23-Unit Condo Complex Gains Wetlands Permit

By Andrew Gorosko

A Danbury developer’s plan to construct a 23-unit mixed-income condominium complex in Sandy Hook Center cleared a hurdle this week, when it received a wetlands permit from the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC).

In a unanimous vote on May 10, all six IWC members endorsed developer Guri Dauti’s requested wetlands permit for Edona Commons, which is proposed for a 4.04-acre site at 95-99 Church Hill Road, just west of Dayton Street. Voting in favor of the wetlands permit were Chairman Sally O’Neil, Dr Philip Kotch, Anne Peters, Donald Collier, Wesley Gillingham, and Katja Pieragostini.

Mr Dauti, doing business as Dauti Construction, LLC, proposes a five-building complex for the steep, rugged site. Seven of the 23 dwellings would be reserved for moderate-income families. The complex would contain 58 bedrooms and would take 18 months to construct. The Edona Commons site abuts the 52-acre site of the 189-unit age-restricted Walnut Tree Village condo complex.

The controversial development proposal, which is pending before the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), drew heavy public opposition at an April 6 P&Z public hearing. The P&Z hearing is slated to resume on May 18.

In granting a wetlands permit, IWC members listed 11 standard conditions of approval that the developer must observe to protect the wetlands and watercourses on the site from environmental damage. The IWC listed an additional five specific steps that the developer must follow.

The IWC is requiring the developer to create a permanent maintenance schedule for conservation areas on the site; install permanent stormwater drain markers on the site; install permanent fencing along the borders of the conservation areas before site development occurs, and install oil/grease separation devices at two stormwater catch basins on the site, plus specify plans for their maintenance.

The IWC, formerly known as the Conservation Commission, had held four public hearings on the developer’s requested wetlands permit, examining the environmental protection aspects of the project in detail.

At a recent session, the IWC denied Mr Dauti’s initial request for an aquifer protection endorsement. He is expected to submit another application. A majority of the site is located in the town’s environmentally sensitive Aquifer Protection District (APD), situated above the Pootatuck Aquifer. The IWC makes recommendations on aquifer protection to the P&Z.

At the May 10 IWC session, Ms O’Neil said the agency’s role in reviewing development applications is relatively narrow, addressing only the protection of wetlands and watercourses. The P&Z has much broader scope in reviewing such applications, she noted.

During the IWC’s public hearings on the wetlands permit, Trout Unlimited, a private nonprofit environmental protection group, had raised a host of questions on whether the presence of a 23-unit condo complex would adversely affect the coldwater trout habitat of the nearby Pootatuck River, due to stormwater draining from the site and into the river.

Ms O’Neil, Dr Kotch, and Ms Peters said they believe that the engineer representing the developer suitably answered the various environmental questions posed by Trout Unlimited. 

“As far as the wetlands go, I think they’ve [developer] answered all questions satisfactorily,” Dr Kotch said.

Mr Collier, however, expressed some reservations about granting a wetlands permit. “I just feel uncomfortable with it,” he said.

Following the approval, attorney Ryan McKain, representing Dauti Construction, said the developer is happy to have received the wetlands permit. Mr McKain said he would be reviewing the 16 conditions of approval specified in the permit.

In his P&Z applications, Mr Dauti is seeking to create new zoning regulations to allow Edona Commons to be built; is seeking a change of zone for the site from R-2 (Residential) to his proposed Mixed Income Housing District (MIHD) zone; and also seeking several construction-related permits.

The traffic and site-access aspects of the project are under review by the Police Commission, serving as the town’s traffic authority. The Water and Sewer Authority (WSA) is reviewing Mr Dauti’s request to discharge condo complex wastewater into the municipal sanitary sewer system.