Date: Fri 13-Mar-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

housing-Homesteads-P&Z

Full Text:

Hearing Homesteads Complex Draws Expressions Of Concern From Neighbors

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Although generally acknowledging that providing age-restricted housing is

worthwhile, some residents living near the site of a 300-unit housing complex

proposed for Hawleyville say such a facility would make their lives more

difficult.

Residents living near the 60-acre site with frontages on Mt Pleasant Road and

Pocono Road made their concerns clear to Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z)

members at a March 5 public hearing.

The residents' concerns focus on a proposal to create an emergency accessway

to the site from the narrow, unlit, deteriorated Pocono Road; increased

property taxes; increased traffic; the visibility of the development; how it

would be illuminated at night; fire safety questions; and whether other

properties in the area would be required to connect to a sanitary sewer that

would serve the complex.

Morton Silberstein, MD, of The Homesteads at Newtown, LLC, of Guilford wants

to build the complex off Mt Pleasant Road and Pocono Road. The doctor wants

the P&Z to convert about 60 acres with residential and business zoning to

Elderly Housing-10 (EH-10) zoning. Most of the land is a vacant former gravel

mine. The property is north of Mt Pleasant Road, south of Old Hawleyville Road

and Interstate 84, east of the Bethel town line, and west of Pocono Road. Most

of the site lies to the north, northeast, and northwest of Grace Christian

Fellowship and Newtown Professional Building.

Residents' Comments

Resident Larry Bostock of 29 Pocono Road said he applauds creating

age-restricted housing, but asked what effect such a development would have on

Pocono Road. Pocono Road is a narrow residential road that connects Mt

Pleasant Road to Old Hawleyville Road. Mr Bostock said it is unlikely that

emergency service vehicles would use Pocono Road for emergency access to the

site.

Resident Joan Lubus of 159 Mt Pleasant Road lives across that road from what

would be the development's main entrance. Ms Lubus said she received only four

days' legal notice of the public hearing, preventing her from hiring an

attorney to represent her interests. Building The Homesteads at Newtown would

negatively affect the neighborhood, she said, adding that she expects it would

result in increased property taxes. When traffic on nearby Interstate 84 is

backed up, traffic on Mt Pleasant Road gets backed up, she said, noting that

the traffic generated by a housing complex would only make matters worse.

Resident Kathy Maguire of 11 Pocono Road said the proposed Pocono Road

accessway would extend out to her house and would be disruptive. She noted

that it is now difficult to make a left turn onto Mt Pleasant Road from Pocono

Road due to high traffic volumes. Ms Maguire questioned the traffic statistics

provided by the applicant.

Resident Scarlet Brady of 17 Pocono Road asked P&Z members what might happen

if the requested zone change is granted, and then the applicants decide to

build some other project.

If the area is converted to EH-10 zoning, as requested by the applicant, any

of the various land uses allowed in EH-10 zones could be sought, according to

P&Z members. Besides housing complexes for the elderly, other allowed uses in

EH-10 zones are: clubs, places of religious worship, private schools, seasonal

camps, nurseries, greenhouses, truck gardening operations, and the boarding

and keeping of horses for trade or sale.

Resident Dennis Dougherty of 23 Pocono Road asked P&Z members whether property

owners in the area would be required to connect to sanitary sewers if a sewer

line is extended to the development site.

Two residents questioned why some of the housing units would need to be more

than a single story tall.

Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Company Chief Joe Farrell posed questions about

fire hydrant placements in connection with the project.

Resident Ernest Morgan of 28 Pocono Road termed the proposal "a great

opportunity for Newtown." But, he added, he does not like the idea of an

emergency accessway off Pocono Road. A second accessway would be possible off

Mt Pleasant Road, he said. Mr Morgan asked how the development site would be

lit.

Thomas Paisley, a former P&Z member, told members they should act soon on a

Hawleyville economic development study. While he was a P&Z member, Mr Paisley

acted as the group's liaison to the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected

Officials (HVCEO), the regional planning agency for which the study was

performed.

That study suggests a variety of future land uses for Hawleyville, including

age-restricted housing, such as that proposed by Dr Silberstein. HVCEO has

endorsed the study.

In a letter to the P&Z, resident Andrew Gallagher wrote that he opposes

granting a zone change. The proposed development would hurt the neighborhood's

character, decrease property values, eliminate the area's peacefulness and

tranquility, and create heavier traffic which would pose safety hazards,

according to the letter.

Presentation

Attorney William Denlinger, representing Dr Silberstein, said the doctor and

his wife, Linda, own the corporation known as The Homesteads at Newtown, LLC.

The doctor is a geriatric psychiatrist who works at the The Hospital of St

Raphael in New Haven. Dr Silberstein has helped organizations develop housing

for the elderly, Mr Denlinger said.

The fastest growing segment of the US population is people over age 85. Most

people that age will need some type of help or special quarters, the doctor

said.

"We're looking to build this project in a series of phases," he said.

The complex would include 100 assisted-living units which are for the elderly

needing the highest level care; 160 congregate-housing units for those

requiring less care; and 40 independent-living apartments for the elderly

requiring even lower care levels.

Dr Silberstein said he wants to build assisted-living facilities in the first

construction phase of the project.

Tom Daley is an engineer for Milone and MacBroom of Cheshire who represents

the applicant. The former sand and gravel mine where Dr Silberstein wants to

build the complex has variable topography. Most of the wetlands there are

man-made, Mr Daley said.

The development would include a clubhouse, swimming pool, tennis court and art

barn. The complex would be served by sanitary sewers and a public water

supply.

Approximately half of the site would be left as open space. Construction would

occur on land previously disturbed by gravel mining.

A sanitary sewer which extends from the Danbury sewage treatment plant to the

Bethel-Newtown town line would be extended to the proposed housing complex. A

sewage pumping station would be built to pump the sewage up the incline to the

town line, Mr Daley said.

The applicant would pay to extend the water line to the site, according to Mr

Denlinger.

Dr Silberstein has been negotiating with the town over the specifics of

extending a sewer line to the site, Mr Denlinger said.

Traffic engineer Robert Bass, of Milone and MacBroom, said the site would

contain 273 parking spaces and development would be completed in 1999.

Mr Bass stressed that a Pocono Road accessway would be used only to allow

emergency vehicles to enter and exit the site in the event of emergencies when

the main accessway on Mt Pleasant Road is impassible.

Development at the site would not decrease the traffic "level of service" in

the area, Mr Bass said. Some clearing of vegetation would be needed at a Mt

Pleasant accessway to improve motorists' sightlines, he said. Those elderly

residents living at the complex who still drive cars would be able to enter

and exit the facility safely, he said, noting that projected traffic volumes

at the site do not warrant the installation of a traffic signal, he said.

It is anticipated that 390 people would live at The Homesteads at Newtown

after it is in operation for five years, Dr Silberstein said. There would be

about 40 staff members there around the clock.

The town's 1993 plan of development encourages developing age-restricted

housing, Mr Denlinger said. The site would have adequate buffering and would

not be visually intrusive, he said.

Mr Denlinger said the project would not affect the public schools and would

have little impact on town services. Also, the town's grand list of taxable

properties would be helped, he said. "This project would not be a big drag on

the town's infrastructure. It would be fairly self-sufficient," he said.

"It's a perfect site for this type of housing" considering the availability of

roads, sewer lines and a public water supply, he said.

Response

Responding to residents' comments on the development proposal, Mr Denlinger

said he does not know if property owners living near the sewer line, which

would be extended to the complex, would be required to connect to the line.

Not all units in the complex would have multiple stories, he said. Elevators

would be installed where required, he said.

The Pocono Road emergency accessway would not be paved, he noted.

Fire hydrants likely would be installed for fire protection at the complex, he

said.

How the property would be lit at night has not yet been addressed, according

to the attorney.

P&Z member Heidi Winslow urged that in light of the various concerns expressed

by Pocono Road residents, the applicant should meet with the residents.

Following the public hearing, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said he considers

the proposed housing complex a good and reasonable development proposal. Some

aspects of the proposal, however, may have to be modified, he said.

"This goes a long way with the Hawleyville/Exit 9 study that's been done," he

said.

There is a local need for more elderly housing, he said. Such a development

generates a good level of local property tax revenue, while not demanding much

in the way of town services, he said.

P&Z members did not act on the zone change request.

If the P&Z grants a zone change to EH-10, the applicant would then submit site

development plans for the complex to the P&Z in seeking a special exception to

the zoning regulations to build the project. Such a site development plan

application would be the subject of public hearings.