A major Hawleyville development proposal, which would include a 180-unit multifamily housing complex, a diner, and a church on land off Hawleyville Road (Route 25), has drawn many traffic-related questions and comments from residents of that area.

Those residents spoke at a heavily attended August 20 Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) meeting that included two public hearings on different aspects of the development project proposed for land near the Exit 9 interchange of Interstate 84.

In one proposal, Covered Bridge Newtown, LLC, seeks to build a 180-unit rental apartment complex at Covered Bridge Road and also to construct a 4,160-square-foot diner at 13 Hawleyville Road.

In the other proposal, Grace Family Church, Inc, seeks to build a church at 9 Covered Bridge Road.

The overall site covers 42 acres, of which the apartments would occupy about 21 acres, the church would stand on about 17 acres, and the diner would occupy roughly four acres.

The church group currently owns all that land. The church group would retain the property needed for the church and would sell the other land to a development firm that would build the apartments and the diner.

Covered Bridge Newtown, LLC, is seeking a special zoning permit from the P&Z for the apartment complex/diner.

Attorney Peter Scalzo, representing Covered Bridge Newtown, LLC, told P&Z members that the 180-unit apartment complex, which would be contained in six 30-unit buildings, would be rental apartments. Until the August 20 P&Z session, the project had been proposed as 180 condominiums that would be for sale.

Each apartment building would hold three residential levels containing ten flats per level. Beneath the residential levels, there would one level of vehicle parking. Adjacent surface parking also would be provided. The apartment complex would enclose about 265,000 square feet of space.

The construction density of the apartments/church/diner proposal is made possible through the use of sanitary sewers. The town plans to extend the Hawleyville sewer system to that area this fall. Voters at a town meeting in February 2014 approved the sewer system expansion to spur economic development in Hawleyville.

Mr Scalzo termed the development site “an ideal location for incentive housing.”

In January, the P&Z approved a set of multifamily housing regulations known as Incentive Housing-10 (IH-10) zoning. In such high-density complexes, at least 20 percent of the dwellings must be designated for at least 30 years as affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families.

Thus, in the Hawleyville complex, 36 units would be designated as affordable units for eligible families, and 144 units would be market-rate units. Affordable units are rented out at significantly lower prices than the market-rate units.

IH-10 zoning also allows a commercial component, either in the complex or adjacent to it. Thus the diner is proposed for 13 Hawleyville Road, near the Exit 9 interchange of Interstate 84. The diner would have a parking lot with 80 parking spaces. The diner site is in the Hawleyville Center Design District (HCDD) zone.

Engineer Dainius Virbickas of Artel Engineering Group LLC of Brookfield, representing Covered Bridge Newtown LLC, said that roadways at the apartment complex would be 24 feet wide. The apartment complex would have 432 parking spaces, he said. Of that number, 168 parking spaces would be within the six large garages.

Architect Maura Newell Juan of Seventy2 Architects of Danbury, representing Covered Bridge Newtown LLC, said the six wood-frame buildings holding the apartments would be fully sprinklered and handicapped accessible. The complex would hold 108 one-bedroom, 54 two-bedroom, and 18 three-bedroom apartments. The Colonial-style structures would have exteriors clad with vinyl clapboards.

Traffic engineer Michael Galante of Frederick P. Clark Associates of Fairfield, representing the developer, presented the findings of a traffic study, describing existing traffic flow in the area.

Mr Galante said that most trips to and from the proposed diner would be made by people traveling on nearby I-84. Also, the majority of trips made by the residents of the proposed apartments would involve travel to and from I-84, he said.

P&Z member Michael Porco, Sr raised issues about truck traffic traveling to and from the proposed diner.

P&Z member Frank Corigliano said that traffic attempting to exit the proposed apartment complex could cause congestion problems. Traffic flow to and from the proposed diner also could cause problems, he said.

Public Comments

Janet McKeown of 10 Hillcrest Drive said there is no way that Hillcrest Drive could handle all the traffic that would be generated by the proposed apartments. Hillcrest Drive is a dead-end street that extends from Covered Bridge Road, which also is a dead-end street.

Ms McKeown urged that P&Z members consider having the developer provide some alternate access to the proposed apartments. The developer’s application documents list Hillcrest Drive as the access point to the apartments. Hillcrest Drive has six houses.

Also, Ms McKeown asked whether the overall development project would have a secondary entry/exit point other than Covered Bridge Road.

A Covered Bridge Road resident told P&Z members that she waits for long periods to enter Hawleyville Road from Covered Bridge Road. She urged P&Z members to check traffic conditions there. Covered Bridge Road and Hillcrest Drive are unsuitable for their proposed new use, she said.

Theresa Curry of 4 Hillcrest Drive said. “There’s just going to be too much traffic,” adding, “I’m not for this at all.”

Jennifer Ballard of 9 Whippoorwill Hill Road said that the project would have an adverse effect beyond the development area.

Mary Wilson of 12 Whippoorwill Hill Road asked whether some alternate access would be provided for the development in the event that Covered Bridge Road becomes blocked to traffic.

P&Z Members

 Mr Corigliano asked Mr Scalzo whether some alternate access would be provided to the site, besides Covered Bridge Road. Mr Scalzo replied that he would research the matter.

Mr Porco asked how Hawleyville Road would be improved in connection with the project.

Mr Galante said the project would be submitted for state Department of Transportation (DOT) review and DOT would decide what improvements the applicant would need to make to Hawleyville Road.

P&Z Chairman Robert Mulholland said he wants the developer to make an application to the DOT for the installation of traffic signal at the intersection of Hawleyville Road and Covered Bridge Road.

Based on what residents living in the area have said, “It sounds like it’s going to be a disaster” in terms of traffic flow, Mr Mulholland said.

“This is such a big, high-density project that it needs to be analyzed strategically,” Mr Porco said.

“It’s a big project,” Mr Mulholland noted.

P&Z members said the public hearing on the apartment complex/diner proposal would resume on September 3.

Second Hearing

P&Z members then started a second public hearing on the proposed construction of a 24,900-square-foot church.

The church group had received town approvals in 2007 to build a church at the site, but never pursued construction.

Grace Family Church, formerly known as Grace Christian Fellowship, currently occupies a 13,860-gross-square-foot church at 174 Mt Pleasant Road (Route 6), which lies about one mile from the development site. The group wants to build a new church to meet the needs of its expanding congregation. The church started in Newtown in 1984.

The church is seeking a special zoning permit to build a place of religious worship at 9 Covered Bridge Road.

Engineer Rob Blanchette of Borghesi Building & Engineering Co, Inc, of Torrington, representing the church, explained aspects of the church proposal to P&Z members.

The worship area in the church would seat 396 people, he said. The church site would contain two stormwater control basins, he said.

The current proposal for the church is similar to the proposal that the town approved in 2007, Mr Blanchette said.

The P&Z hearing on the church proposal is scheduled to resume on September 3.

The Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) is scheduled to start a public hearing on the apartment complex/diner proposal on September 9.

The applicants for the two projects are seeking wetlands/watercourses protection permits from the IWC.

Due to the size and complexity of the overall project, it is expected that it will require several meetings of both agencies to review the development proposals.