Two Agencies To Review Newtown High School Expansion Project

By Andrew Gorosko

Two town agencies next week are scheduled to review the $41-million-plus project proposed to expand and renovate Newtown High School to alleviate student overcrowding.

The Police Commission, acting as the town traffic authority, is scheduled to review the traffic-flow and site-access aspects of the project when its meets at 7:30 pm Tuesday, February 5, at Town Hall South, 3 Main Street.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has scheduled a public hearing on the Board of Education’s request for a special permit for the high school project for 7:30 pm, Thursday, February 7, at the town offices at 31 Peck’s Lane.

The Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) recently determined that the high school project would have no significant adverse environmental impact on the underlying Pootatuck Aquifer. The Pootatuck Aquifer is the source of two public water supplies, plus the source of many domestic water supplies. The high school site lies within the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD), a tightly regulated overlay zone situated above the Pootatuck Aquifer.

The P&Z is expected to act on the IWC’s recommendation concerning aquifer protection.

In a letter to the P&Z, Joseph Costa of the Fletcher Thompson architectural firm which has designed the high school project, wrote that project planners have worked to minimize the project’s effect on the underlying aquifer and on adjoining properties, as well as on the environment in general. The project’s design meets the town’s applicable land use regulations, he added.

The high school expansion project involves classroom space, a gymnasium, driveway improvements, parking areas, tennis courts, and athletic fields.

Last November, the P&Z determined that the high school expansion project is consistent with the provisions of the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development. P&Z members then recommended that the Board of Education consider P&Z members’ and town land use agency staff members’ comments during conceptual site planning for the high school expansion/renovation project.

Last June, town voters approved spending $2.75 million for the architectural design phase of the high school expansion project. The vote was 1,372 in favor, and 912 opposed. The total 2,284 votes represented 14.4 percent of the then-registered 15,886 town voters.

Construction of the high school project would be subject to voters’ spending approval at a referendum later this year.