Date: Fri 27-Feb-1998

By ANDY GOROSKO

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-The-Homesteads

Full Text:

Hearing Set March 5 On 300-Unit Housing Complex

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has scheduled a public hearing for

March 5 on a zone change that is being sought by a developer to let him

proceed with plans for a proposed 300-unit age-restricted housing complex in

Hawleyville.

The hearing is slated for 8 pm, Thursday, March 5, at Newtown Middle School

auditorium, 11 Queen Street.

Morton Silberstein, MD, of The Homesteads at Newtown, LLC, of Guilford wants

to build the complex off Mt Pleasant Road and Pocono Road.

The doctor wants the P&Z to convert about 60 acres with residential and

business zoning to Elderly Housing-10 (EH-10) zoning. Most of the land is a

vacant former gravel mine. The property is north of Mt Pleasant Road, south of

Old Hawleyville Road and Interstate 84, east of the Bethel town line, and west

of Pocono Road. Most of the site lies to the north, northeast, and northwest

of Grace Christian Fellowship and Newtown Professional Building.

The site has road frontages at 166 Mt Pleasant Road and 12-16 Pocono Road.

Primary access to the property would be provided by a driveway on Mt Pleasant

Road, lying approximately 650 feet east of Mt Pleasant Road's intersection

with Violette Road.

Of the overall 61.3-acre site, the applicant wants the P&Z to convert 59.7

acres to EH-10 zoning. Some 1.6 acres on Mt Pleasant Road would retain its

current Professional-1 zoning designation.

If the P&Z grants a zone change to EH-10, the applicant would then submit site

development plans for the complex to the P&Z in seeking a special exception to

the zoning regulations to build the project. Such a site development plan

application would also be the subject of public hearings.

While the zone change application is pending before the P&Z, the applicant

also has a wetlands construction permit application pending in parallel before

the Conservation Commission. The developer wants permission to place clean

earthen fill along the edge of some wetlands, install two stormwater culverts,

build a stormwater detention basin, and stabilize four areas along a

streambank to accommodate the grading associated with the construction of

roadways on the site. The Conservation Commission is expected to act on the

wetlands construction application by April 17.

Hawleyville's Future

Hawleyville has long been discussed as a place for future local economic

development. A recent economic development study on Hawleyville prepared for

the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO) suggests the site

as a potential location for age-restricted housing.

The Homesteads at Newtown would include 160 congregate, 40 independent, and

100 assisted-living housing units. Of the 160 congregate housing units, 94

would have one bedroom, 58 would have two bedrooms, and 8 would be studio

apartments. There would be 273 parking spaces at the site.

A traffic report prepared by Milone and MacBroom, Inc, of Cheshire states:

"There is adequate reserve capacity to safely accommodate the existing

on-street (Mt Pleasant Road) traffic volumes, as well as the anticipated

site-generated traffic volumes."

Dr Silberstein holds an option to buy the site from John Sedor, Jr; Lillian S.

Emmons; and The Estate of Lillian Hazel Sedor, of which Lillian S. Emmons is

the executrix.

Property owners with holdings within 500 feet of the edge of the proposed

development will be notified by mail of the March 5 public hearing on the

requested zone change. There are 39 properties which are completely or

partially within that 500-foot zone.

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Reed Intermediate Presents Sold-Out Performances Of 'Willy Wonka Jr'

Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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Date: Fri 27-Feb-1998

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