. Consalvo said that there are concerns about having adequate parking in the Village District.
The municipal Economic Development Commission has proposed having shared parking through the Village District.
For decades, Brookfield residents have lamented the traffic congestion during rush hours at the Four Corners intersection, which reportedly receives 30,000 vehicle trips on a weekday. However, the long-awaited Route 7 bypass, which has been under construction since May 2007, is expected to open later this year, and it has been estimated that traffic flow through the Four Corners will be reduced to 7,000 per day.
Susan Murphy, the executive director of the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce and the wife of Selectman Jerry Murphy, said that the 66 businesses in the immediate Four Corners area have formed an organization, The Heart of Brookfield, which is being advised by the chamber on how they can remain visible to potential customers once the traffic flows change.
The Webster Bank branch near the Four Corners recently held an informational barbecue in its parking lot to help local business owners remind customers to continue to shop and use their services after the Route 7 bypass opens.
Mr. Consalvo said that when companies contact his office about establishing a commercial enterprise in town "one of the first things they ask about is traffic count."
Mr. Silvaggi said that there is considerable through traffic at the Four Corners from motorists traveling to New Milford or Danbury, for example, and he believes that many of the existing businesses there will thrive after the Route 7 bypass opens since it is now difficult to make a left-hand turn there and some potential customers avoid that area.
"The challenge for so long was getting the bypass built and getting rid of the traffic," Mr. Scribner said. "Now there is a new challenge because the Village District hasn't been developed and the businesses in the immediate area of the Four Corners are going to have less traffic going by them."
'If you lose that traffic pattern, it might be difficult to bring it back," Mr. Scribner said.
Mrs. Murphy said that the chamber believes that the Village District can be developed.
"I see some potential with the Village District," Mr. Stone said. "However, you have to make it worthwhile to go there for two hours."
"I think the Brookfield Crafts Center is a great anchor for that area," he said of the facility near the intersection of Federal Road and Route 25. "Maybe it also would be possible for some restaurants to be built overlooking the Still River."
Mr. Scribner, who also serves as Brookfield's town treasurer, said that some of the state Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant money to develop the Village District concept has been diverted to water projects in Brookfield and the renovations to the Senior Center.
"The Village District will probably attract many customers from a short radius of the stores," he said. "It needs to become an alternative to driving the length of Federal Road or going to the Danbury Fair Mall."
"You need to have a variety of stores," Mr. Scribner said. "We probably will see restaurants, book stores and consignment shops."
"This isn't the best market for retail," Mr. Stone said regarding the current economic recession. "I think that overall you have to figure out how much shopping can be absorbed in one area."
Mr. Stone said that the 75 acres of Brookfield property in the Berkshire Corporate Park, which also has land in Bethel and Danbury, "would be a good site for an office complex. "
However, he noted that Union Carbide, for example, which built its world headquarters in Danbury a generation ago, has left the area and there doesn't appear to be the movement of large corporations to this area as there was in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mr. Murphy proposed finding a tenant for the Brookfield parcel in Berkshire Corporate Park as far back as his 2003 campaign for first selectman.
"They need to move quickly, and I think that they haven't seen Brookfield as a place where they can move as quickly as they can in some other towns," Mr. Stone said regarding reports that the land-use process in Brookfield can be cumbersome.
The Zoning Commission has scheduled a forum for Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. in the town hall, room 133, "in response to current interest in Zoning Commission activities and operations."
The topics will include public comment on "suggested changes to the regulations," according to a news release.
