Separate Subdivisions Raise Concerns Over Open Space

By Andrew Gorosko

A group of Poverty Hollow Road area residents has raised various concerns about a proposed seven-lot residential subdivision envisioned for a 16-acre site east of Poverty Hollow Road, near Farm Meadow Road.

Developers Robert and Loretta Nizolek are proposing Wentworth Estates for a sloped site overlooking Poverty Hollow Road. The proposed subdivision at 93 Poverty Hollow Road would contain a 635-foot-long dead end street called Wentworth Drive.

Unlike other local subdivisions, Wentworth Estates would not contain any designated open space for passive recreation, such as hiking, bicycling, nature study, and horseback riding.

The Nizoleks simultaneously are proposing another residential subdivision on the other side of town called Thornberry. The Thornberry site is on Hanover Road, across Hanover Road from Silver City Road. The Nizoleks are proposing 12 lots on 46 acres there. The developers propose construction of a 1,000-foot-long dead end street called Bramble Trail.

The Nizoleks propose that all the open space, which would be required by the town for the two subdivisions, be designated at the Thornberry site. Developers routinely designate at least 10 percent of a development site as open space, giving it to either the town or to some land conservation group.

The Conservation Commission has endorsed designating all of the open space for both subdivisions at the Thornberry site on the east side of Hanover Road.

In an October 5 letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), the Conservation Commission recommends that P&Z approve transferring the town’s open space requirement from the Poverty Hollow Road site to the Hanover Road site.

“The open space in this [Hanover] location is very important in the overall plan for open space in this area of Newtown. This plan will provide a natural access to the extensive open space land” at the Upper Paugussett State Forest, the Conservation Commission writes.

In an October 4 letter to P&Z, the Conservation Commission writes, “Open space in this [Poverty Hollow] location has limited usefulness in the overall open space needs of the town.”

The proposed open space at the Hanover Road site, plus a proposed additional open space land donation there by the Nizoleks, would result in a major expansion of open space network in that part of town, the Conservation Commission adds.  

The Nizoleks’ open space proposal would effectively provide about 15.5 acres of open space at the Hanover Road site, with an eventual additional two acres provided at a property adjacent to Hanover Road, for a total of about 17.5 acres. The eventual two-acre open space area adjacent to Hanover Road would provide direct public access from that road into the state forest.

The Conservation Commission reviewed the two Nizolek subdivision proposals for wetland compliance before the applications were submitted to the P&Z.

P&Z conducted well-attended public hearings on the two development proposals on October 18.

Wentworth Opposition

The Nizolek proposal for Poverty Hollow has attracted considerable criticism from nearby residents.

In a letter to P&Z, the residents of 15 homes on Poverty Hollow Road, Hopewell Road, Farm Meadow Road, and Storm Ridge Road raise concerns about the proposed Wentworth Estates. The group calls itself “The Neighbors of Wentworth Estates Subdivision.”

The residents express their concerns about the Nizoleks’ proposal to designate all open space for both subdivisions at the Hanover Road site, leaving no open space at the Poverty Hollow site. The residents state that the town’s land use rules require such open space donations at development sites.

The residents also raise concerns regarding the setback distances of the proposed houses and applicable road frontage requirements.

They add that the construction of a new road would pose traffic hazards at what would be the intersection of Wentworth Drive, Poverty Hollow Road, Farm Meadow Road, and Hopewell Road. The residents also raise concerns about motorist sight line distances, as well as about the removal of underground fuel storage tanks at the development site.

 They also warn about storm water runoff entering wetlands, including a pond on the west side of Poverty Hollow Road, including potential pond siltation issues.

“It is our hope that P&Z will protect our interests as a community,” the residents write, adding that they hope that P&Z will follow the letter and spirit of the town’s land use regulations in reviewing Wentworth Estates.

Residents critical of Wentworth Estates have said the proposal would result in residential development that is too dense for that area, thus damaging the values of existing properties and adversely affecting the local quality of life. 

Resident Craig Bloomquist of 13 Farm Meadow Road, said Tuesday the lack of open space at Wentworth Estates poses environmental and wildlife issues. The open space issue is the top issue among those who are concerned about the Wentworth Estates proposal, he added.

P&Z public hearings on the two Nizolek development applications are scheduled to resume on December 6.