Conservation Panel Considers

Development Off Butterfield Road

By Andrew Gorosko

Conservation Commission members are considering a development firm’s request for a wetlands construction permit as part of its proposal to create a 16-lot residential subdivision on 65 acres off Butterfield Road.

Raymond-Anderson Properties, LLC wants to build Butternut Ridge on a site south of the intersection of Butterfield Road and Autumn Ridge Road. A section of the site containing extensive swampland abuts the northern side of Currituck Road. The owners of record are William G. Major, Lanny Roy Anderson and Patricia L. Anderson.

At an October 27 public hearing on the development proposal, resident Penny Meek of 40 Butterfield Road gave the commission a presentation, explaining the concerns of Butterfield Road residents about the proposal. The plan is the latest of several development projects along that rural road, which links Currituck Road to Hanover Road. Butterfield Road residents are asking the commission to have a study performed to gauge the environmental impact of the proposed development.

Also expressing concerns at the public hearing on water-related topics were residents Vera Roland of 18 Butterfield Road, Bob Dresser of 134 Currituck Road, and Thomas and Connie Duquette of 176 Currituck Road.

Commission members plan to resume the hearing November 10.

All but one of the proposed 16 large lots contain wetlands. The site has 2-acre and 3-acre minimum zoning.

The developer proposes donating two pieces of open space land. One three-acre parcel is adjacent to Butterfield Road. The other proposed open space parcel consists of eight acres of swampland north of Currituck Road. The swamp, which is near the Housatonic Railroad overpass, is rich in wildlife. Commission members are expected to consider whether having the swamp as open space would constitute useful land for passive recreation.

The Algonquin and Iroquois natural gas transmission pipelines run through the development site.

Butternut Ridge is the latest of several residential developments planned for the largely undeveloped Hawleyville during the past several years.

If Butternut Ridge gains a wetlands permit, it would be subject to review by the Planning and Zoning Commission.