To the Editor:

A proposal will soon be presented to Newtown’s Planning & Zoning Commission by Wharton Equity Partners, LLC, for the development of a distribution warehouse on 100 acres of wetlands property off I-84 Exit 9. The proposal provides for 76 loading docks, parking for 50 truck trailers, and 360 employee vehicles. Wharton is a New York-based developer who ominously describes their goal as the development of big box distribution facilities and “last-mile” warehouse properties.

The property in question is immediately east of Route 25, extending south to the border of Route 6 (Mt. Pleasant Road). Oddly enough, it’s zoned for commercial use even though it’s located in the heart of a predominately residential area.

Unfortunately, I believe Newtown’s Wetlands Commission has not had sufficient basis to reject Wharton’s proposal, despite the fact that 3,100 square feet of wetlands will be filled in for an entry road. During recent hearings, it was noted that an additional 44,800 square feet of land will be disturbed for the construction of a storm runoff facilities to compensate for the loss of natural wetlands.

Runoff from the massive paving will need to be mitigated, impacting the property’s ecology and animal habitats.

Wharton will argue the site is ideal due to its proximity to I-84.

A traffic study has yet to be completed, though I don’t believe it’s likely to present a reliable picture for a simple reason: Wharton will not occupy the property; rather, they will serve as the developer and leaseholder. At the February 9 wetlands hearing, they confessed to having no idea how many companies will lease warehouse space, or the kinds of products or materials that will be housed there, or the hours of operation.

It’s fair to project there will be traffic impacts, not only by trucks coming and going, but by employees commuting to and from the site. It’s also reasonable to believe there will be frequent impacts to Routes 6 and 25 by spillover traffic when I-84 becomes clogged as a result of accidents that happen with regularity.

The environmental impact from truck and vehicle emissions, still undetermined, will also have an impact on neighboring communities.

Newtown residents should be concerned! Do we allow our town to become a tractor-trailer hub for a developer whose stated goal is boosting returns for investors, and who could care less about the impact their proposal will have on our community?

If the notion of turning our lovely, rural community into a sprawling truck stop is repugnant, I urge residents to raise their voices in opposition when this disappointing proposal reaches Planning & Zoning for consideration.

Don F. Leonard

Newtown

Editor’s note: Real estate professionals generally define a “last-mile” facility as one from which goods are delivered directly to the consumer. And as previously reported in The Newtown Bee, this site is zoned for such commercial development and was previously approved for a significantly larger facility.