Date: Fri 17-Jan-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

sewer-Walnut-Tree-condo

Full Text:

Town, Condo Developers Reach Sewer Agreement

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

The town and Walnut Tree Developers have reached an agreement specifying the

payments the developers will make to the town to connect the Walnut Tree

Village condominium complex to the municipal sewer system.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said Tuesday the Water Pollution Control

Authority (WPCA) approved the agreement January 9.

Although the condominiums on Walnut Tree Hill Road in Sandy Hook are outside

the town's sewer district, the developers sought and eventually received town

approval to discharge wastewater into the sewer system now under construction.

A neck of land extends from the condo site southward to Church Hill Road which

is in the sewer district.

The developers are now seeking approval from the Conservation Commission to

install 1,535 linear feet of sewer pipe between the 18-acre site and the sewer

main along Church Hill Road. The developers will bear the cost of linking the

complex to Church Hill Road.

Under the terms of the agreement, the developers will pay the town $765,000,

Mr Hurley said. The money reflects the condo complex's fraction of the capital

costs of building the sewer system. Sewer-use fees are separate charges.

When the $765,000 is divided by the 80 units planned for the complex, each

unit's sewer connection cost is $9,562.50, Mr Hurley said.

That cost, however, isn't directly comparable to the $9,900 sewer assessment

that will be levied against the owners of single-family homes with access to

sewers, he said. That sewer assessment charge will be paid back across a

20-year period.

Walnut Tree Village is planned to be built in two stages - an initial 35 unit

phase and an ensuing 45-unit phase.

The first 35 units will discharge wastewater into a large scale septic system

on the site. Later when all units are built, wastewater will be sent into the

town sewer system.

The sewer connection charges will be borne by the condo residents who will

give the money to the developers, who, in turn will pay the town.

Owners of the first 35 units will have either five years or ten years to pay

off their sewer connection charges, according to Mr Hurley. The people who

move into the next 45 units will be expected to pay the sewer connection

charge in a lump sum, he said.

Condo owners paying off the sewer connection charges across either five-year

or ten-year terms will bear loan interest charges of 4.5 percent, Mr Hurley

said. Those owners aren't entitled to the two percent subsidized interest rate

available to property owners within the sewer district.

The developers initially sought a 20-year payback period for the sewer

connections.

After the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) approved Walnut Tree Village

almost two years ago, the developers sued the town to gain legal leverage in

getting the project connected to the town sewer system.

The P&Z had approved the controversial complex after a protracted review of

the construction plans. The developers have until 2002 to finish the complex.

The complex is intended for people at least 55 years old. The property is in

an EH-10 zone, designated for multifamily housing for the elderly.

The municipal sewer system is expected to start operation this coming fall.

The town is under a state order to correct groundwater pollution problems

caused by failing septic systems in the Borough, Sandy Hook Center and Taunton

Pond North.