EDC Backs Sports Complex; Residents Concerned

By Andrew Gorosko

The Economic Development Commission (EDC) has endorsed a development group’s proposal to construct a private major indoor/outdoor recreational sports complex at 90 Mt Pleasant Road, near Whippoorwill Hill Road, as a form of local economic development.

After discussion at a May 15 session, EDC members agreed to recommend the construction of Newtown Sports Center to other town agencies as a stimulus to the local economy.

But some residents living in the vicinity of the site are raising concerns about possible negative effects that the presence of a large sports complex would have on their neighborhood.

EDC members recommended that the Water and Sewer Authority (WSA) consider extending the Hawleyville sewer system to the sports center site to handle the sports complex’s wastewater disposal. EDC members reasoned that the presence of such a sewer line along Mt Pleasant Road would additionally promote business development in the area, resulting in the cost of a sewer extension being covered by the multiple sewer assessment charges and sewer connection charges that would eventually occur.

Architect/engineer Peder Scott, representing the developer, said the group wants to create a modern recreational sports facility on a sloping 33.4-acre site in a M2-A (Industrial) zone, which the group has an option to purchase. Mr Scott is a partner in the project.

If the full project were built, the multiple-building complex would enclose more than 320,000 square feet of space and include outdoor playing fields. Some of the enclosed space would contain offices. A main sports building would contain about 170,000 square feet of space for multiple sports uses.

Mr Scott told EDC members the complex would generate more than $640,000 in annual property tax revenue. The market value of the built complex would be approximately $22.7 million, he added. The site would have more than 500 parking spaces. The site is in a M-2A (Industrial) zone.

Current property taxes for the 33-acre site are approximately $8,000 annually, Mr Scott said.

EDC Chairman Chet Hopper said, “It looks like [a sports center] would benefit a great number of people in town.” The project would meet the EDC’s goal of increased local economic development, he said.

However, resident Mary Gaudet-Wilson of nearby Whippoorwill Hill Road said the proposed entry point for the complex is not in a good location.

Another Whippoorwill Hill Road resident said a sports complex would generate much traffic, making for difficult travel conditions on Mt Pleasant Road.

Patrick Napolitano of Whippoorwill Hill Road also raised issues about increased traffic in the area, adding that the presence of such a complex would put strains on local emergency services.

On May 16, Mr Hopper said the sports center proposal is appealing as a form of local economic development because it would make a large contribution to the town in property taxation, would provide jobs for young people, and would result in the extension of municipal sanitary sewers to the site, increasing the value of property in that area that is already zoned for industrial development.

P&Z Session

On May 17, the residents concerned about the sports center proposal attended a Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) session to raise issues about the project.

Mr Napolitano told P&Z members that a published legal notice for a March 1 public hearing on the development group’s request to modify the zoning regulations to allow recreational sports centers as a permitted land use in a M2-A zone was not very specific about what the developers were seeking.

The legal notice used legal terminology and did not contain readily understandable information about what the developers are seeking, he said.

“Is this the letter of the law regarding a legal notice?” he asked.

P&Z member Lilla Dean said the legal notice met the requirements for such a document. Ms Dean was the acting P&Z chairman at the meeting.

Nearby residents did not realize that a sports center was being proposed for their neighborhood, Mr Napolitano said.

Ms Dean responded that newspaper stories had been published about the sports center proposal.

On April 5, the P&Z unanimously approved a set of zoning rule revisions that would allow a sports center as a permitted land use in a M-2A zone.

Ms Dean said that the P&Z has not yet received a site plan from the developer, adding that the zoning rule changes that were approved on April 5 are only a first step in the development process.

When a public hearing is conducted on site development plans for the projects, nearby property owners would receive mailed advance notices of the hearing, she said.

Mr Napolitano urged that future legal notices about proposed zoning rule revisions be more specific to make them understandable to the general public.

Mr Napolitano said the sports center would make for “an inappropriate use of the property.” He expressed concerns about spectators’ nighttime uses of the site for sporting events, adversely affecting the quality of life on Whippoorwill Hill Road. The presence of such a complex could lead to many people traveling through the area, personal security issues, and a loss of sleep for nearby residents, he said.

When the P&Z receives specific plans for the project from the developer in the form of site development plan, residents can then raise specific issues about the project, Ms Dean said.

In response to another Whippoorwill Hill Road resident’s concerns about the traffic that would be generated by a sports center, Ms Dean said the undeveloped site has had an industrial zoning designation for many years. She added that developing the area for economic growth is listed as a goal in the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development. “It’s not a new plan,” she said.

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) would review the traffic aspects of the development proposal, she said. Mt Pleasant Road, also known as Route 25, is a state road.

“There’s a lot of steps along this [development] process,” Ms Dean said.

After listening to the residents’ complaints about a sports complex, P&Z member Robert Poulin expressed concerns about the potential for noisy outdoor events on weekends at the site. But, he added, no one spoke against the proposed zoning rule revisions at the past public hearing.

Ms Gaudet-Wilson said that area residents were not at the public hearing because they were unaware of the implications of the session.

She also raised concerns about nighttime lighting at the site, noise, traffic, and weekend sporting events.