Date: Fri 22-Dec-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

golf-course-Botsford-Belmont

Full Text:

Ridgefield Pro Proposes Golf Course In Botsford

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

A Ridgefield golf professional is proposing that a public golf course and golf

driving range be built in Botsford on the site of the D'Addario Sand and Stone

Co, Inc.

Peter Belmont of Peter Belmont, Inc, said Tuesday that he would like to buy

approximately 130 acres of the sand and gravel mining area that lies in the

vicinity of Button Shop Road and Botsford Hill Road for golf course and golf

range development.

Mr Belmont is a well-known, teaching golf pro who operates Belmont's

Ridgefield Golf Complex on Route 7.

"I'm proceeding very rapidly," Mr Belmont said of his plans to buy the land.

Asked the sale price of the property, Mr Belmont declined to provide a

specific number, but added it is "a lot of money." He said golf course

development would cost "well over $5 million." The golf driving range would

have illumination for nighttime use.

In order to build a golf complex, Mr Belmont would need various land use

approvals from the town and state.

Among them are proposed amendements to the zoning regulations, which will be

the subject of a public hearing held by the Planning and Zoning Commission

(P&Z). The hearing is scheduled for 8 pm on January 4 in Town Hall South.

Mr Belmont said he wants to build a an 18-hole, Par 3 "executive course" and a

golf driving range on the site of the sand and gravel mine. The golf course

would be 5,400 yards long. Typical 18-hole golf courses are 6,800 to 7,200

yards long.

The town has two golf courses, both of which are private - The Newtown Country

Club on South Main Street and The Rock Ridge Country Club on Dodgingtown Road.

Mr Belmont said he considers it important that Newtown have a public golf

course. The course would be an attractive facility for all family members and

would be a place for golf instructions for children, he said.

Mr Belmont said that if land use approvals are obtained, initial construction

work on the project could start soon. He said that developing the facility he

has in mind would take two to three years.

Existing trees and wetland areas would be employed in the course's design and

wildlife in the area wouldn't be endangered by a course, he said.

"It lays out well on paper," he said of the golf course design for the site.

To develop a golf course, some construction work would have to be done in

wetland areas and some solid waste materials would have to be removed, he

said. Six or seven holes on the course would have water in play, Mr Belmont

said. Water on the course also would be used for irrigation. Holes would range

in length from 135 yards to 250 yards, he said. The complex would include a

5,000-square-foot golf pro shop.

A contract to purchase the land is now being negotiated, he said.

Mr Belmont said he has received a positive response from town officials with

whom he has discussed his golf course proposal.

At the public hearing scheduled for January 4, Mr Belmont, represented by

Attorney Henry H. Moy of Danbury, will seek five changes to the town's zoning

regulations.

These proposed changes would:

Allow commercial golf courses in M-6 zones only.

Allow golf driving ranges when they are located on a golf course.

Allow the exterior lighting of a golf driving range, provided that such

illumination would be white in color, the height of the light sources would be

a maximum of 30 feet, and the lighting wouldn't create a hazard for nearby

motorists.

Allow the retail sales, repair and assembly of golf equipment as an accessory

use at a golf course or golf driving range.

Allow golf instruction at a golf course or golf driving range as an accessory

use to the principal use of a golf course.