Planning And Zoning Again Approves 8-Lot Residential Subdivision

By Andrew Gorosko

For a second time, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has approved the Hanover Heights residential subdivision, consisting of eight building lots on a steep, rugged 28.4-acre site at 64 through 74-A  Hanover Road.

The P&Z had initially approved Hanover Heights last January, but a court challenge concerning various flaws in that approval, which was filed by nearby property owners, resulted in a second application for Hanover Heights being submitted by Monroe developer Robert Mastroni.

The project approved by the P&Z on May 18 is similar to the initially approved version of Hanover Heights.

The subdivision would be served by a dead-end street known as Anthony Ridge Road that enters the site from the east side of Hanover Road, near Hanover Road’s intersection with The Boulevard Extension. The development site is near the westbound lanes of Interstate 84.

Voting in favor of Hanover Heights were P&Z Chairman William O’Neil, Lilla Dean, Robert Poulin, and Robert Mulholland. P&Z member Jane Brymer voted against it.

Mr O’Neil noted that the approval granted to Hanover Heights on May 18 is similar to the January P&Z approval regarding open space areas on the site and conservation easements.

The P&Z is requiring Mr Mastroni to post a $613,450 performance bond to ensure that certain improvements are made on the property. Of that sum, $550,000 would cover road construction and the installation of an underground 30,000-gallon water storage tank for firefighting.

The P&Z is requiring the developer to provide approximately two acres of open space on the site, plus  provide the town with a $69,000 fee in lieu of other open space. The open space area is about one-half acre larger than in the initial Hanover Heights approval.

Developers typically provide at least 15 percent of a subdivision site as open space to the town or to a land trust. But in the case of Hanover Heights, the P&Z opted to have the developer provide a small amount of that requirement as actual land and some of it as a fee in lieu of open space. The town uses such fees to acquire open space land elsewhere.

The P&Z is requiring the developer to permanently mark open space areas and conservation easements on the site during its development to allow potential homebuyers and the general public to identify those areas.

Also, the P&Z is requiring the developer to have a geotechnical engineer monitor the construction and stabilization of the planned dead-end Anthony Ridge Road on the site. The developer must follow a series of recommendations on the project that were made by a geotechnical engineer.

 The P&Z also is encouraging the developer to preserve or to have preserved an existing barn on the site. The agency also is urging the developer to preserve as many of the existing stone walls and healthy large trees as possible during site development.

The P&Z held a public hearing on Hanover Heights on April 20.