Appellant says contamination, floodplain make 355 Kings Highway essentially valueless; seeks large tax cut

At a hearing before the Fairfield Board of Assessment Appeals on April 4, the representative for the owners of 355 Kings Highway said years of environmental testing and federal oversight have left the site effectively unusable and that the parcel’s assessed value substantially overstates its market worth.

Peter Dinardo, who spoke for the appellant, told the board the site was filled decades ago with contaminated material and that federal oversight — including EPA involvement and the need for coordinated FEMA flood‑map changes — has stalled remediation. “We have spent in excess of 1.3 million on testing alone,” Dinardo said, adding that the building has no value and the land is a liability while cleanup remains unresolved.

The appellant described two core constraints: contamination requiring complex EPA cleanup scenarios and placement in the Rooster River floodplain that, until maps are revised and FEMA and the town accept changes, prevents ordinary redevelopment. Dinardo said the combination of contamination and flood risk meant even extensive testing had not produced a viable plan and that cleanup costs could exceed any residual land value.

Appellants asked the board to account for those constraints when recommending a final assessed value. Chrissy Kelly, the alternate presenting the file to the board, advised appellants to upload environmental summaries and other documentation to the assessor’s record to ensure deliberating members can review the evidence.

Why it matters: appellants said the site cannot be redeveloped without extraordinary state or federal assistance; if the board recognizes the contamination and flood restrictions in its recommendation, the assessed value could be lowered materially, reducing tax liabilities tied to a parcel that owners argue has negative economic value until cleaned and removed from the floodway.

Next steps: the board will deliberate the file as part of its scheduled review sessions; decisions will be mailed to appellants and, if the board’s recommendation is not accepted, appellants can pursue a state appeal.

Provenance: topicintro SEG 1142; topfinish SEG 1490

Speakers: Peter Dinardo (Presenter/representative for multiple appellants); Chrissy Kelly (Alternate, Board of Assessment Appeals); Appellant (representative/owner, unnamed)

Proper names: [{"name":"Rooster River","type":"location"},{"name":"EPA","type":"agency"},{"name":"FEMA","type":"agency"}]

Topics: [{"name":"contamination","justification":"Central to appellant’s claim that the site is a liability and needs a valuation reduction","scoring":{"topic_relevance":0.98,"depth_score":0.85,"opinionatedness":0.05,"controversy":0.70,"civic_salience":0.82,"impactfulness":0.80,"geo_relevance":1.00}},{"name":"floodplain_and_mapping","justification":"Appellants cite FEMA flood maps and pending map revisions as a barrier to reuse","scoring":{"topic_relevance":0.92,"depth_score":0.75,"opinionatedness":0.03,"controversy":0.60,"civic_salience":0.78,"impactfulness":0.70,"geo_relevance":1.00}}]