Technology Park—

P&Z Considers Conceptual Proposal

For Industrial Subdivision

By Andrew Gorosko

The Economic Development Commission (EDC) presented a conceptual proposal for Newtown Technology Park to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) on April 19, in seeking to gauge the feasible extent of development for the environmentally sensitive site near the trout-laden Deep Brook.

The EDC is acting as the agent for the town on the municipally sponsored ten-lot industrial subdivision proposal. The EDC has not yet submitted applications for the project off Commerce Road to town land use agencies. The EDC is an advisory panel that guides and promotes local economic development.

The total area of the town-owned site is 76.8 acres, of which 42.2 acres would be developed area, and 34.6 acres would be dedicated as open space land. The site has steep slopes and wetlands. The development site is in an industrial zone. It is partially in the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD), a tightly regulated area that lies above the Pootatuck Aquifer. The aquifer is the source of two public water supplies.

The EDC recently presented a conceptual proposal for the technology park to the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) for discussion purposes.

On April 19, EDC member Kim Danziger, accompanied by EDC Vice Chairman Robert Rau, explained the EDC’s developmental concepts for the site to the P&Z.

Mr Danziger displayed a variety of versions of the project that the EDC has explored as the panel has sought to decide what would make for appropriate industrial development at the environmentally sensitive site.

Mr Danziger explained that a road in the technology park would be designed to allow its future potential use as a section of a north-south connector road, which would link Church Hill Road to Wasserman Way.

“We [town] own the land. We don’t have a [loan] interest clock ticking,” Mr Danziger told P&Z members in explaining that the town, as the developer of the technology park, is not laboring under the typical time and monetary constraints that face private land developers.

Each of the ten proposed industrial lots on the site can be custom-designed and then be sold to private buyers who fit the criteria for using a given lot, he said. Because the site is in the APD, the industrial uses there would need to receive special permits from the P&Z, Mr Danziger noted.

To minimize the environmental impact of industrial development, strict stormwater control measures would be employed, he said. A specialized swale would be constructed to intercept any contaminated stormwater before it reaches Deep Brook, he explained. The landscaping plan for the site would be keyed to environmental protection, he stressed.

“We’d love to make this as ‘green’ a project as possible,” he said. The EDC is soliciting public comment on the conceptual plans for the project before any formal applications are submitted to town land use agencies, he said.

Mr Danziger suggested that the P&Z consider allowing underground parking at the site as way to leave the ground’s surface intact after construction.

The EDC is seeking to attract “high quality” businesses to buy lots at the technology park, Mr Danziger said. The ideal type of industry would be a large electronics-based firm that would have relatively few employees, he said.

P&Z Views

P&Z member Dennis Bloom said that Commerce Road experiences traffic congestion at certain times of the day. On weeknights at 5 pm, northbound traffic on Commerce Road backs up from the intersection of Commerce Road and Church Hill Road to the area of Charter Communications, he said. The dead-end technology park road would extend from the dead-end Commerce Road, thus putting more traffic onto Commerce Road.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil suggested that the P&Z create a unique zone for the technology park that would have different specifications than other local industrial zones. Such a zone could have very specific requirements, including rules keyed to producing a “green” industrial subdivision, he said.

Mr O’Neil suggested that the EDC confer with the town’s Design Advisory Board (DAB) concerning issues pertaining to the technology park’s aesthetics and its visibility from other areas. The complex is expected to be visible from Queen Street and Grand Place.

The P&Z chairman asked how the site would be landscaped.

Mr O’Neil urged that the EDC work with the IWC and the Conservation Commission to create a workable technology park design.

Mr Danziger said the EDC needs advice from the IWC and Conservation Commission on whether the proposed Lot 9 in the subdivision would be feasible development. That lot would hold a large building near Deep Brook.

But, Mr Danziger noted, IWC members have resisted working with the EDC on the project saying that to do so would pose a conflict of interest for the IWC.

“There’s a lot of emotion associated with this [proposal]…We [EDC] don’t want to be the bad guys,” Mr Danziger said.

Mr Danziger urged that the P&Z assign one of its members as a liaison to the EDC’s steering committee on the technology park project.

P&Z member Sten Wilson volunteered and was assigned by Mr O’Neil as a steering committee member.