Date: Fri 08-Mar-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

selectmen-dirt-roads

Full Text:

Selectmen Find Dirt Roads Are Once Again A Point Of Contention

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

The unending problems of maintaining and improving dirt roads confronted the

Board of Selectmen again Monday night when a group of property owners on

Tamarack Road and Sanford Road demanded that the board leave the roads alone.

Some residents of Tamarack, Sanford and Echo Valley Road came to the

selectmen's meeting to oppose a proposal that a developer improve these town

roads as part of a plan to build new homes in the area.

"Living on a dirt road was a very strong part of our decision to move here,"

said Jim Murphy of 26 Sanford Road. "We fully recognize the right of the

developer to add 11 homes and we welcome the people who will move in - but not

if they are going to ruin it for us."

The public participation portion of the meeting lasted well over an hour as

the handful of residents lectured the board, sometimes stridently, about the

proposal to widen Tamarack and Sanford Roads to 18 feet "wherever possible,"

improve drainage and top the road surface with processed stone. In some spots

the roads are as narrow as 12 feet; town regulations specify a standard of 22

feet.

"The people don't want it, the developer doesn't want it, and you don't know

how much it will cost," said Paul DeLuca of Echo Valley Road. "No one here has

been complaining about the dirt roads. The town wants bigger, paved roads. You

want to widen a road no where near where the development is going in."

Sally Conklin of 16 Tamarack Road said that she lives in an 1840 colonial that

is within 20 feet of the road.

"There's a dropoff across the street," she said, "so if you widen the road it

will literally go through my living room."

Cordalie Eliscu said she was "horrified" to hear that the roads might be

widened. "My road is as wide as it is because it follows the natural roadbed,"

she said. "Every inch (wider) will require fill into wetlands or blasting into

ledge."

First Selectman Bob Cascella said the proposed road improvement has been

approved by the Conservation Commission, which looked carefully at its

potential impact upon the environment. This step, and approval of a roadwork

agreement by the selectmen, are required before the developer can go to the

Planning & Zoning Commission, he said.

The cost of the project is estimated at $213,000 and would be borne by the

developer, M&E Land Group, he said.

The presence of stone walls, ledge and garages along the shoulder of the roads

would prevent widening in some areas. But Town Engineer Ron Bolmer said the

intent is to get a consistent road width "whereever possible" for safety

reasons.

"It has never been our intent to go on private property or to take down stone

walls," Mr Bolmer said. "We work with the existing right of way."

Mr Murphy disputed the implication that the road is unsafe. There are only

five homes on Sanford Road and adding an 11-home development wouldn't

appreciably increase traffic, he said.

"I don't believe it will impact safety," he said. "The Eliscu's and I live on

either side of a road that is 12 to 13-feet wide. Is that dangerous? There

haven't been any accidents."

Selectman Gary Fetzer said the board has to balance the wishes of property

owners who live along public roads with the needs of the community.

"I have consistently voted to protect the rural character of neighborhoods but

we have seen time and time again that in a few years people in new

developments begin to demand that the roads be improved," he said.

Last year the selectmen decided to require that builders improve adjacent town

roads when they put up housing developments which impact those roads. Mr

Cascella said the developers generally don't favor road improvements because

they don't want to bear the cost. But this is the only leverage the town has

to offset the cost of road improvements so the taxpayer doesn't have to pick

up the entire tab, he said.

Larry Edwards, an engineer who is also a partner in M&E Land Group, said that

when his company decided to buy the land from another developer, they budgeted

$150,000 for road improvements based on a written list of what needed to be

done for this development. Shortly thereafter, the Board of Selectmen began

requiring developers do more roadwork.

"We will give the town $150,000 no matter what you want to do with it," he

said, "but we don't want to go offsite and work on roads where people don't

want us."

Mr Edwards complained that the $213,000 project now proposed is more than 50

percent over what his company budgeted, would significantly impact the profit

margin. The additional cost is "like giving a building lot away," he said.

Mr Cascella tossed out the idea of making the roads one way but the residents

said that would make life inconvenient for them. Mr Edwards suggested making

dead-end roads with cul de sacs but town officials immediately objected.

"We can never officially support cul de sacs because of publicy safety. If a

dead-end road is blocked by a fallen tree, you can't get emergency vehicles in

there," said Public Works Director Fred Hurley.

Mr Murphy complained that the residents had not been told that improvements

were being considered for their roads. At Mr Fetzer's request, the first

selectman said he would attempt to notify these property owners if the topic

is on the agenda for a future meeting. But Mr Cascella and Town Attorney David

Grogins both said the town has an absolute right to make improvements to

town-owned roads without notifying adjacent property owners.

Mr Fetzer asked that the entire proposal be tabled until he could actually

look at the condition of the roads. Both he and Selectman Jim Mooney said

Monday night's meeting was the first time they heard about the project and

wanted time to review the information before coming to any conclusions.

The selectmen were visibly disturbed by the tenor of the meeting, particularly

many of the accusations made by Paul DeLuca.

"As a volunteer sitting on the board, I am offended by your sarcasm," Mr

Mooney said. "We are trying to do the best we can for the community."