Date: Fri 26-Apr-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

McGarvey-excavation-PSD

Full Text:

GENNEWs

Neighbor Worries That Sandy Hook Excavation Poses A Hazard

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

A Sandy Hook man says he's concerned that a large sand pit on property in his

neighborhood poses safety hazards to children who play in the area.

Jack McGarvey of Fleetwood Drive, head of the Rocky Glen Area Association,

said Tuesday that a sand pit created by excavation work by PSD Partnership on

property at the intersection of Cherry Street and Pine Street poses potential

safety risks to neighborhood children.

The association is made up of Rocky Glen area residents concerned about

negative effects caused by continuing residential development in town.

Mr McGarvey and others objected at an April 4 public hearing to PSD's proposal

to build 19 houses on 26 acres which have frontage on the intersection of Pine

Street and Cherry Street. On April 18, the Planning and Zoning Commission

(P&Z) rejected the home building proposal.

Mr McGarvey said neighborhood parents are concerned that their children might

fall into the pit while playing and be buried and suffocated by a collapsing

sand bank.

Last fall, the developers sought and received a town permit to remove earth

materials from the site in preparation for construction of a home there.

But, Mr McGarvey said the town's zoning rules don't draw a regulatory

distinction between how much earth material can be excavated from a site in

"preparation for construction" before the volume of excavation is categorized

as a "mining operation."

Based on the plans submitted by the developers and approved by the town, the

excavation work which has been done appears to comply with the zoning

regulations, said Town Engineer Ronald Bolmer.

"It's not a mining operation. They're going to build a house there," according

to Zoning Enforcement Officer William Nicholson.

A Monday inspection of the site resulted in town officials telling the

developers not to excavate any more material from the area where the pit has

been dug, Mr Nicholson said. The town permit allows PSD to remove up to 7,770

cubic yards of material from the one-acre site. The removal of topsoil isn't

allowed.

People who are upset that the town allows developers to remove earth materials

from construction sites are free to organize and seek changes to the zoning

regulations, if they choose to do so, Mr Nicholson said.

There's a regulatory "gap" in the zoning rules concerning how much earth

material can be removed from a site in "preparation for construction" before

the excavation work is considered "mining," according to Mr McGarvey.