Mt Pleasant Road—

Medical Office Building Gains P&Z Approval

By Andrew Gorosko

Following a public hearing, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have unanimously approved the construction of a 17,320-square-foot two-story medical office building at 183 Mt Pleasant Road (Route 6), near the Bethel town line.

P&Z members granted a special permit for the project to developer Brom Enterprises, LLC, of Taunton Hill Road at an April 16 session. The sloped approximately 1.7-acre site is on the south side of Mt Pleasant Road.

In approving the project, P&Z members said that constructing the office building also would be subject to approval by the Water & Sewer Authority (WSA) for municipal sanitary sewer service, and approval by the state Department of Transportation (DOT) for traffic flow.

P&Z members decided that the project, known as Newtown Medical Center, is consistent with the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development, meets the standards of a special permit, and complies with the B-2 (Business) zoning regulations.

The planned building would contain an “urgent care” medical facility for people who need immediate attention for medical problems. The urgent care unit would function as “walk-in center” that people with medical problems could visit instead of going to a hospital emergency department or to a doctor’s office.

Engineer Larry Edwards, representing the developer, said the two-story building would be built on a slope that rises to the rear. The structure would have ground-level access to each of its two stories. Parking lots would be located in front of and behind the building. Eighty-seven parking spaces would be provided.

Stormwater that drains off the site would be channeled to a state drainage system along Mt Pleasant Road that eventually discharges into a stream lying to the east.

About 3,800 cubic yards of earthen material would need to be removed from the currently wooded site to prepare it for construction. Most of the material to be removed is rock ledge, requiring that there be blasting, Mr Edwards said. The blasted material would be removed from the property, he said. Blasting would be monitored to ensure it meets blasting regulations, he said.

The developer has submitted traffic information for review by the DOT, Mr Edwards said. The project’s design provides motorist sight lines along Mt Pleasant Road that exceed state requirements, he said. It may take “a while” to get DOT approval for the project, he added.

The office building would be served by United Water’s public water supply. 

Developer/owner Mike Bonasera told P&Z members that the planned office building would be an “environmentally friendly” structure that is energy efficient. A geothermal system would be used for heating and cooling the building, he said. Energy-efficient lighting fixtures would be used, he said.

Solar-power devices may be used at the office building, he said, adding that any solar panels would be installed at the rear of the building.

Mr Bonasera told P&Z members he met with the town’s Design Advisory Board and has incorporated the DAB members’ suggestions into the building’s design.

The presence of a medical office building, including an urgent care unit, would improve local access to health care, he said.

Project architect Robert Tobin of Stratford explained that the building would have two front entrances, one of which would provide access to the urgent care center, with the other leading to other offices.

No members of the public commented on the office building application at the public hearing.

P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean said, “I don’t really have any quarrel with this [office building] at all.”

Town Public Works Director Fred Hurley said this week the developer has submitted plans for the project to the WSA for review of its request for sanitary sewer service.