Sandy Hook Center—

Condo Complex Opponents Plot Strategy

By Andrew Gorosko

Morgen McLaughlin said this week that opponents of a 23-unit condo complex known as Edona Commons proposed for Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook Center are circulating a petition for submission to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) in seeking to stop the project.

Ms McLaughlin of 14 Alberts Hill Road said that approximately 100 signatures had been collected by midday Wednesday.

The petition signers state their opposition to Dauti Construction, LLC’s, proposal to rezone 4.04 acres at 95-99 Church Hill Road from R-2 (Residential) to MIHD (Mixed Income Housing District) zoning.

As part of his application, developer Guri Dauti of Danbury proposes the creation of MIHD zoning, which is a set of regulations that are tailored to allow him to build his proposed project. The developer’s application seeks to have the P&Z create MIHD zoning regulations, and then rezone the steep, rugged 4.04-acre site from the R-2 to the MIHD zoning designation to allow him to build 23 condos there.

The P&Z has scheduled an April 6 public hearing on the development application. The Police Commission, Conservation Commission, and Water and Sewer Authority also are reviewing the application. (See related story.)

The complex would contain five buildings. Seven of the 23 units would be reserved for moderate-income families. The project would contain a total 57 bedrooms. Construction would last 18 months.

Opponents of the condo construction proposal met this week to plot strategy for opposing the project, according Ms McLaughlin and Megan Williams of 82 Church Hill Road, both of whom are spearheading the opposition.

A visible sign of the opposition is a row of black yellow-and-black placards posted on residential properties on Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook Center. The signs bear the legend “Stop the Condos.”

Similar signs were posted in the Alberts Hill Road neighborhood last fall symbolizing residents’ opposition to New Canaan developer Jack Dweck’s request to the P&Z for a change of zone to allow him to build a 56-unit age-restricted condo complex on 20 acres at 32 Alberts Hill Road. In January, the P&Z unanimously rejected that requested change of zone stating that the Alberts Hills Road site was an unsuitable location for such development.

The opponents of Edona Commons list a variety of reasons why a 23-unit condo complex is unsuitable for the Church Hill Road site. They include heavy traffic, school bus safety, inadequate access to the site, the historic character of the neighborhood, the removal of trees, and aesthetic concerns.

The opponents charge that condo complex construction would “ruin” Sandy Hook Center, which is undergoing a revitalization project.

In a recent letter to the P&Z, attorney Ryan McKain, representing Mr Dauti, wrote,  “The site plan has evolved through extensive discussions informally held over the past 18 months with town officials and staff, and we believe represents a sensible cluster development.”

Such development would “provide additional economic diversity in the [local] housing stock,” he adds. It would help the town meet its stated goal of providing “a more balanced supply of housing types that will accommodate the housing needs of Newtown residents and those working in Newtown,” as reflected by the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development, he adds.

The Edona Commons site is on the north side of Church Hill Road, west of the intersection of Church Hill Road and Dayton Street. The site abuts the 189-unit age-restricted Walnut Tree Village condominium complex.