The Borough of Newtown Zoning Board voted 3-1 to accept a court settlement with the developers of 20-60 Castle Hill after the developers appealed several conditions of approval on a cluster home subdivision on the property.

Members Doug Nelson, David Francis, and Michael Mandarano voted to approve, and member Richard Davis voted against.

In February 2025, the Borough Zoning Commission approved on a 4-1 vote, with seven stipulations, an application for a cluster subdivision at 20-60 Castle Hill Road at a contentious meeting. This approval set the road for a long year of appeals as both the developer and an opposing resident group filed to appeal the decision.

The application was asking for the approval of a 117-home cluster subdivision on 20 Castle Hill Road, while leaving 60 Castle Hill Road, including Reservoir Road, which is part of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, often locally referred to as the Rochambeau Trail, as part of a proposed open space easement representing roughly 85 acres of the total 132 acres.

Three of the stipulations were the target of the developer's appeal.

One, which reduced the amount of homes by 18, from 117 to 99, was changed to reduce the number of homes by only two, from 117 to 115. In exchange, the developer agreed to move some existing homes further from the Rochambeau Trail route, so that the closest are now 137 feet away, as well as add 1.84 acres of open space to the conservation easement.

A stipulation that the town would inspect work at 50% completion was removed completely, and a stipulation that allowed town residents to walk the trails on the property other than the Rochambeau Trail was also removed.

Francis said his biggest takeaway on the settlement was previously there were homes within 30' of the Rochambeau Trail, and now they are 137' away. As far as the trails on the easement, Francis said the regulations say that there "may" be trails on the property, but there is no way to require a property owner to create trails and allow public access.

"This is consistent with past decisions, that the owner makes the decision," said Francis.

Nelson agreed, saying the judgment confirms his belief that the owner decides what goes on in the interior of his land.

"We need to look at the intent of easements," said Nelson. "Based on that, I agree with the decision in the appeal."

Nelson said that the homes are "now quite a bit away from the trail."

"This deals with the issue I always had," Nelson said of the homes that were close to the Rochambeau Trail. "This takes care of that, there are now none on that side and it gives additional land."

Nelson also said that town departments are routinely involved during construction of subdivisions, so he felt that even with removal of the provision for an inspection at 50%, he was "confident there would be oversight there."

Davis said he had said from the beginning that "there is a plan for this site and this isn't it" and that he had issues with the judgment.

"I think we're giving up too easily on public access," said Davis. "The developers said from the beginning that they were willing to work with the town."

Mandarano said the judgment met his biggest issue, to preserve as much of the historic trail as possible.

"I'm happy where the houses moved," said Mandarano.

As a special meeting, there was no public participation, but several audience members expressed disappointment in the results following the acceptance.

The lawsuit over the stipulations is not the end of the Castle Hill development's legal worries. There are still two appeals outstanding, both filed by resident Eric Thompson. One challenges the discontinuation of Reservoir Road as a town road, alleging that the town did not follow state processes requiring a town meeting. The second challenges the approval itself.

Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.