Date: Fri 22-Nov-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-Butterfield-Woods

Full Text:

Commission Approves Butterfield Woods Project

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

In a 3-to-1 vote, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have approved

the controversial Butterfield Woods subdivision, allowing the creation of 13

building lots on 40 acres off Butterfield Road.

P&Z Chairman John DeFilippe cast the lone vote against the development project

proposed by M&M Development, LLC.

Mr DeFilippe expressed concerns about slopes and drainage patterns on the

property in opposing the development application.

The chairman complimented the intervenor in the development proposal, saying

the presentation made to the P&Z was an excellent one. Intervenors are third

parties to a land use application who raise environemntal questions

construction proposals.

John and Jackie DeFlumeri of Georges Hill Road were the intervenors in the

application. Besides a talk given by Mr DeFlumeri at the hearing, the

intervenors had environemntal analyst Barbara Obeda present a report on

Butterfield Woods.

P&Z member Heidi Winslow made a notion to approve Butterfield Woods. Ms

Winslow said she doesn't consider slopes on the site and drainage patterns

sufficiently troublesome to require a rejection.

Although the land has significant slopes, the town's sanitarian and engineer

consider the development project to be acceptable, Ms Winslow said. "I do rely

heavily on our town personnel" she said of technical reviews performed for the

P&Z by its in-house experts.

Ms Winslow and P&Z members Thomas Paisley and Daniel Rosenthal voted in favor

of Butterfield Woods.

At an October public hearing, some nearby residents said the Butterfield Woods

project would overdevelop an area with wetlands.

Developers Michael Burton and Michael Leone, doing business as M&M

Development, LLC, plan to build the housing in the vicinity of Butterfield

Road and Georges Hill Road. A new dead-end street, called Briarwood Road, also

will be built.

Three lots will front on Georges Hill Road, while the other 10 will have

frontage on the new road. The right of way which carries the Algonquin and

Iroquois natural gas pipelines runs through the site. There are 5.6 acres of

wetlands on the property.

Conservation Commission members thoroughly reviewed the development project

before granting it a wetlands construction license, according to Larry

Edwards, a land engineer who represents the developers.

At the hearing, Mr DeFlumeri raised various concerns about the development

project. Among those issues: the development poses a threat to domestic water

supplies in the area; construction will cause drainage problems and the

erosion of steep slopes; the placement of septic systems will cause

environmental problems; the proposed road is in an undesirable location; noise

pollution will be caused by development; and no feasible alternatives to the

proposed subdivision were submitted by the developers.

Mr DeFlumeri asked that the housing density be decreased by eliminating some

building lots. Mr DeFlumeri said the property proposed for construction is

difficult land to develop.

Ms Obeda said the construction project would decrease plant diversity in

wetlands. The site is inappropriate for the number of lots requested, she

said. "It seems to be an awfully high (housing) density," she said.

The sanding and salting of Briarwood Road won't damage nearby wetlands,

according to Mr Edwards. Visual screening will be provided to obscure the

development from the view of neighbors, he said.