Put me in, coach? At 2 Haven. Credit: Thomas Breen photo

Two Bridgeport residents are looking to redevelop a small, empty Fair Haven field into an athletic club, outfitted with an outdoor volleyball court, soccer field, and food cart — prompting pushback from a neighbor-alder, who warned of “congestion” and a track record of poor property maintenance.

The athletic-field proposal was presented by Marcelo Latecela and Maria Barzallo during the latest monthly meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) in City Hall on Tuesday.

The BZA didn’t vote on the use variance request that night. Before they can make a final decision, the City Plan Commission (CPC) will have to review the plans, as 2 Haven St. requires a Coastal Site Plan review. The lot sits right across the water from the dilapidated, highly contaminated former English Station power plant.

The one source of opposition came from Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller, who, in her capacity as executive director of CitySeed, criticized the project as inappropriate for the neighborhood. (Miller’s district on the Board of Alders — Ward 14 — does not include 2 Haven St., which is in Ward 16.)

On Tuesday, Latecela said in Spanish — with real-time English interpretation — that the project is designed to unite the neighborhood’s Latin American families. He said he often sees people using drugs or littering on Haven Street, and developing an athletic club would help make the neighborhood more healthy (“saludable”) and clean (“limpio”).

The design plans include a soccer field, volleyball court, food cart, and small tables. Latecela said the property, which sits in a Heavy Industrial zone and occupies less than .25 acres of land, would be undersized for any industrial use.

Latecela and Barzallo plan for the athletic club to be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the warmer months.

According to the city’s property records, 2 Haven St. was purchased by M and G Asphalt and Paving, LLC for $40,000 in March 2023. That company’s principals are listed as Marcelo Latacela and Gaston Julio Minchala Zhindon. The lot was then transferred to Maria Barzallo for $0 in September 2024.

After hearing the proposal, Chris Peralta, a member of the BZA, asked why the facility is needed given the lot’s proximity to a large, public field at John S. Martinez School.

Latacela responded that his field would be much smaller than the Martinez field, allowing for “fútbol sala,” or six versus six soccer games. There would also be a concession stand with beverages, light snacks, fries, and Latin food.

The board’s other concern related to the proposal’s seven parking spaces, which the City Plan Department’s staff report deemed unsafe.

“Upon review of the parking plan, it was determined that vehicle turning movements encroach into both the proposed court area and the adjacent container zone,” reads the report. “The current layout warrants reconsideration to ensure safe separation between pedestrian zones and vehicular circulation.”

The Department of Transportation, Traffic, and Parking also suggested that a traffic and parking study might be needed on the adjacent streets.

BZA Chair Mike Martinez suggested reconfiguring the lot to make it safer by reducing the number of parking spaces, as there’s an abundance of on-street parking nearby.

Latacela and Barzallo opted to keep the current parking arrangement, which will have to be reviewed by the City Plan Commission.

During public testimony, Yoon Lee, an East Rock resident and father of a two-year-old son, spoke in support.

“With the phones and visual world taking over our lives,” said Lee, “allowing our youth to move and engage is one of the best things we can do for them.”

Miller, on the other hand, opposed the project. “I’m concerned about congestion, inappropriateness, and the need for this type of facility,” she said. “The property owner has not been consistently responsible in his stewardship” of the lot.

She claimed that Latecela and Barzallo had caused “significant damage” to the neighboring lots, including a city-owned bioswale, by putting up a fence. (According to the City Plan Department report, the property owners were served a cease and desist after installing a four-foot retaining wall without a coastal site plan review.)

Miller also said that CitySeed — which is located right across the street at 162 James — is installing a compost facility on the adjacent lot, which she expects will increase the street’s traffic and congestion.

Barzallo responded that they’d already fixed all of the damage caused by the fence, and that they often go out of their way to pick up litter left on the street.

Miller still opposed the proposal. “Clearly, it would be great to put something positive” on Haven Street, said Miller, which is the idea behind CitySeed’s new compost facility. An athletic club “just doesn’t seem like an appropriate use given how tight [the lot] is and the track record of the property owner up to this point.”

While the BZA didn’t vote on the application, Chair Mike Martinez expressed his support. Referencing his experience with his kids, he described the Martinez field as “one of the worst fields in all of Fair Haven.”

“I think your idea is great,” he told Latecela and Barzallo.

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