The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has endorsed a significantly modified version of The River Walk at Sandy Hook Village, a 65-unit multifamily housing complex planned for an 11.4-acre site along the west side of Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook Center, near the Pootatuck River.

As planned, 13 of the 65 apartments would be designated as affordable housing and rented out to tenants at much lower prices than the 52 market-rate units. River Walk construction is expected to start this spring.

Initially approved by the P&Z as a 24-unit condominium complex in 2009 under the terms of the Affordable Housing Development (AHD) zoning regulations, that version of the project was never constructed by local builder/developer Michael Burton, Sr.

In early 2015, the P&Z created the Incentive Housing-10 (IH-10) zoning regulations, which allow higher residential construction densities, and Mr Burton then applied to construct a 74-unit condo complex. In August 2015, the P&Z approved a 65-condo version of that project. But that project was never constructed.

The modified River Walk project endorsed by the P&Z on January 5 involves several significant changes in its plans.

The project would consist of rental apartments, not condominiums. Because the units would be rentals and not condominiums, the dwellings would generally be somewhat smaller than previously planned. The land and the rights to develop the project would be sold by Mr Burton to Ridgefield developer Patrick Downend.

A freestanding community center for apartment residents would be built, as would an adjacent outdoor in-ground swimming pool. An internal sidewalk network would be constructed. The project's driveway intersections with Washington Avenue would remain unchanged.

Also, what had been six smaller multiunit buildings are now configured as three relatively larger multiunit buildings situated in different locations.

The planned multiunit building located nearest to Washington Avenue would decrease from three stories to two stories. A berm would be constructed between that building and the street to obscure the view of the structure from the street. A hedgerow would be planted nearby to screen out vehicle headlamps.

A large three-story apartment building to be set well back from Washington Avenue would not have individual balconies on its facade.

As in the previous River Walk plans, a decorative streetscape-style sidewalk to be constructed along Washington Avenue is intended to provide easy pedestrian access for apartment complex residents to nearby Sandy Hook Center businesses.

No Permit Amendment, No Public Hearing

P&Z Chairman Robert Mulholland asked members at the January 5 P&Z session whether they consider the various physical changes to the project significant enough to require Mr Burton to formally seek an amendment to his special permit, which the P&Z granted to him in August 2015. P&Z members did not vote on that question, deciding instead by verbal "consensus" that such an application was unnecessary.

Consequently, there will be no public hearing on the project's various modifications. A special permit amendment request would require an "application" and a public hearing of which nearby property owners would be formally notified.

George Benson, director of planning, told P&Z members that the modified plans do not reflect any major changes in the project's design, so a public hearing is not necessary. Mr Benson said he considers the new version of River Walk to be an improvement over the previous version.

Rob Sibley, deputy director of planning and land use, said the modifications are not significant enough to require review by the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC), adding that he would endorse the modified plans himself, as the town wetlands agent.

The River Walk project approved by the P&Z in August 2015 had gained an endorsement from the town's Aquifer Protection Agency (APA) in that the site lies above the environmentally sensitive Pootatuck Aquifer.

The current version of the project would involve somewhat less impervious surface area being created at the site than the previous version of the plan would have created, but it was unclear on January 12 whether the revised project would require additional review by the APA.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said January 11 that the appraiser for the Water & Sewer Authority (WSA) would review whether the reconfigured project would require any changes to the capital cost payments for sewers, through which the property owner pays the town for the extension of municipal sanitary sewer service to a project.

In August 2015, differing viewpoints on the wisdom of constructing a 65-unit multifamily project came into focus when members of the local business community voiced strong support for River Walk, but some Sandy Hook residents urged that the developer build significantly fewer than 65 dwellings, stating that 65 units would amount to the overdevelopment of the site and consequent traffic woes.

Architect Kevin Bennett of Bennett Sullivan Associates of Southbury, representing the applicant, told P&Z members on January 5 that the diversity of housing units planned for the site would suit a variety of people. Mr Bennett said the project would be "functional" as well as "aesthetic."

The large three-story apartment building at the site would contain 30 two-bedroom units and five one-bedroom dwellings. That building would contain a fitness center. A smaller two-story apartment building would contain 10 two-bedroom units and four one-bedroom units. There would a multibay detached garage, plus surface parking for that building. Two smaller apartment buildings would contain eight two-bedroom townhouses each, plus individual attached one-vehicle garages. A typical two-bedroom unit would enclose about 1,100 square feet of space. The project would have 165 parking spaces.

Mr Mulholland said the revised version of River Walk involves "some good cosmetic changes" for the project.

Mr Mulholland said he would send Mr Burton a letter describing the various project modifications that were endorsed by the P&Z. P&Z members came to a verbal "consensus" in approving those changes and did not formulate or act on a "motion" in approving those changes. The approved changes are keyed to the revised site mapping provided by the applicant.