After reviewing plans for the proposed fifth version of a 74-unit rental apartment complex on the west side of Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook Center, Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members unanimously have approved a modified wetlands/watercourses permit for the project.

In the October 9 IWC action on The Riverwalk at Sandy Hook Village, voting to modify the permit were Chairman Sharon Salling, Suzanne Guidera, Michael McCabe, Vanessa Villamil, and Kendall Horch. The IWC approval marks the last hurdle for the project among municipal land use commissions.

Current plans call for the construction of 74 rental apartments, 15 of which would be designated as “affordable housing” under the terms of the Incentive Housing-10 (IH-10) zoning regulations. The affordable units are rented out to people qualified to occupy them based on regional income eligibility requirements. The rental fees paid by the people living in the 59 market-rate units would subsidize the 15 affordable units.

Michael Burton, Sr, is the applicant. The site is 11.8 acres at 10-22 Washington Avenue.

Mr Burton said the fifth version of Riverwalk contains some construction plan changes compared to the previous version, which gained town approvals in early 2018. The first version of the project was submitted for town review in 2008 and approved in 2009.

The current version of the project has a one-tenth acre increase in impervious surfaces compared to the previous version, rising to 2.7 acres of impervious coverage, Mr Burton said. Also, the current design reconfigures the proposed buildings on the property, he added.

The driveway design has not changed, he said. Also, the 74 dwellings would be built in a single construction phase, instead of in three separate phases, as had been previously planned.

Civil engineer Alan Shepard, representing Mr Burton, said that in terms of drainage control, it is beneficial to construct such a project in a single phase. The drainage structures planned for the property are designed to store up to two inches of rainfall, he said.

Ms Salling said it appears that the design changes in the fifth version of Riverwalk are positive ones in terms of wetlands/watercourses protection.

Mr McCabe said he appreciates the reduction in parking spaces compared to the previous version of the project.

In approving Riverwalk, the IWC placed nine technical conditions on its endorsement. Those conditions include that erosion and sedimentation controls must be installed before construction starts and be maintained as the project progresses, any changes to the wetlands/watercourses protection plan must be approved by the IWC or its agent, and any permit violations can result in remedies being ordered by the town or fines being levied, among other conditions.

Following discussion at an October 1 session, Water & Sewer Authority (WSA) members agreed to extend the time period of their previous approval for municipal sanitary sewer service for the 74 dwellings. WSA members extended that approval by 60 days to provide Mr Burton with time to finalize his sale of the site and its development rights to an undisclosed buyer.

The WSA modified the sewer assessment for the project because all units would be rental apartments. At $5,400 per rental apartment, the overall sewer assessment for the project is $399,600.

Mr Burton gained his fifth approval from the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) for the longstanding multifamily proposal in September.

What is notable about the fifth version of Riverwalk is that all 74 dwellings would be rental apartments. In the fourth version, some units were condominiums and some were rental apartments.

A “streetscape grade” sidewalk positioned on the west side of Washington Avenue would be extended southward to the southern end of the development site. Such sidewalks are located in the Sandy Hook Center business district.

There would be five residential buildings at the site, garages, and carports, plus a clubhouse/rental office. Overall, there would be 167 parking spaces, of which ten spaces would be handicapped accessible. The site would contain 50 two-bedroom apartments and 24 one-bedroom units.

Although over the past decade the town had approved four previous versions of the Riverwalk project, the complex was never constructed for one reason or another.