Size Of Proposed Multifamily Complex Still Unclear
Local officials realize that a Trumbull developer is proposing a "big" multifamily housing project for a 35-acre site in Sandy Hook, near the Exit 10 interchange of westbound Interstate 84. The problem is, it remains unclear just how big the controversial project proposed by 79 Church Hill Road, LLC, would be.
According to an application form submitted to the Water & Sewer Authority (WSA), the project is "multifamily." The form lists the number of units as "350," parenthetically adding the phrase "maximum per zoning."
Additionally, the form lists the wastewater treatment capacity, or daily "estimated sewerage flow," as 43,750 gallons. When divided by the number 125, which is the WSA's estimated daily wastewater flow from a single dwelling in a multifamily complex, the 43,750 dividend produces a quotient of 350.
A previous story by The Bee reported the number of dwellings being sought for the complex as 350.
Timothy Hollister, an attorney for Shipman & Goodwin, LLP, of Hartford, which represents Sirjohn Papageorge doing business as 79 Church Hill Road, LLC, takes exception with the 350 number.
Mr Hollister said that "There is no plan for 350 units. That [number] is based on the [maximum] under the new zoning regulation," Mr Hollister said.
The lawyer spoke in apparent reference to recent zoning regulations approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), known as the Incentive Housing-10 Overlay Zone (IH-10). The developer's sewer application paperwork, however, refers to such zoning as Mixed-Use Mixed Income-10 (MUMI-10), as the new zoning regulations had been known before being approved by the P&Z.
The IH-10 zoning regulations cover multifamily housing complexes that have an affordable housing component, such as the project advanced by 79 Church Hill Road, LLC.
Asked how many units the developer plans to propose for the site, Mr Hollister declined to quantify the size of the project.
"We are not there yet," he responded.
The number of units that the developer wants to build has been unclear to the WSA, which rejected "without prejudice" the firm's initial request to expand the sewer district to serve the multifamily project because the application did not contain certain basic information, such as the number of units sought and the wastewater treatment capacity sought.
Following that rejection, the developer sued the WSA in seeking to have a judge order the WSA to expand the sewer district to serve the proposed multifamily project.
The developer then submitted the second application, which is known as "application for preliminary review from the Newtown Water Pollution Control Authority." The WSA formerly was known by that name.
In the past, when developers sought sewer service approval for large projects, they would initially seek "preliminary approval" from the WSA. If they received that, they would then seek approvals from other land use agencies such as the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) and the P&Z. If the developers gained IWC and P&Z endorsements, they would then return to the WSA for "final approval" for a sewer connection.
In practical terms, a project as large as the one proposed by Church Hill Road, LLC, would need to have sanitary sewer service in order to be built. However, as part of its preliminary review process, the WSA requires the developer to show through engineering data that an onsite septic waste disposal systemÃÂ could be built and operated on a scale that would serve all the dwellings on the site, in order to technically justify providing sanitary sewer service for the site.
ÃÂ
Mapping
As part of its preliminary WSA application, the developer has submitted scaled maps, drawings, and engineering data that indicates a conceptual onsite septic system capable of serving 400 dwellings, according to George Benson, town director of planning. But the seven three-story apartment buildings shown on the conceptual site plan would contain only about 225 dwellings, he noted.
Mr Benson said that the developer has not yet provided a density calculation for the site. Such calculations establish the maximum construction density for a site, when the areas with wetlands and the areas with steep slopes are subtracted.
The IH-10 zoning regulations provide for a maximum construction density of 12 dwellings per "usable" acre of a site, calculated based upon various limiting site factors.
Mr Benson said it is simply unclear how many units the developer wants to build on the site, terming the approach taken in the WSA application as "totally disingenuous."
"They're playing games with these numbers… We have no idea exactly what their plans are," Mr Benson said, adding, "We were trying to work with them.
"They must have an idea of what they want" in terms of the number of dwellings sought for the site, he said.
The 79 Church Hill Road project would also be subject to review by the P&Z and the IWC.
Some Walnut Tree Hill Road and Evergreen Road area residents have objected to the proposed multifamily complex being built in their neighborhood. They point to the construction density issues already posed by the presence of the 212-unit Walnut Tree Village age-restricted condominium complex on Walnut Tree Hill Road, which lies directly across that street from the 79 Church Hill Road site.
The 79 Church Hill Road site is bounded on the south by Church Hill Road, on the east by Walnut Tree Hill Road, on the north by Evergreen Road, and on the west by westbound Interstate 84 and its Exit 10 interchange.
The WSA plans to conduct a public hearing on the developer's application to expand the sewer district to include all of the 35-acre site at 79 Church Hill Road, not just three acres of the site, as is now the case. The hearing is scheduled for 7 pm on Thursday, March 12, at Town Hall South, 3 Main Street.
The town's consulting engineering firm, Fuss & O'Neill, Inc, will review the technical data included in the sewering application from 79 Church Hill Road, LLC, according to Fred Hurley, town public works director.
The town health department also will review the application, Mr Hurley said.