Mt Pleasant Road—

Recreational Sports Center Clears First Hurdle

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has unanimously approved a set of zoning rule changes requested by a development group, which will allow the group to submit a P&Z application for a proposed major indoor/outdoor private recreational sports club complex, known as Newtown Sports Center, at 90 Mt Pleasant Road, west of Whippoorwill Hill Road.

The projected overall value of the multiphase complex would be approximately $30 million, of which the first development phase would represent approximately $19 million.

P&Z members on April 5 unanimously approved the zoning rule changes requested by P.W. Scott Engineering and Architecture, PC, which expand the land uses allowed in a M-2A (Industrial) zone. The P&Z approval is a preliminary step toward the construction of a recreational sports center.

The rule changes would allow recreational sports facilities as a principal land use in a M-2A zone, provided that the applicant receives a special permit for such a use from the P&Z. The sloping 33.4-acre site on the north side of Mt Pleasant Road has M-2A zoning. The developer holds a purchase option to buy the site.

The M-2A zone is intended to allow significant economic development that does not adversely affect the character of surrounding neighborhoods or overburden the natural environment or built environment.

Engineer/architect Peder W. Scott, representing the development group of which he is a partner, said April 9 that the group will soon submit site plan applications for the Newtown Sports Center to the Inland Wetlands Commission and to the P&Z in seeking town approvals for the project.

Other members of the development group are Bill Hoadley of Brookfield, Mark Christo of Monroe, and Andrew Bazos of Bridgewater.

Mr Scott is a Newtown resident whose engineering/architecture firm is located in Brewster, N.Y. Mr Scott, who has four children, is a youth sports coach. He said he has long wanted to create such a sports complex locally. “It’s been a dream,” he said. 

Mr Hoadley said April 9 there is a significant demand in the area for such a recreational sports complex. The facility would be designed for people of all ages, he said. People who use the privately owned facility would be members of a recreational sports club, he said.

The first phase of the multiphase project would include the construction of a 175,000-square-foot building to house multiple recreational sports uses, the construction of two adjacent outdoor athletic fields, plus the construction of an adjacent 40,000-square-foot office building. First-phase construction work would take about 12 months, Mr Scott said.

Additional future phases would include a 60,000-square-foot building for office space, warehousing, and recreational uses, as well as a 48,000-square-foot office building.

If the complete project were built, the buildings at the site would enclose 323,000 square feet of floor space.

“We’re very excited. It’s a positive event,” Mr Scott said of the P&Z’s changing its rules to allow recreational sports facilities as land uses in a M-2A zone.

Mr Scott said he would initially seek IWC approval for wetlands aspects of the project, and then seek P&Z approval for the specific facilities proposed for the site.

If the project is served by sanitary sewers, as proposed by the developers, Water and Sewer Authority (WSA) approval would be needed, plus other approvals. There are currently no sanitary sewers in that area, so a sewer line extension would be required.

Mr Scott said April 10 that the development group is seeking WSA approval to extend the Hawleyville sewer system to provide sewer service for the sports center facilities.

The WSA is considering the sewering request and has referred the developers to the Economic Development Commission (EDC) to explain their proposal to that agency, Mr Scott said. The EDC is an advisory panel that promotes local economic development. Developers who are seeking sanitary sewer service often approach the EDC to build public support for their sewering requests.

P&Z Discussion

In a discussion about the sports complex proposal at the April 5 P&Z session, P&Z member Lilla Dean said that the only existing M-2A zone in town lies in the area between Mt Pleasant Road and Interstate 84, including the Newtown Sports Center site.

Noting the broad scope of the proposed recreational sports center, P&Z Chairman William O’Neil successfully urged that the P&Z require that such an application to be subject to the agency’s “special exception” review for a “special permit.” Such a special permit review is more stringent than a “site development plan” review.

Mr O’Neil noted that such a complex would grow in size across time, adding that the P&Z has no experience reviewing such facilities locally, so subjecting it to a special exception review would be prudent.

In expanding the allowed uses in a M-2A zone, P&Z members decided to allow indoor and/or outdoor golf courses, dance studios, health and exercise facilities, racquetball, squash, basketball, volleyball, tennis, baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, track and field, swimming pools, ice skating rinks, plus any other recognized collegiate sports. Seating for spectators would be allowed.

Basic Plan

In a basic plan for the first phase of the proposed complex, the 175,000-square-foot main building would include: two indoor fields, a fitness club, a day care center, locker rooms, a therapeutic center including a pool, stores, two multiuse hard court areas, a restaurant, a food court, an arcade, a pro shop, medical office suites, office space, an aerobics center, and an elevated running track.

That building would provide space for sports such as soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, basketball, a baseball batting cage, a golf driving range, volleyball, tennis, and a rock-climbing wall.

The first phase of the project also would include two outdoor sports fields, each of which would measure 340 feet by 200 feet, or 68,000 square feet each. A 40,000-square-foot office building also would be constructed as part of the first development phase.

At a March P&Z public hearing on the sports center concept, issues raised included the volume of traffic that would be generated by such a complex, the height of its buildings, site lighting, and the measures that would be taken to buffer the site from adjacent properties.

At a recent session, Police Commission members, serving as the local traffic authority, discussed the traffic aspects of a recreational sports complex. The Police Commission requested that the developer provide a traffic study for the project.