WOODBRIDGE | October 23, 2000 -- The directors of the Amity Teen Center still haven't given up hope of finding a permanent home, even though they've been shot down for every potential site they've suggested.
The latest refusal came last month for a 1.5-acre piece of property in Woodbridge owned by the town and located near the tennis courts at Amity Senior High School on Newton Road.
The teen center directors were previously told they couldn't use the old firehouse on Route 1 in Orange or the old library on Orange Center Road in Orange.
The teen center had to vacate its former home in Orange's old police station on Route 1 in September of 1996 because it was torn down to build a new firehouse, according to the center's president Jane Opper.
Since then, the center's members have been like vagabonds, Opper said, meeting at different places in Orange, Bethany and Woodbridge, the towns served by the center.
Teen center members would consider existing structures or, if enough money can be raised, building a new center.
According to Opper, only two neighbors spoke against building a teen center on the land near the high school, citing noise as the main reason for their objection.
"Twelve people actually spoke for it," Opper said.
Because the land is owned by the town, state statute required a hearing and a report from the Planning and Zoning Commission before the Board of Selectmen can either sell or lease it.
"The intended use also must be in compliance with the town's plan of development," a P&Z official said.
The proposal was denied by the P&Z because it was not in keeping with the residential character of the neighborhood.
While P&Z members said they had "great sympathy for the supporters of the center," allowing use of the parcel near the high school "was not in the short- as well as the long-term best interest of the property, the center or of the town."
Meanwhile, a different piece of property located adjacent to the large Town Hall parking lot in Woodbridge is now being considered and teen center officials are waiting to hear about leasing it from the town. At one time it was looked at as a potential site for a cellular tower.
The directors of the center have raised about $50,000 toward the lease, rent or purchase of a suitable site in any of the three towns, Opper said, and will hold the popular "Chilly Chili Run" fund-raiser on New Year's Day beginning at High Plains Community Center in Orange.
Orange First Selectman Mitchell Goldblatt said he'd really like to see the effort to build a community center for teens in all three towns become a reality. The three towns together comprise one school district.
"They've been looking at everything that has potential," Goldblatt said, "but if they don't find something, we may have to consider a center in Orange [just for] Orange teens."
