Over the objections of a woman who lives nearby, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) on April 26 unanimously approved the construction of a one-million-gallon water storage tank by the Aquarion Water Company at a high elevation in a residential area at 13 Old Green Road.Modified LandscapingP&Z Vote

Aquarion, which operates the local central public water supply system, plans to build a cylindrical concrete tank standing 50 feet tall and 62 feet wide to improve its water supply's functioning and reliability, including fire hydrant reliability. The site is in a R-2 zone, within which such water tanks are allowed through P&Z approval of a special zoning permit and a site development plan.

The pale gray tank, which would be reinforced with internal steel banding, would cover just over 3,000 square feet of ground area. The structure would be situated on a rise lying roughly 800 feet west of Old Green Road. That residential street links Walnut Tree Hill Road to Horseshoe Ridge Road.

During the public comment section of the April 26 P&Z public hearing, Karen Smiley of 2 Valley Field Road South, which lies across Old Green Road from the tank site, registered her strong objections to the presence of a water tank.

A week earlier, the P&Z had held an initial public hearing on the project, at which a number of Old Green Road area residents raised objections about the presence of a water storage tank in the neighborhood. Their opposition focused on the appearance of a tank and possible decreased property values.

On April 26, Ms Smiley told P&Z members that installing a tank would mean that 55 mature trees would need to be cut down. Ms Smiley said that at an Aquarion informational session on March 28, a representative of the firm had said that if the tank proposal were turned down by the P&Z, the firm would then seek another location for a tank. Ms Smiley said that she had since learned that Aquarion would be able to appeal a P&Z rejection of the 13 Old Green Road site to the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

"This [water tank] is not in harmony with the neighborhood," Ms Smiley told P&Z members. Ms Smiley said the firm has indicated that properties adjacent to a tank site could lose three to five percent of their market value. Ms Smiley asked why such a structure cannot be built in a commercial area and be equipped with water pumps. Ms Smiley said that building a water tank at 13 Old Green Road represents the cheapest option for the firm in terms of adding water storage to its system. The firm considered nine possible tank locations before proposing the 13 Old Green Road site.

"I oppose this. I don't want you to approve it," Ms Smiley told P&Z members. Also, she charged that mailings to residents in the area notifying them of a public hearing on the tank application were not distinctive looking and could have been discarded by the people who received them.

Attorney Peter Olson, representing Aquarion, said that the firm's construction proposal represents, "the most responsible option for [Aquarion] rate payers." Notably, the Old Green Road neighborhood is not served by the Aquarion water supply.

Carolyn Giampe, Aquarion's capital projects manager, said that constructing a taller water tank elsewhere would be more expensive and more objectionable to more people than the Old Green Road proposal. The firm chose the Old Green Road site based on its elevation, its general suitability, and the current owner's willingness to sell the property, according to Aquarion.

Ms Smiley suggested that the firm build a tank 42 feet tall instead of 50 feet tall, in light of applicable zoning regulations which place a 42-foot height limit on structures in the residential area.

Ms Giampe responded that a 42-foot-tall tank would not provide sufficient water pressure for water customers who live at high elevations.

Although the Old Green Road area is not served by Aquarion, the firm has said that residents there who are adjacent to a 16-inch-diameter water main, which would be installed to link the proposed water tank to the Aquarion water system, could connect to the water main at those residents' expense.

Aquarion would install two fire hydrants along the planned water main to provide fire protection along the southeastern section of Old Green Road. It also would install a fire hydrant at the storage tank to provide firefighters with a place to refill the water tanks on fire trucks.

Ms Giampe said the firm cannot extend a water main spur line beneath Old Green Road northwestward of 13 Old Green Road to provide public water service to people living in that area both for regulatory reasons and due to high customer costs for water service connections.

After discussions with people living immediately north of the site, Aquarion has agreed to modify its proposed landscaping for the project based on those residents' requests, said Matthew Popp, a landscape architect representing Aquarion.

Mr Olson said that landscaping trees to be brought to the site would be 26 feet tall and would continue to grow across time.

Mr Olson said Aquarion intends to sell the existing house and adjacent land at the 5.17-acre 13 Old Green Road property. Thus, the single building lot there would then be divided into two lots. The house would be located on a separate lot nearer to Old Green Road, with Aquarion's lot for the water tank situated to the rear.

In view of opposition to the 13 Old Green Road site, P&Z members Jim Swift and Corinne Cox suggested that Aquarion build the tank at some other location. A Reservoir Road site suggested by Mr Swift already holds an Aquarion water storage tank for another section of the water supply system, Ms Giampe said. A site off Sleepy Hollow Road suggested by Ms Cox has a conservation easement, said Town Planning Director George Benson.

Ms Giampe said a ground-level concrete tank at Old Green Road would be less objectionable than a taller tank built in an industrial area.

Before their unanimous vote to approve the water tank, P&Z members discussed their thinking on the topic.

P&Z member David Rosen said he sympathizes with the neighbors' viewpoint on the presence of a tank, but added that the lack of such a tank could result in public harm.

P&Z Chairman Don Mitchell said, "I think this proposal is a good proposal for the town overall. I favor it."

Mr Swift agreed, adding that Aquarion had done a good job in explaining the tank project. Opposition would arise to any location which is proposed for such a tank, Mr Swift said.

P&Z member Barbara Manville said of the project, "I see this as a public need, especially as a water supply for fires."

Ms Cox said she wishes there was a another place to build the tank, noting its Old Green Road placement in a densely built neighborhood and potential effect on nearby property values. However, the presence of such a tank will improve water supplies for firefighting at schools, she said,

On average, Aquarion water system customers use about 600,000 gallons of water daily. Aquarion currently operates a 540,000-gallon steel water storage tank at a high elevation at 14 Reservoir Road.