Horse Country—

Neighbors Raise Concerns About 18-Lot Subdivision Proposed For Foxview Farm

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members are considering a proposal to create an 18-lot residential subdivision known as Foxview Farm Estates on the Foxview Farm horse farm along Hundred Acres Road.

Development applicant and property owner Judith Holmes of 25 Hundred Acres Road proposes subdividing 72 acres of Foxview Farm into 18 lots. Fifteen of those lots would be sites for new houses. Three lots would hold existing structures.

The development would contain more than 12 acres of open space land, including a bridle trail. The site contains almost seven acres of wetlands. Ms Holmes proposes construction of a 900-foot-long dead-end street known as Foxview Lane. That road would extend into the property from Hundred Acres Road, at its intersection with Dug Hill Road, which is a narrow dirt road.

The rolling Foxview Farm is on the east side of Hundred Acres Road. The farm currently boards horses for local equestrians.

Three main issues over the proposed Foxview Farms Estates arose among the approximately 35 people who attended a June 17 P&Z public hearing on the development proposal.

Residents raised concerns about traffic safety, in light of the proposed Foxview Lane’s intersection with Hundred Acres Road and Dug Hill Road at a sharp, blind curve on Hundred Acres Road.

Some Hundred Acres Road residents also expressed concerns about potential drainage problems arising from the proposed development.

A large contingent of Maltbie Road area residents said they fear that subdividing and developing Foxview Farm could result in a road linkage connecting Dug Hill Road to the currently dead-ended northerly section of Maltbie Road, resulting in increased traffic and travel safety problems on Maltbie Road.

Development Proposal

Attorney Robert Hall, representing Ms Holmes, told P&Z members, “This property has a great deal of frontage on existing town roads.” Foxview Farm has 1,900 feet of road frontage on Hundred Acres Road, and 1,850 feet of frontage on Dug Hill Road.

Mr Hall said the applicant hopes that the existing barns on the farm continue to be used for keeping horses, but added that there would be no deed requirements requiring such a use.

In reviewing the subdivision proposal, Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker had pointed out that the although the site has extensive road frontage on two town roads, the developer would not be taking full advantage of that frontage by not using Dug Hill Road for house-lot frontage.

The proposed dead-end Foxview Lane is unnecessary, Ms Stocker had pointed out. That proposed new road could be eliminated and the existing Dug Hill Road could be used for road frontage, provided that the proposed open space area on the development site is reconfigured, Ms Stocker wrote in her analysis of the proposal. Using Dug Hill Road for house-lot frontage for Foxview Farm Estates makes more sense in terms of town road planning for potential residential growth in that general area, she wrote.

That road planning analysis apparently sparked 30 residents, mostly from Maltbie Road, to sign a petition, which opposes any plan to potentially link Dug Hill Road to the dead-end northerly section of Maltbie Road. The rural Dug Hill Road is now used by hikers and horseback riders for access to a Newtown Forest Association land preserve, according to the petitioners. Converting Dug Hill Road into a through-road would visually damage the area and also would increase traffic on the northerly section of Maltbie Road, posing traffic safety issues for the children who live there, the petitioners add.

Mr Hall stressed that the applicant disagrees with Ms Stoker’s recommendation to use Dug Hill Road for house-lot frontages and is proposing creating Foxview Lane, which would be a new dead-end street for new house lots.

“The whole concept of this subdivision is to insulate the subdivision from Dug Hill Road and Maltbie Road,” Mr Hall told P&Z members.

Ray Gallagher of 5 Maltbie Road said the pace of residential development in southwestern Newtown alarms him. He added he is concerned by the prospect of farms being subdivided into house lots and the prospect of existing dead-end roads, such as Maltbie Road, being interconnected with other existing dead-end roads.

Mr Hall said that the proposed Foxview Lane is intended to remain a dead-end street permanently.

Development project engineer Holt McChord said eight house lots would be created on the proposed Foxview Lane. Other lots would have frontage on Hundred Acres Road. Overall, the development would have 12 frontage lots and six rear lots. The site would have three stormwater retention areas to control stormwater flow from the property. A 20,000-gallon undergound water storage tank on the proposed new road would provide fire protection along with an existing fire pond on the west side of Hundred Acres Road.

Mr McChord said no wetlands filling would be required for the project. The project has received a wetlands approval from the Conservation Commission. 

Mr McChord said the devlopment proposal is sensitive to local topography and to the physical features of the site.

Project traffic engineer Michael Galante said the developer would remove vegetation at the proposed intersection of Hundred Acres Road, Dug Hill Road, and Foxview Lane in order to improve motorist sightlines in the area. A stop sign would be posted at the end of the proposed Foxview Lane. The intersection of the three roads would be rebuilt under the development proposal. “Sharp Curve Ahead” warning signs would be posted on Hundred Acres Road on the approaches to the curve.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil, however, questioned the wisdom of having Foxview Lane enter Hundred Acres Road at its intersection with Dug Hill Road, in light of the sharp curve in Hundred Acres Road there.   

Noting that the applicant is in the midst of negotiating a “road work agreement” with the Board of Selectmen, Mr O’Neil said the P&Z would resume the Foxview Farm Estates public hearing at a future P&Z session. That hearing is slated to resume August 5.

Road work agreements specify the physical improvements that developers agree to make to existing town roads in the area of new development.

Public Comment

Resident Wesley Gillingham of 30 Hundred Acres Road said he has dreaded the eventual residential development of Foxview Farm. Mr Gillingham urged that the development project be done properly.

Mr Gillingham questioned the wisdom of extending a new road from a point on Hundred Acres Road that holds a sharp bend in the road, saying it would be a “major mistake” to add a new road there.

Noting that his home is across Hundred Acres Road from the proposed new road, Mr Gillingham said that the headlamps of autos traveling on the new road would shine into his house.

Also, the terrain lying across Hundred Acres Road from the development site is wetlands, he said, adding that water now drains from Foxview Farm into those wetlands. Mr Gillingham expressed concerns about the proposed development creating drainage problems in the area.

Mr McChord said that stormwater drainage flow from the site would be well controlled and not adversely affect nearby properties.

Charles Wrinn of 32 Hundred Acres Road said a serious traffic hazard currently exists at the intersection of Hundred Acres Road and Dug Hill Road due to the sharp curve in Hundred Acres Road.

George Minck of 28 Hundred Acres Road raised concerns about stormwater drainage, earthmoving on the development site, driveway construction, and the installation of public utilities.

John Kopins of 24 Hundred Acres Road said he does not want the pond that lies across Hundred Acres Road from the development site to become polluted due to the construction project. Mr Kopins said his wife owns that pond.

The developer will work to protect water quality in the area, Mr McChord said.

William Brett of 19 Hundred Acres Road urged that the rural character of Foxview Farm be preserved. Mr Brett suggested that ten new houses be built on the site, instead of the proposed 15 new houses. Ten new houses could be constructed on relatively larger building lots, he said. Mr Brett asked whether the proposed subdivision’s layout would allow additional lots to be resubdivided from the property in the future.

Mr Hall said a building lot’s location is more important than a lot’s size in terms of the price that the lot would bring. A larger lot will not automatically be more expensive than a smaller lot, Mr Hall said.

Mr Brett’s proposal for fewer houses on larger lots is not a feasible way to develop the site, Mr Hall said. Mr Hall added that it makes developmental sense for the owner to subdivide the farm under the land use regulations that are now in effect.