Newtown Planning & Zoning Commission held a regular meeting on Thursday, August 7, to discuss two applications pertaining to 12 Cold Spring Road. The first is for a text amendment to the zoning regulations for the EH-10 district, or elderly housing district. The applicant wants to allow for subsurface sewage disposal systems, or septic tank systems, in EH-10 zones. The second application is to move the property located at 12 Cold Spring Road into an EH-10 zone.

Thomas Cohen, an attorney at Cohen & Thomas in Derby, represented the applicant. He said, “Our proposal, which adds the word ‘on public sewer’ … on public water and public sewer to define the first sentence, and our changes for those dwelling units for elderly families on public water, and in accordance with 3.02.560 … subsurface sewage disposal systems shall not exceed two times the lot acreage as calculated pursuant to section 3.20.430, or 100 units. So we reduce the density, whichever is less, and must be located on parcels, which boundary is one half mile from Connecticut DOT Route 25 as measured along the public road.”

Cohen shared that he thinks the development should be located “within range” of commercial and other office facilities along Route 25. The second change Cohen and the applicant proposed is to section 3.02.560 to add “public sewers or a subsurface sewage disposal system” as outlined by Connecticut General Statue 22-A-4-30. He clarified that the Newtown Health District would have the final say in whether or not a septic system could handle each proposed development on a case-by-case basis.

Cohen then referenced Newtown’s plan of conservation and development (POCD), which states that with advancing technology, septic systems can now handle cluster developments or mixed use properties.

“The older residents, and especially the ones in Newtown, many of them are people that contribute to your economic development. Economic development is often thought about as being a building or a structure that generates taxes. Economic development is also the money that’s in the pockets of the people who live here that come and then spend it on the businesses, and many of these people who wanna stay in town have relationships with those businesses,” Cohen said.

He expanded upon this last point, saying that while aging-in-place is important to a lot of Newtown residents, socialization for seniors is also important. Cohen said that communities like the one proposed allow for socialization with amenities like the club house and pool.

Cohen added, “When you have cluster developments, you are creating neighborhoods, therefore you are creating socialization.” The cluster development proposed, which is not a specific site plan, is 80 luxury living units with amenities on 60 acres of land. This development would be called Cold Spring Preserve and would include some preserved open space surrounding Cogers Pond and a vegetative buffer around the entire property.

Cohen added that the private roads through the development would not be an added cost to the municipality as the homeowners association would maintain them, the dam for Cogers Pond, and the walking trails around the property.

Before the applicant addressed the commission, Cohen said, “I think you, as the Planning & Zoning Commission, probably are aware that this is ... what the individuals who did the POCD and the people who spoke at the POCD made clear: that they would like to have [elderly housing] in Newtown because they want to stay here.”

AJ Grasso from Prestige Builders then addressed the commission. He added more information regarding the specifics of the property, like the single-family detached homes would be 30 feet apart to keep with Newtown zoning regulations and the “zero energy standards” he uses to build developments. Grasso then went over other developments he built in Monroe and Shelton, highlighting their success rates and tax revenue for their respective towns.

After Grasso’s presentation, David Rosen, chair of Planning & Zoning Commission, asked the commissioners if they had any questions.

Commissioner David Landau was first to speak, asking the applicant if they had considered adding entrances and exits onto Bryan Lane and if they thought about connecting to the sewer system at Sand Hill Plaza.

Jason Edwards, principal engineer at J. Edwards & Associates, said that they are not proposing any driveway connections right now because the application before the commission was not a site plan. He answered that Sand Hill Plaza is also on septic, not sewer.

Commissioner Greg Rich was next to speak. He asked, “Why do you want to reduce the allowable density within EH-10? I’m not understanding that.”

Cohen answered that the development is going from public sewer to septic, so the regulations in Newtown’s POCD call for lower density.

Rich then said to the applicant, “If you’re just looking for a waiver for the requirement to use sewer, why don’t you just ask for that? Why do we need to create changes to our zoning to accommodate this as yet hypothetical development that we’re not here to talk specifically about, but we’re talking about general changes to our zoning requirements?”

Cohen explained that would create a “variance to go to the Zoning Board of Appeals,” and that the commission does not have the ability to waive requirements that are stated in the zoning requirements.

Rich replied that he “still [does not] see a reason to entertain this.”

Edwards said that at one point, EH-10 must have allowed for septic because of another development in town located at 139 Toddy Hill Road which uses a septic system and a private well. The location has gone through several name changes but has operated as an assisted living facility since 1972.

“At some point in time it changed to limit it only to areas with sewers,” Edwards said, “And, you know, we’re basically trying to maybe adjust that to come back to be able to use this zone in what we think is a good spot for it in town.” He added that in his opinion, it is not a big ask to accommodate what the applicant wants to do at this property.

Rosen then shared that he is “struggling” with the density of the development and the open space. He also shared that he had an issue with the price point of the units, which is around $695,000.

Grasso said the density is less than it would be in a sewered area. As to the price point, he said, “That’s just the way the numbers work. When somebody buys a piece of property, builds a house, that’s where the number ends up. I liked it a lot better pre-COVID. It was a lot easier when houses were $192,000 less.”

Rob Sibley said the health director has not weighed in officially on this application. He informed the commission she wants to review the site plans to confirm the DEEP and DPH standards and wishes the application be continued to the next meeting on Thursday, August 21.

Public Comment

Aaron Nezvesky was the first to speak during public comment. He began, “It’s nice to know the applicants aren’t familiar with our sole source aquifer, the Pootatuck.” He cited other concerns over aquifer contamination from household chemicals and increased water use, as well as issues with impervious surfaces that would negatively impact the local ecosystem, which, as he pointed out, “falls within the NDDB database, natural diversity database, through Connecticut DEEP, of endangered wildlife and plant species.”

Jonathon Gamble was next to speak. He expressed concerns about power to the site, saying that he lost power at his house, on Cold Spring Road, the Tuesday before this meeting took place.

“We lose power regularly. If this development goes ahead, I think we need to take into account potentially elderly residents that need power 24/7,” Gamble said, and then shared his agreement with Nezvesky’s statements about the aquifer.

Louis Northrop expressed strong opposition to this development, stating that he thinks it would have a “detrimental impact” on Cold Spring Road. He said that he thinks the development is too big for the area of town it is proposed in, citing environmental damage and destruction of natural habitats to his statement. He also thinks the development will cause more traffic congestion in the area and that the noise and light pollution from communal housing like what is proposed will bring down the property value of the existing homes in the area.

David Segal said, “I understand the housing market is boomed. But to say that we need to build three quarter of a million dollar condos for senior citizens, and that’s what’s gonna boost our economy, I don’t know. It feels like someone’s gonna get rich and everyone else around there is gonna suffer, and my property taxes are gonna go up, my house value’s gonna go down, my quality of life is gonna go down.”

After public comment, Rosen invited the applicant to respond.

Edwards informed the commission that the aquifer protection district “clips the corner of the property right along Bryan Lane.” He added that “there [are] no wetlands really that would be impacted” by this development, and that all the development would be kept out of the aquifer protection district.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.