Panel Says Sewers For

Mt Pleasant Condos Are Not A Priority

By Andrew Gorosko

Having learned that the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) considers its proposal to build a 110-unit condominium complex on Mt Pleasant Road a low priority for sewer service, a development firm plans to approach town land use agencies to gain support for its project, with the goal of eventually obtaining sewer service for it.

Ginsburg Development Connecticut, LLC, June 22 presented to the WPCA the results of a waste disposal study it conducted on the 36-acre Mt Pleasant Road site where it wants to build the condo complex for people over 55. The sloping site, west of the Taunton Lake Drive neighborhood, has frontage on Taunton Lake.

The WPCA had asked Ginsburg to do soil testing on the site to gauge its capacity for waste disposal via septic systems. The WPCA uses such soil testing to establish a point of reference in considering requests for sewer extensions.

Ginsburg tested two locations on the site which appeared to be promising places to build large-scale septic systems for waste disposal from the proposed condos. One of the test sites was near Mt Pleasant Road and the other was near Taunton Lake. The firm had hoped to establish that the soil had the capacity to handle waste disposal from 110 condo units.

The testing indicated the soil could handle waste disposal from 74 one-bedroom condo units. The test results from the area nearer Taunton Lake were not as favorable as had been anticipated, according to Ginsburg.

WPCA member Alan Shepard said he is not eager to see large-scale septic systems constructed on the site considering its soil quality. “This is not an easy build out for a septic system,” he said. Mr Shepard said he doubts Ginsburg could obtain state approval to build as many units as it wants on the property, in light of the site’s relatively poor soil quality.

Thomas Gissen, Ginsburg’s director of development, stressed that the complex proposed by the firm is intended for couples and single people over 55.

The project envisioned by the firm is the type of development the town appears to be interested in fostering, he said. It generates property tax revenue without burdening the town with additional school children, according to Mr Gissen.

WPCA Chairman Richard Zang pointed out that the proposed complex would be new development lying outside the municipal sewer district. Such development has a low priority for a municipal sewer extension, and thus no sewage treatment capacity has been allocated for such development in the WPCA’s master plan, he said.

However, there may be some public benefit in the presence of such a complex which would override the project’s low priority for sewer service, Mr Zang said.

 If Ginsburg could convince the appropriate town agencies that such a complex would create “some major public benefit” and would be better served by municipal sewers than by large-scale septic systems, the WPCA would reconsider its position, Mr Zang said.

Mr Zang termed the WPCA’s posture on the sewer extension request as “leaving the door slightly ajar.”

WPCA members suggested that Ginsburg approach the selectmen, the Conservation Commission, and the Economic Development Commission to make its case.

After the discussion with the WPCA, Mr Gissen said Ginsburg will do more testing on the property to demonstrate that the site can provide waste disposal for more than 74 condo units via septic systems.

The firm would then approach the Borough Zoning Commission, the Conservation Commission, and the Planning and Zoning Commission to explain its developmental situation, he said.

 Ginsburg is willing to build the complex with septic systems with the hope that it eventually can convince the WPCA that extending sewer service to such a complex is a better option, Mr Gissen said. Ginsburg’s goal is still to build 110 units, he said.

Most of the Mt Pleasant Road development site lies in the Borough of Newtown. The northwest corner of the site is in the Town of Newtown. The property lies in borough and in town residential zones.

The developer would require multiple borough and town approvals for a townhouse complex.

The developer proposes constructing about 40 buildings on the site. Each building would contain either two or four condo units. The two-story townhouses would have basements, some of which would be walkout basements, depending on topography. The units would range in size from 1,400 to 2,400 square feet. The developer has an option to buy the site from the Grossman family.

The complex would include walking trails and a recreation center. The property extends down a hillside to Taunton Pond where it has roughly 400 feet of pond frontage.