Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members are reviewing the environmental aspects of The River Walk At Sandy Hook Village, a 74-unit housing complex proposed for the west side of Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook Center, near the Pootatuck River.

The IWC opened a public hearing on the application on April 22 in considering local developer/builder Michael Burton’s request for a wetlands/watercourses protection permit for the project.

The project would contain six buildings situated on an 11.8-acre site at #10 through #22 Washington Avenue, a site which lies generally east of the meandering Pootatuck River.

Mr Burton has designed the project under the terms of the Incentive Housing-10 (IH-10) zoning regulations, a set of land use rules created earlier this year by the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), which require an affordable housing component.

Besides IWC approval, the project requires P&Z approval. It also requires endorsement by the Aquifer Protection Agency due to the site’s location in the Aquifer Protection District. The proposal also is under review by the Water & Sewer Authority (WSA) because Mr Burton has requested municipal sanitary sewer service for the complex.

In January 2009, Mr Burton gained P&Z approval to construct The River Walk, a proposed 24-unit multifamily complex on 10.2 acres at 12 through 20-A Washington Avenue. But that complex was never constructed due to the economic downturn.

Attorney Peter Scalzo, representing Mr Burton, told IWC members, “This is a modification,” noting IWC’s previous approval for the 24-unit complex which was never built.

Mr Scalzo said the current proposal has gained an endorsement from the Police Commission, serving as the local traffic authority.

Civil engineer Alan Shepard, representing Mr Burton, said that the general stormwater control concept for the site, which was approved in 2008, would be used under the current plans.

A proposed parking area at the site would be located in the Pootatuck River floodplain, he said. However, no earthen fill would be deposited in that area, he said.

All proposed buildings would lie outside of the floodplain, he said.

In response to a question from an IWC member, Mr Shepard said that suitable markings would be installed the site to identify wetlands whose past markings may no longer be visible there.

Soil scientist James McManus, representing the applicant, said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) flood boundary line for the Pootatuck River has changed since the initial 24-unit complex was approved, requiring some redesign work for the current project.

The current development plan for the site indicates no short-term or long-term significant adverse effects on wetlands or watercourses, he said.

Mr McManus said that current plans call for developing the area at the site that has been previously disturbed and leaving the wooded area there undeveloped.

Landscape architect Robert Sherwood, representing the applicant, described a generalized landscaping plan for the site. The condition of the wetlands at the site would be improved, he said.

Public Comment

During the public comment section of the hearing, Joseph Hovious, representing the Candlewood Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited, which is a private environmental group, urged that the IWC continue the public hearing to another IWC meeting to allow the public to review technical data on the application.

Mr Hovious said he went to the town land use office on the morning of April 22 to review the contents of the application file, but very little information was available.

On the afternoon of April 22, the applicant submitted much technical information to the town, including predevelopment and postdevelopment impervious area statistics, stormwater drainage computations, a drainage area map, a parking plan, a grading plan, and public utility plans.

Mr Hovious noted that the Pootatuck River is a trout stream worthy of environmental protection.

Wesley Thompson, representing the Economic Development Commission (EDC), said that the EDC has unanimously endorsed the River Walk proposal and urges the IWC to approve it. The complex would economically aid Sandy Hook Center, he said. 

IWC members decided to resume the public hearing on the River walk application on May 13.