Date: Fri 12-Jan-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-golf-course-Botsford

Full Text:

P&Z Clears The Way For Golf Course Development

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has approved a set of zoning amendments

that would allow a commercial golf course and driving range in Botsford.

The P&Z's approval of the zoning rule changes came January 4 after a public

hearing on the topic. Professional golfer Peter Belmont submitted the zoning

amendments as a means to let him apply for an 18-hole, Par 3 "executive

course" off South Main Street.

The proposal also is subject to review by the Conservation Commission serving

as the local Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission. Also, the state

Department of Environmental Protection and the US Army Corps of Engineers will

review the construction proposal.

Mr Belmont has an application pending before the Conservation Commission to

allow him to fill in almost seven acres of ponds on the 120-acre site, which

contains about 28 acres of ponds. He is seeking permission to put clean fill

in three ponds.

The Conservation Commission is expected to conduct a public hearing in late

February on allowing construction work in wetland areas.

Mr Belmont, who operates the driving range known as Belmont's Ridgefield Golf

Complex, is in negotiations to buy the acreage at the D'Addario Sand and Stone

Company, Inc, a sand and gravel mine to the east of South Main Street. The

property lies in the area bounded by South Main Street, Button Shop Road,

Botsford Hill Road and Meadowbrook Lane. Landscaping work would convert the

strip-mined area into a golf course and golf driving range.

Attorney Henry Moy of Danbury, representing Mr Belmont before the P&Z on

January 4, said the golf course would be built by filling in land at the

mining area which has been excavated in the past. Some existing ponds on the

property would be retained as elements of the golf course's design.

Mr Moy said Mr Belmont hopes to bring beauty to an area which has been

surface-mined.

Resident Lyndon Thomas of Juniper Road said he supports allowing a golf course

as proposed by Mr Belmont.

"I think a golf course is useful...It doesn't have a great demand on (town)

services...I think it fits in with the (town) plan of development," he told

P&Z members.

Mr Thomas said it would be good if an illuminated golf driving range proposed

for the property would be kept as far away as possible from residential

properties in the area.

Resident Soren Hussarungsri of Buttonshop Road said he wholeheartedly supports

Mr Belmont's golf course proposal. What exists in the area consists of a

desolate strip-mining operation where heavy trucks travel causing street

damage, he said. The gravel mine is a place where wind borne dust blows in the

summertime and all-terrain vehicles travel illegally, he said.

Building a golf complex on the property would improve the look of the land,

create jobs, benefit area businesses through increased business volume and

increase area property values, he said.

The developers of the golf course appear to be sensitive to environmental

concerns posed by such a facility, Mr Hussarungsri said.

Todd Bokina of Botsford Hill Road noted that his property adjoins the land

proposed for a golf course. He asked whether such a development would have

adverse effects on the underground water supply in the area.

Pat Hannalin of Washbrook Road said people in the area generally like the idea

of having a golf course there. Ms Hannalin asked what type of material would

be used to fill in ponds on the site; whether existing material in those ponds

would be left there or removed; whether the proposed golf complex would

continue to close for business at 9 pm if it should be sold to another owner;

and whether domestic water supplies in the area would be affected by runoff

from a golf course.

Mothers living in the area are worried about the use of pesticides and

herbicides on golf courses, she said. She asked whether it's possible for the

P&Z to upgrade the zoning in the area from M-6 Industrial zoning, a local

zoning designation which is used for gravel mining areas.

Peter Grace of Washbrook Road said that if applied correctly, pesticides and

herbicides should pose no risks to area properties.

Following public comments on amending the zoning regulations to allow

commercial golf courses in M-6 Industrial zones, Mr Moy said "I think, that in

general, the public seems to support this (golf course) plan."

Mr Moy said he believes an M-6 zone is an appropriate location for a

commercial golf course.

P&Z member Todd Richardson stressed that the session held January 4 on the

zoning amendments for golf courses only concerns creating regulatory

mechanisms through which an applicant could seek formal approval for a special

exception to the zoning regulations for golf course construction.

Deliberations

Later in the P&Z meeting, commission members deliberated on Mr Belmont's

requested amendments.

P&Z member Heidi Winslow moved to approve the requested amendments. A golf

course in Monroe known as Whitney Farms, is an excellent example of how a

former sand and gravel mine can be converted to a new use, she said.

"This is a very, very good way of rehabilitating such properties," she said,

adding that the presence of a golf course would be good for the town tax base,

good for recreational opportunities and that the course would be open for

public use.

"There's absolutely no downside to it," she said.

P&Z member John Deegan termed a golf course a very good use for the land at

the gravel mine. He urged P&Z members to support the golf course proposal.

Mr Richardson said comments made at the hearing indicated public support for a

course. He said he expects the concerns raised by the public will be addressed

when the developers present a site plan application for the property in the

future.

P&Z member John DeFilippe said creating a golf course amounts to economic

development as well as improving the land at the gravel mine.

In reviewing the proposed golf course zoning rule amendments, P&Z members made

some minor changes to the proposed regulatory language, including the

provision that illumination intended to light a golf driving range not pose a

nuisance to adjacent residential properties.

Mr Belmont is expected to return to the P&Z with a site plan application for

his proposed golf complex.

The town now has two private courses - The Newtown Country Club on South Main

Street and The Rock Ridge Country Club on Dodgingtown Road. Mr Belmont has

said he considers it important that Newtown have a golf course and driving

range that is open to the public. The proposed golf course would be geared to

use by the family, he has said.

Mr Belmont has said the facility he envisions could be built in two to three

years. The complex would include a 5,000-square-foot golf pro shop. Holes on

the course would be between 135 yards and 250 yards long with water in play on

nay of the links.

The project would cost well over $5 million, according to Mr Belmont.