Date: Fri 10-May-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Tamarack-Sanford-Echo-Valley

Full Text:

Agreement Reached On Road Improvements

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

An agreement was finally hammered out this week between the Board of

Selectmen, residents of the Tamarack-Sanford-Echo Valley area, and the

developers of the proposed 33-acre Tamarack Woods subdivision about road

improvements in the area.

More than 40 residents from the neighborhood crowded into the conference room

at Town Hall South during the board's meeting Monday night to voice their

concern about possible improvements to their roads.

Having abandoned the original plan of requiring the developer, M&E Land Group,

to widen parts of the dirt roads, the town now will require a much less

extensive project but one which will cost nearly as much, according to Town

Engineer Ron Bolmer.

The new roadwork agreement sets aside $164,000 for a bond to assure that the

work will be done satisfactorily. This work will include the cleaning of the

shoulders on both sides of the roads to remove windrows which are impacting

drainage, the removal of one tree and rock outcropping alongside Sanford Road,

installation of some new drainage and the topping of the road with six inches

of processed stone.

"There will be no major widening of the road," insisted Public Works Director

Fred Hurley.

Originally the town planned to require the developer to widen Tamarack and

Sanford roads to 18 feet in front of the proposed 11-house subdivision. The

wider road would have involved a 700-foot long section of Tamarack Road and

1,600 feet on Sanford. But the area residents strongly objected at two

previous meetings of the Board of Selectmen, saying the plan would destroy the

rural atmosphere of the neighborhood and encourage additional traffic and

speeding.

Not everyone was pleased with the scaled-back plans, however.

Charles Tilson, a developer who widened Alberts Hill Road, said the town was

being inconsistent in its requirements.

"I was told I had to widen Alberts Hill to 22 feet," he said. "Sanford and

Tamarack are worse than Alberts Hill ever was. I'm annoyed that I had to move

telephone poles, put in drainage, and widen the road to 22 feet or I wouldn't

get subdivision approval.

"Ten years from now the people who buy those 11 houses will be calling the

first selectman's office, complaining about those roads and demanding that the

roads be fixed up," Mr Tilson predicted.

For the past year the selectmen have been negotiating with developers to make

improvements to town-owned roads adjacent to proposed subdivisions.

Previously, local taxpayers picked up the entire tab for road improvements

that had to be done after new subdivisions were built along these roads.

Mr Tilson's wife, Cindy, who is a local realtor, said she can't understand why

the town is scaling back its requirements for Tamarack and Sanford roads.

"I read in The Bee that the town has begun to take a hard stand with

developers," she said. "But each case seems to be different depending upon the

the opposition of the neighbors. I can't understand why (Tamarack and Sanford)

aren't being widened enough to allow two vehicles to pass each other."

Betty Lincoln of Echo Valley Road agreed.

"I think the town will be open to lawsuits," she said, telling the selectmen

"You have a responsibility to the entire town to make a safe roadway. You

should be doing more than what you are talking about, but less than Alberts

Hill."

Lou Reda of Tamarack Road said the town should consider putting up stop signs

at the intersection of Sanford and Tamarack where visibility of oncoming

traffic is poor. First Selectman Bob Cascella said the recommendation would be

referred to the town's traffic commission.

Discussion of the roadwork agreement by the selectmen was tabled at one point

during the meeting so that the residents could meet with the developers, Larry

Edwards and Tom McGuire, and with the town engineer in the Planning and Zoning

Office to discuss the revised proposal. The selectmen's meeting also was

briefly recessed later for more discussion.

Mae Schmidle of Echo Valley Road told the selectmen that the neighbors wanted

the opportunity to see the roadwork agreement "in writing" before it is

approved. Jim Murphy of Sanford Road said the discussion was "sufficiently

ambiguous that we won't know what the agreement will say."

But Selectman Jim Mooney said it is enough that the board understands the

intent of the agreement.

"This agreement will have minimal impact," Mr Mooney said. "It is a major

compromise on the part of the town engineer and the Board of Selectmen.

"All we have is our word," Mr Cascella added. "We ask you to trust us. If we

don't live up to our world, every two years you have an option - you can throw

us out."

The selectmen voted 3-0 to approve the roadwork agreement. It must now go to

the Planning & Zoning Commission as part of the developers' request for final

subdivision approval.