October 14—

Sherman Woods Proposal Awaits IWC Decision

By Andrew Gorosko

Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members are reviewing voluminous technical information and considering numerous public comments that have been made about the controversial 38-lot Sherman Woods residential subdivision proposed for a 158-acre agrarian site in Sandy Hook, as they prepare to take action on the environmental protection aspects of the developer’s construction plans.

Developer William H. Joyce of Shepard Hill Road proposes Sherman Woods for generally rolling, open and forested land in the area surrounded by Berkshire Road, Sugarloaf Road, Sherman Street, Still Hill Road, and Toddy Hill Road.

Sherman Woods is the largest residential subdivision proposed for town in nearly a decade. The 52-lot Cider Mill Farm, which is situated on 137 acres adjacent to Lower Paugussett State Forest in Sandy Hook, was proposed in June 2000. It gained final approvals in November 2002.

Public opposition to the Sherman Woods proposal from people living near the site largely has focused on the potential for environmental damage to the area, especially wetlands and watercourses, caused by terrain changes and new uses of the property. Other people have mentioned adverse changes to the area’s rustic character as a reason for their opposition.

Following a series of seven public hearings, which were held on the Sherman Woods proposal since June, IWC members on September 23 considered taking action on the proposal.

But IWC Chairman Anne Peters said more time was needed to review the voluminous record of the application.

“I would like to go back and reread reports, especially the recent submissions,” she said.

“I think we should table this [application] to the next meeting,” she said.

Ms Peters said the IWC would need to make a decision on the application at its October 14 session, based on the legal requirements for reviewing such construction proposals.

IWC members discussed the October 14 decision date, explaining that likely only three members would be present to vote on the matter at that session.

The IWC is authorized to have seven members, but has had only six members for the past several months. One IWC member, Sharon Salling of Old Mill Road, has recused herself from participating in the Sherman Woods review because she owns real estate near the development site. So, the application has been under review by five IWC members. Three members of those five members would constitute the quorum required for IWC action, according to Ms Peters.

The proposed 38-lot complex would include 36 new single-family houses, plus two existing houses. New streets serving the project would intersect with Toddy Hill Road and Still Hill Road. The developer proposes constructing about 3,550 linear feet of new roadways on the site. Each house would have an individual water well and an individual septic waste disposal system.

The site would hold about 45 acres of open space land that would be left undeveloped. That open space would exist on two tracts, with the bulk of it situated along a wetlands corridor adjacent to Keating Pond Brook, which drains south-to-north through the site. The property also holds a five-acre pond. A major environmental issue facing the applicant is the preservation of the stream and the pond on the site.

If the project gains wetlands/watercourses protection approval from the IWC, it also would need subdivision approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z).

The Sherman Woods project would be subject to recently approved P&Z regulations which require that subdivision sites be reviewed for their archaeological, historic, and cultural significance with an eye toward physical preservation.