During 2018, growth continued in Newtown, with various development proposals gaining approval and previously-approved projects being built. Environmental protection also was in effect, with officials monitoring water quality in view of possible pollution.

As the year drew to a close, the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) received for environmental review from developer Hawleyville Properties LLC a proposal to construct 583,500 square feet of industrial/commercial space on a rugged 140-acre tract, near Exit 9 of Interstate 84 in Hawleyville. The proposed complex, which would include 493,500 square feet of warehouse space and 90,000 square feet of medical office space, marks the largest development of its kind ever proposed locally.

Last July, the IWC had issued a wetlands protection permit for a 490,000-square-foot version of the project, which was not built. If the pending application receives a wetlands permit, it also would require Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) approvals.

Near that site, at Covered Bridge Road, developer Covered Bridge Newtown LLC completed the first of six planned rental apartment buildings at its Covered Bridge Apartments. The now-occupied building has 30 units. When completed, the complex will hold 180 dwellings, 36 of which will be designated as “affordable housing” for people meeting income-eligibility requirements.

Adjacent to the apartment complex, Grace Family Church is constructing its long-planned new church to replace its current facility on Mount Pleasant Road.

Nearby, off Mount Pleasant Road in Hawleyville, Toll Brothers Inc continued its construction of Newtown Woods, an age-restricted condominium complex that would hold 178 dwellings when completed.

In April, developer Michael Burton gained P&Z approval to construct The Riverwalk at Sandy Hook Village, a 74-unit multifamily complex proposed for Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook Center. Fifteen of those dwellings would be designated as affordable housing. The current plans mark the fourth time that the developer has received town approvals for various housing projects at the site that have not been built.

Also, The Summit At Newtown, a commercial project at 146 South Main Street that initially had gained P&Z approval as office/retail space, was converted this year by its owners into a rental apartment complex.

Retail Projects

As 2018 closed, P&Z members were reviewing certain design modifications proposed by developer Sunrise Church Hill Road LLC for its retail center at 73-75 Church Hill Road, which is now under construction near Exit 10 of Interstate 84. P&Z members, however, are concerned that the design changes, which include increasing the approved parking spaces by more than half, plus some altered traffic flow patterns at the site, would result in too intensive a use of the property and also pose vehicular accident hazards to pedestrians there.

Notably, in 2016, that retail project was the first such facility to gain P&Z approval for drive-through window service at an eatery since zoning went into effect in 1958. The unique zone for which the developer gained P&Z approval, known as the Exit 10 Commercial Design District (X10-CDD) zone, allows such a drive-through window.

In light of that eatery drive-through window being approved, P&Z members this year conducted several public hearings to consider whether such eatery drive-throughs should be allowed elsewhere in town. But after lengthy consideration, P&Z members dropped that proposal.

Among other projects submitted for land use review, the P&Z approved creation of a brewpub at 57-B Church Hill Road, where an existing industrial building will be converted into a brewery and taproom. Reverie Brewing Company LLC plans to the open the facility.

Also, plans are underway for another brewpub, which would be located at a renovated Stratford Hall at the town-owned Fairfield Hill core campus. A firm known as M&D Brewery would be situated in the improved building, which served as a library when Fairfield Hills was a state psychiatric hospital.

In April, the P&Z approved the construction of a one-million-gallon water storage tank by the Aquarion Water Company at a high elevation in a residential area at 13 Old Green Road.

Aquarion, which operates the local central public water supply system, plans to build a cylindrical concrete tank standing 50 feet tall and 62 feet wide to improve its water supply’s functioning and reliability, including fire hydrant reliability. The firm also has been installing an about 5,000-foot section of large diameter pipeline to connect the tank to a water main in its system at the intersection of Church Hill Road and Walnut Tree Hill Road.

In June, the P&Z approved construction of a large veterinary complex at 94 South Main Street that would provide a range of pet-related services for its customers. The project represents the redevelopment of a former plant nursery with a 17,767-square-foot, two-story structure that would be known as Pleasant Paws Pet Center. The complex would include a veterinary clinic, animal boarding facilities, an animal rehabilitation unit, and a pet-related store.

Prithvi Real Estate Management LLC is the developer, Dr Rakesh Vali, the owner/veterinarian at Mount Pleasant Hospital For Animals in Hawleyville, is a principal in Prithvi Real Estate.

Also, in August, the P&Z approved construction of a 8,300-square-foot building at Curtis Corporate Park off Turnberry Lane in Sandy Hook. The structure would hold a Lawn Doctor lawn care business plus quarters for several tradesmen.

In November, P&Z members unanimously approved construction of a residential subdivision of eight single-family houses on 27 acres at 57 Castle Meadow Road in Hattertown, known as Sunset Ridge. In the past, such residential subdivision projects were common locally, but they have became less so in the wake of the 2008 recession.

Environmental Protection

During the last quarter of 2018, IWC members held public hearings on a wide range of wetlands violations that have been found at Planters’ Choice, a wholesale plant nursery with growing areas at Huntingtown Road and Meadowbrook Road.

As the year was coming to a close, IWC members were formulating a list of remedies for the firm to implement to correct the environmental problems.

The situation has fueled concerns among neighboring property owners about whether stormwater runoff draining off the Planters’ Choice properties may be contaminated with residual amounts of fertilizers and pesticides, potentially posing a threat to nearby domestic water wells.

Also, a recent scientific survey of Taunton Lake indicated that the lake’s infestation with milfoil, a pesky invasive aquatic plant native to Eurasia, had decreased by almost 90 percent when compared to the lake’s extensive infestation with the weed during 2015. The plant also is known by the name Eurasian aquatic milfoil.

It is thought that past stockings of the lake with grass carp, a sterile fish that eats milfoil, has reduced the weed infestation problem.

An August survey of the lake found that about 1.88 acres of the lake were infested with milfoil, as compared to 18.04 acres of infestation, which were recorded in a 2015 survey, representing an approximately 89 percent decrease in the infested area. Taunton Lake is a 126-acre spring-fed glacial lake. The scenic, lake is ringed by private properties and has only limited public access.