Although the applicant for a gas station/convenience store proposed for 13 Hawleyville Road (Route 25) has reduced the scale of the controversial project, some residents living nearby are continuing in their opposition to the complex, saying that its presence would result in increased traffic and more motor vehicle accidents in the congested area near Exit 9 of Interstate 84.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) held what at times became an emotionally-charged public hearing on January 16 on applicant 13 Hawleyville Road, LLC’s development proposal for the vacant 3.7-acre site on the west side of Hawleyville Road, just south of eastbound I-84's Exit 9 off-ramp and north of Covered Bridge Road. The site is in the Hawleyville Center Design District (HCDD) zone.

In November, in response to public opposition to the project, the P&Z unanimously rejected a version of the complex which contained a proposed a 5,293-square-foot convenience store and 16 fuel-filling positions at adjacent gas pumps. The fuel pumps would have been supplied by 40,000 gallons of underground fuel storage.

The developer returned in December with revised plans that depicted a 4,083-square-foot convenience store with eight fuel-filling positions and 40,000 gallons of fuel storage. Opponents, however, charged that if that version of the project were to be approved by the P&Z, the applicant likely would later return to the P&Z and then seek to add eight more fuel-filling positions for a total of 16.

The current version of the project leaves the proposed store at 4,083 square feet, but cuts the number of fuel-filling positions to six, and reduces underground fuel storage capacity to 24,000 gallons. Also, the currently proposed freestanding canopy above the fuel pumps would be about 2,000 square feet, compared to a previously proposed 6,000-square-foot canopy.

Besides the six parking spaces used for fueling, there would be 30 marked parking spaces at the site. The property also would have at least one charging device for electric vehicles. Besides gasoline, diesel fuel would be sold.

Questioning Credentials

At the January 16 hearing, the applicant was represented by a different, more aggressive lawyer than in the past. Attorney David Bennett of Danbury introduced himself to P&Z members as the developer’s lawyer.

Mr Bennett told P&Z members that he wanted the ability to cross-examine members of the public who spoke at the January 16 hearing to establish whether they have credentials to speak with authority on the topics that they address. Cross-examination is legally allowed at such P&Z public hearings, but rarely does it occur.

Engineer Dainius Virbickas of Artel Engineering Group LLC of Brookfield, representing the developer, told P&Z members that the applicant has reduced the scale of the development proposal based on public comments made at past public hearings.

A Revised Traffic Report

Traffic engineer Michael Galante of Frederick P. Clark Associates of Fairfield, representing the applicant, discussed at length a revised report on the traffic effects of such development. If the project is approved by the P&Z, the traffic aspects of the project would also be subject to review by the state Department of Transportation (DOT), Mr Galante said.

Mr Galante said the developer has sought DOT approval for installation of a traffic signal at the three-way intersection of Hawleyville Road and Covered Bridge Road, as had been recommended by town officials.

But because the projected volume of traffic traveling through that intersection would not meet DOT minimum requirements for a traffic signal, such signalization was not approved. Besides the proposed gas station, the immediate area holds the recently built Grace Family Church; a 210-unit rental apartment complex, known as Covered Bridge Apartments, that is now under construction; and the residential Hillcrest Drive.

Mr Galante presented to the P&Z what he termed “a summary of a very detailed traffic report.”

P&Z Chairman Don Mitchell and P&Z members Jim Swift and Barbara Manville raised various questions about the traffic report.

Mr Bennett told P&Z members that in March 2019, the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) had endorsed the proposed gas station site as a suitable location in terms of public safety, providing the developer with a “certificate of location.”

Mr Bennett added that he was unable to find any traffic study prepared for a gas station/convenience store/cafe that the P&Z approved in February 2019 for 26 Hawleyville Road for NEMCO, Limited Partnership. That 0.7-acre site lies about 2,000 feet north of 13 Hawleyville Road. That project is under construction.

Mr Bennett stressed that NEMCO did not perform a traffic study for its project, pointedly telling P&Z members, “You approved that [project] in one night.”

“All I’m asking for is the same standard of review that you gave NEMCO,” he said. The lawyer urged that the P&Z consider the expert testimony on traffic which was presented on behalf of the developer for 13 Hawleyville Road.

“I would suggest to you that two [gas] stations are better than one,” Mr Bennett said. The presence of two gas stations addresses “ease of access” issues for motorists traveling in different directions, he said.

Mr Bennett told P&Z members that he doubts whether a gas station with as few fuel-filling positions as the one proposed by 13 Hawleyville Road, LLC would be economically viable, but added that he has been told that the profit generated at such facilities comes from the sale of items at the adjacent convenience store.

The lawyer urged that the P&Z review the current proposal in the manner which it had reviewed the NEMCO development proposal. Mr Bennett also urged that the P&Z grant the applicant a continuance of the public hearing so that the he could address questions on the project raised by P&Z members.

P&Z member Corinne Cox asked what benefit would be provided to the town by the presence of the proposed complex. Such a facility would not employ many workers, she said. Ms Cox said she does not understand the value of having two gas stations doing business in Hawleyville.

Public Comment

During the public comment section of the public hearing, Pat Napolitano of Whippoorwill Hill Road charged that Mr Bennett’s actions at the hearing were “intimidating” to the public. Mr Napolitano refused to answer questions posed by Mr Bennett.

“We are being intimidated at this point,” Mr Napolitano said.

The 26 Hawleyville Road location is a safer place for a gas station than 13 Hawleyville Road, he said. There would be traffic congestion and pedestrians near 13 Hawleyville Road that would not be factors at the other location, he said.

Mr Napolitano said he has lived in Hawleyville for 32 years and has had a driver’s license for over 60 years, adding that his observations stem from his personal experience in the area.

At one point, Mr Bennett urged that Mr Napolitano’s testimony be stricken from the public hearing record, after which Mr Mitchell intervened, asking Mr Napolitano if he had a formal background in traffic engineering. Mr Napolitano responded that he did not. (Mr Mitchell is also a lawyer.)

“Traffic is going to increase” in the Hawleyville area in light of planned residential development at Covered Bridge Apartments and Enclave at Taunton Lake, Mr Napolitano said.

Initially, Mr Napolitano had asked that the town attorney be allowed to represent the members of the public at the hearing who would be cross-examined by Mr Bennett. Mr Mitchell said it is not the town attorney’s job to serve in such a role.

Mr Napolitano said it is “ludicrous” that the developer has an attorney and that the residents commenting on the development proposal do not have a lawyer to represent them.

Vern Gaudet of Hillcrest Drive said he has lived in Hawleyville for 35 years, adding that a gas station at 13 Hawleyville Road would not benefit Hawleyville residents, but would only serve motorists traveling on I-84.

Janet McKeown of Hillcrest Drive said, “I am an expert at coming out of Covered Bridge Road [onto Hawleyville Road]. I live there. It’s hazardous.”

Ms McKeown objected to Mr Bennett’s tactics at the hearing.

“This was a bullying tactic. I find it repulsive,” she stressed.

Mr Bennett responded that the HCDD zoning regulations allow up to two gas stations in the HCDD zone.

The HCDD zone, which the P&Z created in 1999, is intended to foster creation of a neighborhood business district that includes mixed-use activities, improvements, and the development typical of a village center. HCDD zoning is intended to encourage development with high-quality design that respects the environmental conditions and history of the area in seeking to achieve an integrated, cohesive New England village center, according to the P&Z.

In September 2018, at NEMCO’s request, in a 3-to-2 split vote, the P&Z modified the HCDD zoning regulations to allow gas station/convenience stores as a permitted use in that zone when a special zoning permit is obtained.

Mr Swift then posed a question on whether P&Z members should be concerned that the 13 Hawleyville Road site is the last viable piece of developable land in the HCDD zone.

Mr Bennett responded that because 13 Hawleyville Road has not yet been developed, that should not be held against 13 Hawleyville Road, LLC.

P&Z members agreed to resume the public hearing at 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 6, at the Newtown Senior Center, 8 Simpson Street.