Date: Fri 01-Nov-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-affordable-housing-hearing

Full Text:

Commission Slates Hearing On Affordable Housing Project

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

The Conservation Commission will conduct a formal public hearing on the

proposed Newtown Village housing complex, a 100-house development envisioned

for Sandy Hook, including 25 homes categorized as "affordable housing."

The public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, November 13, at 8 pm at the

Town Hall South conference room, 3 Main Street.

Sandy Hook residents opposed to Newtown Village petitioned the Conservation

Commission October 23 to conduct the hearing on the developer's request for a

wetlands construction license. About 30 residents living in the vicinity of

the proposed Newtown Village attended the session.

Although the commission allowed public comments at the meeting, it was not a

formal public hearing.

Resident Vikki Carlson of 1 Elana Lane presented a petition from area

residents and requested that the commission convert its consideration of the

development proposal from a "short form" application to a "long form"

application.

David Thompson, the town's environmental official, said the commission will be

holding a public hearing on the "short form" application which was submitted

by the developers.

A long form application provides the commission with more information than a

short form. A longer application explains what developmental alternatives were

considered before the applicant submitted his specific proposal for the

wetlands work.

D&H Homes, LLC, of New Milford, and Fairfield 2000 Homes Corp, of Stamford are

seeking Conservation Commission approval to construct a road across an

intermittent watercourse and permission to do filling and grading work.

The developers want to build a 100-house complex on 32 acres in Sandy Hook,

near Newtown High School. The parcel lies north of Berkshire Road, south of

Philo Curtis Road, and west of Bishop Circle. Access would be provided from

Berkshire Road. Twenty-five homes in the development would be designated as

"affordable" and would sell for prices below real estate market values.

Residents living in the vicinity of the proposed Newtown Village have

expressed environmental concerns over the impact of the development on their

neighborhood.

In an October 21 letter to the Conservation Commission, Marc and Maureen

Gastonguay of 16 Elana Lane state the project poses a risk of environmental

damage to their neighborhood. Elana Lane is a dead end street extending off

Philo Curtis Road.

The Gastonguays ask what effect the development would have on existing

wetlands, how sewage disposal will be handled, and how existing water wells in

the neighborhood will be affected.

The Gastonguays ask that the Newtown Village project be delayed until research

is done to learn the impact of the land's development on available water

resources. They suggest that the state's recently formed Water Resources Task

Force as a source of information on developmental impacts.

In a separate letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), the

Gastonguays write that building 100 new houses will result in a potential

decrease in the level of public safety and the local quality of life.

"The fire department has difficulty finding sufficient staffing for the town's

current needs. What will happen when 100 new homes are added,?" they ask.

The additional children who would live in Newtown Village would further strain

existing public school facilities and school personnel, they argue.

"There are obvious concerns about aggravating the traffic and pollution

problems already witnessed near the high school," according to the

Gastonguays.

According to a soil scientist representing the applicants, the construction

project would have a minor impact on a low-quality, man-made wetland at the

site. The developers would build a new pond at the site as part of their

stormwater management system for the parcel.

The wetlands to be built would be of better quality than those which now

exist, according to the scientist. The project would involve filling in some

existing wetlands and creating some new wetlands.

Barbara Obeda is an environmental analyst who has been hired by nearby

residents opposed to the Newtown Village project.

In a report Ms Obeda prepared on the project, she states "Irrespective of what

the (state Department of Environmental Protection) says concerning the

(community) septic system, 100 houses on this 34 acres of a gravel bank is

environmentally suicidal," she writes. "The soil types on this site will allow

easy access of any and all pollutants into the drinking water source."