Date: Fri 22-Nov-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Newtown-Village-affordable

Full Text:

Affordable Housing Plans To Be Resubmitted Soon

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

D&H Homes, LLC, of New Milford, and Fairfield 2000 Homes, Corp, of Stamford,

soon plan to submit a new application to the Conservation Commission for the

proposed Newtown Village housing complex.

John Horton, D&H's manager, said Wednesday the new application for wetlands

construction work will be submitted either November 22 or 25.

In the face of strong opposition to their controversial proposal to build 100

single-family houses in Sandy Hook, the developers of Newtown Village withdrew

their initial application to the Conservation Commission after a public

hearing on November 13.

The developers are seeking Conservation Commission approval to alter wetlands

on the 32-acre parcel where they want to build 100 homes, 25 of which would be

designated as "affordable housing." The former sand-and-gravel mine lies

within the area bounded by Berkshire Road, Bishop Circle, Philo Curtis Road,

and the eastbound on-ramp at Interchange-11 of Interstate-84.

The applicants withdrew their "short form" application to the Conservation

Commission, saying they will resubmit a "long form" application as was

requested by people living near the development. Another public hearing on the

wetlands work is expected on December 11.

The new application to be submitted will contain essentially the same

information as the initial application, according to Mr Horton.

An engineer and soil scientist presented detailed explanations of the wetlands

work the applicants want to do on the site to the Conservation Commission

November 13. The work involves building a road crossing over an intermittent

watercourse and doing some filling and grading work.

Considering the site, an "insignificant" amount of wetlands construction is

proposed, according to the developers.

The developers presented information on Newtown Village to a meeting of the

Newtown Board of Realtors on Wednesday.

JoAnn Maurer, board president, said D&H and Fairfield 2000 made an excellent

and very informative presentation, explained much to the realtors about

Newtown Village.

"We all felt it was extremely informative," she said.

The developers want to build detached, cluster-style housing ranging in size

from 1,300 to 2,200 square feet to be marketed in the $140,000 to $200,000

price range. The "market value homes" priced nearer $200,000 subsidize the

"affordable homes" priced nearer $140,000, giving the developers a financial

incentive to build "affordable housing."

"This type of housing will provide: a step up for those people now occupying

attached condominiums; the ownership opportunity for first-time home buyers

that have been priced out of traditional single-family subdivisions; and a

simpler lifestyle for those people whose children are grown," according to the

developers.

The developers want to use five home styles and employ reconfigured floor

plans and facades so that the homes look similar, but aren't identical. Front

porches and Victorian design elements would be used. The houses would be

positioned to provide the maximum amount of space between adjacent homes,

according to D&H and Fairfield 2000.

Environmental Concerns

More than 20 percent of the site would have impervious surfaces such as

pavement and roofs, according to Christopher Smith, a lawyer who represents

several nearby residents who oppose Newtown Village. Almost all rain hitting

those impervious surfaces would run off them, he said. That runoff carrying

contaminants from the developed area would enter wetlands on the site and

eventually get into area groundwater and the Pootatuck Aquifer, damaging the

quality of the underground drinking water source, he said.

Mr Smith has termed the construction project "a very aggressive and

overdeveloped proposal."

According to Barbara Obeda, an environmental analyst hired by the neighbors,

having a community septic system serving 100 houses on the site would have

negative effects on groundwater quality. She has termed the development

proposal "environmentally suicidal." Considering the soil types present at the

site, it's a poor location for high-density development, according to Ms

Obeda.