Conservation Commission

Awaits Condo Complex Design Details

By Andrew Gorosko

Conservation Commission members are awaiting additional design details concerning wetlands protection from the developer of a 23-unit condominium complex proposed for 95-99 Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook Center.

Conservation Commission members, serving as the town’s wetlands protection agency, conducted a public hearing March 8 on Dauti Construction, LLC’s proposal for Edona Commons at a 4.04-acre site, which lies west of the intersection of Church Hill Road and Dayton Street.

The proposed complex would contain 23 townhouse-style condominiums, seven of which would be reserved for moderate-income families. The five-building complex would contain 57 bedrooms. The site abuts the 189-unit age-restricted Walnut Tree Village condo complex.

Police Commission members, serving as the town’s traffic authority, reviewed the traffic aspects of the Edona Commons proposal at a March 7 session (see related story).

The March 8 Conservation Commission meeting was more subdued than a February 22 public hearing that many neighboring residents attended to voice concerns about potential adverse effects of the Edona Commons project.

Danbury developer Guri Dauti is seeking a wetlands permit and an aquifer protection endorsement from the Conservation Commission. The northeastern and northwestern sections of the site contain wetlands. About two-thirds of the site lies in the town’s environmentally sensitive Aquifer Protection District (APD).

Town Conservation Official Rob Sibley said that commission members have made field inspections of the development site to gauge its environmental protection requirements.

A soil erosion problem exists on the northeastern section of the property, Mr Sibley said, adding that the developer must explain the steps that would be taken to resolve the problem.

“This needs to be addressed,” said commission member Donald Collier.

The site’s environmental protection design would result in no increase in stormwater runoff leaving the site, said attorney Ryan McKain, representing the developer.

Engineer Steve Trinkaus, representing the developer, assured commission members that protective measures have been designed to guard the site’s wetlands.

 Mr Trinkaus described steps that could be taken to deal with the erosion problem. They would involve rebuilding a fieldstone wall on the site, constructing filtration berms, and redirecting the direction of flow from stormwater roof drains, he said.

Mr Trinkaus said the developer would delineate conservation easements on the site, which are areas where physical alterations to the terrain are prohibited.

Such easements might cover 20 percent of the site, Mr Sibley said.

Mr Collier said commission members want the western section of the site to be protected by conservation easements.

Conservation Commission Chairman Sally O’Neil urged the developer to place marking stakes in areas where the proposed driveway and five buildings would be constructed in order to provide commission members with a clear sense of where those structures would be located.

The commission will resume the public hearing on the wetlands permit application on March 22. The panel is expected to make a recommendation to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) regarding the aquifer protection aspects of the proposal on March 22.

The P&Z has scheduled a public hearing on Edona Commons for April 6.