Following extensive comment at a March 5 public hearing on a controversial proposal to build a gas station/convenience store on a 3.7-acre site at 13 Hawleyville Road (Route 25), Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members concluded the hearing, but did not vote on the application in order to allow members to review new information submitted by the developer.

The P&Z meeting drew about 25 members of the public, who listened attentively as experts for development firm 13 Hawleyville Road LLC explained technical aspects of the project. The complex is proposed for a currently vacant lot on the west side of Hawleyville Road, just south of eastbound Interstate 84’s Exit 9 off-ramp. The site is in the Hawleyville Center Design District (HCDD) zone.

Last November, in a 5-0 vote, P&Z members rejected a somewhat larger version of the project in light of traffic concerns that had been raised by people living in the area. Shortly thereafter, the developer returned with a scaled-down version of the project, which has been the subject of three sometimes-emotional public hearings.

Nearby residents have mounted stiff opposition to the current project, charging that it was not the size of the first project that troubled them, but that such development would occur at all in what is a congested area.

In 2015, the P&Z approved construction of a diner on the development site. That approval represented the commercial component of a nearby Incentive Housing-10 (IH-10) rental apartment complex that will include 42 affordable dwellings among an overall 210 rental units, when fully built. The developer has informed the P&Z that market conditions have changed since 2015, and it now makes more economic sense to build a gas station/convenience store than a diner.

Construction

Civil engineer Dainius Virbickas of Artel Engineering Group LLC of Brookfield, representing the developer, told P&Z members that revised plans call for the installation of a sidewalk north-to-south along the Hawleyville Road frontage of the site.

Virbickas noted that the proposed convenience store would enclose 4,083 square feet of space, compared to the initial version which would have enclosed 5,293 square feet of floor area. There would be six gasoline fuel filling positions, compared to the earlier proposed 16 positions, he added. Fuel storage would be reduced from 40,000 to 24,000 gallons, he said, and a freestanding canopy above the fuel pumps would be smaller than initially proposed.

Hal Kurfehs, of Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate, representing the developer, said that it would be simpler for motorists to get off I-84 and buy gas at 13 Hawleyville Road and then get back onto I-84 than having to get off I-84 and travel northward to 26 Hawleyville Road to buy gas. A gas station is under construction at 26 Hawleyville Road, which is about 2,000 feet north of 13 Hawleyville Road.

P&Z member Corinne Cox responded that it would not necessarily be easier for I-84 motorists to use a gas station at 13 Hawleyville Road due to traffic congestion.

Kurfehs said that the presence of a gas station would generate more tax revenue for the town than a diner.

Traffic engineer Michael Galante of Hardesty & Hanover, representing the applicant, said that a diner and a gas station/convenience store would generate about the same amount of traffic. The proposed construction does not meet state requirements for the installation of a traffic signal to control traffic flow in the area, Galante explained.

“No one would like a traffic light more than us...It’s a good idea,” said attorney David Bennett, representing the applicant.

Jay Jamal and Cal Ahmed are partners who would operate the facility. They explained to P&Z members their plans for running such a business. The project would represent an estimated $4 million to $5 million investment, they said.

Public Comment

Vernard Gaudet of Hillcrest Drive told P&Z members that he has lived there for 35 years. He said he has not heard anything at P&Z meetings on the project that leads him to think that the project would benefit the neighborhood.

“I see this [as] helping commuters...It’s just not going to be what everyone thinks it’s going to be,” he said.

Michael Giudice of Whippoorwill Hill Road asked whether the current version of the project would generate less traffic than would have been generated by the version rejected by the P&Z in November. Galante responded that the current version would create less traffic than the previous version.

Giudice later questioned the currency of the data in the traffic study and questioned its methodology. “This application should be denied,” he asserted.

Galante later responded that the traffic study for the project meets all applicable local and state standards.

P&Z Chairman Don Mitchell said he would be analyzing traffic statistics provided by the applicant to learn the proposed project’s effect on the area.

Pat Napolitano of Whippoorwill Hill Road asked a range of questions about the proposed development’s impact on the area.

Napolitano pointed out that the gas station/convenience store under construction at 26 Hawleyville Road is not in a congested area, adding, though, that the presence of such a facility at 13 Hawleyville Road would make a congested area even more congested.

Napolitano asked why the applicant’s proposed convenience store is so much larger than other convenience stores in the area. The size is based on projected future space needs, according to the two men who would operate the facility.

Also, Napolitano said that when considering residential construction that is occurring in Hawleyville, traffic near 13 Hawleyville Road will worsen in the future. “I’m not a traffic expert,” he said, but added, “I’m an expert at observing after 32 years” of living in the area.

Napolitano also asked whether an evacuation plan has been formulated for people living near the development site, considering that Covered Bridge Road is the only roadway that links Hillcrest Drive, Covered Bridge Apartments, and Grace Family Church to Hawleyville Road.

Janet Mckeown of Hillcrest Drive said she has lived on that road for 27 years and the traffic has gotten much heavier in the Hawleyville Road area. Motorists exiting the proposed gas station would block the view of oncoming traffic for motorists exiting Covered Bridge Road onto Hawleyville Road, she said.

Of the hazards of making a left turn from northbound Hawleyville Road onto Covered Bridge Road, she said, “I am constantly nervous of getting hit from behind.” The proposed construction would make matters worse, she said. She characterized constructing a sidewalk in front of the proposed complex as “stupid.”

Bill Hikock of Whippoorwill Hill Road cautioned that the area proposed for construction carries heavy traffic. Construction has been underway in the area for several years, he said.

Teri Saleski of Old Hawleyville Road, who has lived in the area for nearly 50 years, said traffic often backs up on eastbound I-84. She questioned the feasibility of constructing a gas station at the proposed location.

Robert Saleski of Old Hawleyville Road asked, “Is the goal of the [gas] station to serve Newtown residents or to make money?”

Underlying the traffic issue is the specialized zoning district where the site lies — the Hawleyville Center Design District.

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.

P&Z members are expected to deliberate and possibly act on the 13 Hawleyville Road proposal on April 2.