Planning & Zoning Sees Its First Large Subdivision Plan In Years

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) has received for its review and action plans for the largest residential subdivision proposed in town in the past several years.

On October 29, the P&Z received an application for Oak Ridge III, a homebuilding project proposed for a 79.3-acre parcel with a street address of 46 Eden Hill Road, near the Easton town line.

The applicants for Oak Ridge III are Nick and Gina Vona Mason Contractors of Fairfield, which is a partnership, and also W.F. Brothers, LLC. The applicants own the land proposed for subdivision into home building lots.

The applicants propose creating a 17-lot subdivision of land, which would include 15 new house lots.

The most recent residential subdivision of similar scope approved by the P&Z was Ridge Valley Estates, a 15-lot project on 65 acres at 15 High Bridge Road, near Monroe, which gained P&Z endorsement in November 2005.

A nearby property owner then challenged that subdivision approval in court, delaying the development. Road construction for that subdivision has started.

Another home construction project similar in scope to Oak Ridge III is Meridian Ridge, a 23-lot subdivision on 71 acres off Old Hawleyville Road, near Brookfield, which gained P&Z approval in August 2003. Some houses have been built in that development.

The Oak Ridge III site lies west of Eden Hill Road, south of Oak Ridge Road, and north of Split Rock Road.

One house already stands on the site, alongside Eden Hill Road. The site has R-2 and R-3 zoning, which requires minimum building lot sizes of two acres and three acres, respectively.

The project would be the third phase of the Vona brothers’ Oak Ridge subdivision. In 1989, they gained town approval for 16 lots in Oak Ridge, Phase I. In 1996, they received approval for 28 lots in Oak Ridge Phase II. The Oak Ridge complex contains large, elaborate houses on heavily landscaped lots.

Tighe & Bond, a Shelton engineering firm, designed the Oak Ridge III project. The applicants are represented by attorney James D’Alton Murphy.

The 79-acre site would contain 11.7 acres of open space land. The site holds 25.7 acres of wetlands.

In conjunction with the home construction project, Split Rock Road, which is a dead-end street off Eden Hill Road, would be extended onto the development site. Site access also would be provided from Oak Ridge Road.

New roads, known as Sebastian Trail and Nicolina Way, would be constructed. The new streets would be 22 feet wide. The project would require the construction of more than 2,900 linear feet of new roadway, according to plans submitted by the developer.

The road layout providing access to the new houses would be circuitous, providing a traffic calming effect for vehicles traveling in the subdivision, according to the developer.

The site proposed for development holds mature trees, fields, and forested wetlands. The site also holds some stone walls that remain from its former farm uses, as well as some trails.

The developer proposes constructing four-bedroom houses. Utility lines for electricity, telephone service, and cable television would be buried. Each house would have an individual water well.

The developer gained a wetlands permit for the project from the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) in August. The applicant had submitted its initial wetlands application about one year earlier. 

The P&Z has scheduled a public hearing on the Oak Ridge III development proposal for December 18.