A local builder/developer’s proposal to construct 74 condominium apartments on Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook Center is scheduled for discussion at a Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) public hearing slated for 7:30 pm on Thursday, July 9, at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street.

Applicant Michael Burton of Sandy Hook, doing business as River Walk Properties, LLC, is seeking a special permit for the project under the terms of the Incentive Housing-10 (IH-10) zoning regulations, which the P&Z created in January.

The project, known as The River Walk at Sandy Hook Village, represents the first application for an IH-10 multifamily housing complex that the P&Z has received for review.

In 2009, Mr Burton received P&Z approval to construct a 24-unit multifamily complex at the Washington Avenue site under the terms of the Affordable Housing Development (AHD) zoning regulations. The AHD zoning rules do not allow the high construction density possible under the IH-10 regulations. Economic conditions resulted in the 24-unit complex never being built.

Under the provisions of the IH-10 rules, at least 20 percent of the units in the complex must be designated as deed-restricted affordable housing for at least 30 years. In the case of River Walk, that would translate into 15 units being designated as affordable housing, which would be sold to eligible buyers at prices much lower than the 59 market-rate condos there.

Only low-income and moderate-income people who meet the applicable income rules are allowed to live in the affordable housing units. Such complexes are designed so that market-rate units and affordable units look similar.

The River Walk project is proposed for the west side of Washington Avenue on seven lots totaling 11.8 acres. The parcels are #10 through #22 Washington Avenue. The site lies generally east of the meandering Pootatuck River, which is a trout stream.

Mr Burton has received a wetlands/watercourses protection permit from the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC). He also has received a preliminary approval from the Water & Sewer Authority (WSA) to use 9,250 gallons of daily sewage treatment capacity at the Commerce Road wastewater treatment plant.

River Walk is the first proposed multifamily complex under review by the P&Z since October 2011, when the P&Z approved an application from Toll Brothers Inc for a 178-unit age-restricted condo complex at a 50-acre site off Mt Pleasant Road in Hawleyville known as Newtown Woods. That complex has some residents and remains under construction.

Application

The River Walk development application to the P&Z is on file for public review at the Land Use Agency offices in Newtown Municipal Center.

As required by the P&Z, Mr Burton is formally notifying the 43 owners of properties lying within a 500-foot radius of the development site about the planned July 9 public hearing.

Such hearings give the public an opportunity to ask questions about a development proposal and to comment in favor or in opposition. 

The application includes a detailed “incentive housing restriction affordability plan” that explains how it would be determined who is eligible to buy the affordable units.

The filing also contains a “traffic access and impact study” prepared by Frederick P. Clark Associates Inc of Fairfield.

The development site would have two access points at Washington Avenue. The northern driveway would be only an entrance, while the southern driveway would function as an entrance and exit.

According to the traffic consultants, the nearby four-way signalized intersection of Washington Avenue, Riverside Road, Glen Road, and Church Hill Road currently has traffic delays during peak traffic-flow times.

The presence of a new condo complex “will not have a significant [traffic] impact to the [four-way] intersection,” according to the traffic engineers. 

However, the presence of a condo complex would result in longer traffic delays for northbound vehicles on Washington Avenue, which are approaching that intersection during weekday morning peak traffic- flow times, they add.

The traffic engineers note that recent state improvements to the four-way intersection have enhanced overall travel safety and the functioning of that intersection.

Because the development site lies within the environmentally sensitive Aquifer Protection District (APD) above the Pootatuck Aquifer, the application contains an “aquifer impact assessment.”

R.G. Slayback of Leggette, Brashears, and Graham, Inc, of Shelton prepared that report.

In a June 2 letter to the P&Z, Mr Slayback wrote, in part, “If the proposed development is built in accordance with [its engineering] plans…it will meet the letter and intent of the Newtown aquifer protection district.”

The Shelton firm Nowakowski, O’Bymachow, Kane & Associates, an engineering/surveying company, did the land engineering on the River Walk application.

The P&Z will refer Mr Slayback’s aquifer report to the town’s Aquifer Protection Agency (APA), which will make a recommendation to the P&Z on accepting or rejecting the report.

A local builder/developer’s proposal to construct 74 condominium apartments on Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook Center is scheduled for discussion at a Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) public hearing slated for 7:30 pm on Thursday, July 9, at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street.

Applicant Michael Burton of Sandy Hook, doing business as River Walk Properties, LLC, is seeking a special permit for the project under the terms of the Incentive Housing-10 (IH-10) zoning regulations, which the P&Z created in January.

The project, known as The River Walk at Sandy Hook Village, represents the first application for an IH-10 multifamily housing complex that the P&Z has received for review.

In 2009, Mr Burton received P&Z approval to construct a 24-unit multifamily complex at the Washington Avenue site under the terms of the Affordable Housing Development (AHD) zoning regulations. The AHD zoning rules do not allow the high construction density possible under the IH-10 regulations. Economic conditions resulted in the 24-unit complex never being built.

Under the provisions of the IH-10 rules, at least 20 percent of the units in the complex must be designated as deed-restricted affordable housing for at least 30 years. In the case of River Walk, that would translate into 15 units being designated as affordable housing, which would be sold to eligible buyers at prices much lower than the 59 market-rate condos there.

Only low-income and moderate-income people who meet the applicable income rules are allowed to live in the affordable housing units. Such complexes are designed so that market-rate units and affordable units look similar.

The River Walk project is proposed for the west side of Washington Avenue on seven lots totaling 11.8 acres. The parcels are #10 through #22 Washington Avenue. The site lies generally east of the meandering Pootatuck River, which is a trout stream.

Mr Burton has received a wetlands/watercourses protection permit from the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC). He also has received a preliminary approval from the Water & Sewer Authority (WSA) to use 9,250 gallons of daily sewage treatment capacity at the Commerce Road wastewater treatment plant.

River Walk is the first proposed multifamily complex under review by the P&Z since October 2011, when the P&Z approved an application from Toll Brothers Inc for a 178-unit age-restricted condo complex at a 50-acre site off Mt Pleasant Road in Hawleyville known as Newtown Woods. That complex has some residents and remains under construction.

Application

The River Walk development application to the P&Z is on file for public review at the Land Use Agency offices in Newtown Municipal Center.

As required by the P&Z, Mr Burton is formally notifying the 43 owners of properties lying within a 500-foot radius of the development site about the planned July 9 public hearing.

Such hearings give the public an opportunity to ask questions about a development proposal and to comment in favor or in opposition. 

The application includes a detailed “incentive housing restriction affordability plan” that explains how it would be determined who is eligible to buy the affordable units.

The filing also contains a “traffic access and impact study” prepared by Frederick P. Clark Associates Inc of Fairfield.

The development site would have two access points at Washington Avenue. The northern driveway would be only an entrance, while the southern driveway would function as an entrance and exit.

According to the traffic consultants, the nearby four-way signalized intersection of Washington Avenue, Riverside Road, Glen Road, and Church Hill Road currently has traffic delays during peak traffic-flow times.

The presence of a new condo complex “will not have a significant [traffic] impact to the [four-way] intersection,” according to the traffic engineers. 

However, the presence of a condo complex would result in longer traffic delays for northbound vehicles on Washington Avenue, which are approaching that intersection during weekday morning peak traffic- flow times, they add.

The traffic engineers note that recent state improvements to the four-way intersection have enhanced overall travel safety and the functioning of that intersection.

Because the development site lies within the environmentally sensitive Aquifer Protection District (APD) above the Pootatuck Aquifer, the application contains an “aquifer impact assessment.”

R.G. Slayback of Leggette, Brashears, and Graham, Inc, of Shelton prepared that report.

In a June 2 letter to the P&Z, Mr Slayback wrote, in part, “If the proposed development is built in accordance with [its engineering] plans…it will meet the letter and intent of the Newtown aquifer protection district.”

The Shelton firm Nowakowski, O’Bymachow, Kane & Associates, an engineering/surveying company, did the land engineering on the River Walk application.

The P&Z will refer Mr Slayback’s aquifer report to the town’s Aquifer Protection Agency (APA), which will make a recommendation to the P&Z on accepting or rejecting the report.