104 Units—

Developer Seeks Sewer Connection For Condo Project

By Andrew Gorosko

Newtown’s Water and Sewer Authority (WSA) is reviewing a developer’s request for a sanitary sewer connection to serve a 104-unit age-restricted condominium complex proposed for a 35-acre site near the Exit 10 off-ramp of westbound Interstate 84.

Toll Brothers, Inc, has submitted a preliminary sewer connection application to the WSA, which formerly was known as the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA).

At a November 18 WSA session, several Walnut Tree Hill Road area residents, represented by an attorney, registered their opposition to Toll Brothers’ condo construction proposal.

The site has a street address of 79 Church Hill Road. The wooded, hilly property, which is owned by Carmine Renzulli of Norwalk, lies on the west side of Walnut Tree Hill Road, extending from Church Hill Road to the Evergreen Road area.

Ryan Walter of Toll Brothers represented the development firm at the WSA session. The firm is seeking permission to discharge 19,760 gallons of wastewater daily into the central sewer system.

WSA members are expected to discuss and possibly take action on Toll Brothers’ sewer connection request at a December 9 session.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has scheduled a public hearing on Toll Brothers’ request for a change of zone for the 35-acre property from R-1 and R-2 to EH-10 zoning. The hearing is slated for 7:30 pm on December 2 at the town land use offices at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills.

R-1 zoning is designated for single-family houses with a minimum one-acre lot size; R-2 zoning requires a minimum two-acre lot size. EH-10 zoning is designated for high-density, multifamily housing for people over age 55.

On November 18, attorney Ted Backer, representing six Walnut Tree Hill Road residents, urged WSA members to reject Toll Brothers’ sewer connection request. Mr Backer told WSA members that approving the request would be inconsistent with the priorities for sewer connections described in the town’s sewer ordinance. Such a connection also would not be in accord with the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development, according to Mr Backer. The attorney represents Mary Burnham, John Bestor, Kenneth and Barbara Chimileski, and Duane and Linda Jones.

First Selectman Opposed

 In a November 18 memorandum to the WSA, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal seeks to dissuade the agency from providing a sewer connection for the proposed condo complex.

Mr Rosenthal wrote, in part, “It would be inappropriate to grant sewer capacity to the proposed condominium project.”

The first selectman notes that in the past, sewer service has been granted to such complexes after an applicant has demonstrated the number of dwellings that the soils on a given site would be able to support with the use of conventional septic waste disposal systems. “I would be surprised if the soils would be suitable for more than just a few units of housing,” Mr Rosenthal wrote.

“I have concerns about traffic and traffic safety on Walnut Tree Hill Road and its intersection with Church Hill Road. Walnut Tree Hill Road already has many significant traffic issues without the addition of another condominium complex on this section of the road. It would be my estimation that if the necessary traffic improvements could be made to support this complex, the cost would be prohibitive,” he wrote.

Walnut Tree Village is a 189-unit age-restricted condo complex that lies across Walnut Tree Hill Road from the site proposed for 104 condos by Toll Brothers. Walnut Tree Village, which was built by Walnut Tree Developers, is in its final construction stages.

 The first selectman adds, “Exit 10 is one of the town’s major points of entry and a large condominium complex on this particular parcel would not be the type of image the town would wish to present.”

In a letter to the WSA, Zoltan Csillag and Julia Nable of 10 Walnut Tree Hill Road, wrote, in part, that the area is already the most densely developed residential section of town. The addition of a 104-unit condo complex to the area would worsen traffic an area that already has serious traffic problems, they wrote.

Adding 104 condos to the area would be a detriment to the community and would pose public safety hazards, they add.

Such a project’s approval would mean “the long-term goals for development of our town will be compromised by the immediate demands of developers,” they wrote.

At the November 18 WSA session, Mr Walter told agency members that the proposed 104 condos would be constructed in 13 buildings on the site. Entry and exit from the property would be provided on Walnut Tree Hill Road.

Mapping presented to the WSA by the firm indicated that an existing residential property on the 35-acre site, which is on Walnut Tree Hill Road, is within the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD), but the vast majority of the site is not in that district.

 Walnut Tree Hill Road residents who spoke at the session told WSA members that having two large condo complexes in their neighborhood would damage their property values, as well as cause a significant increase in traffic volume in an area that already has traffic problems, according to WSA records.

Besides the Walnut Tree Hill Road condo proposal, Toll Brothers is simultaneously seeking town approvals to build 60 age-restricted condos on a 51-acre site at 21 Oakview Road, near Newtown High School.