Developer Again Seeks Change Of Zone For Condo Proposal

By Andrew Gorosko

A development firm’s request for a change of zone, which is a preliminary aspect of its proposal to build a 60-unit age-restricted condominium complex on 51 acres off Oakview Road, near Newtown High School, is slated for discussion at a Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) public hearing on Thursday, November 18.

The hearing is scheduled for 7:30 pm at the town land use offices at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills.

The public hearing had been scheduled to take place on November 4, but due to a mix-up by the developer in notifying nearby property owners of the session, it will now be conducted on November 18.

The public hearing will focus on the developer’s request for a change of zone from R-2 (Residential) to EH-10 (Elderly Housing) for 21 Oakview Road. R-2 zoning is designated for single-family houses on lots of at least two acres. EH-10 zoning is intended for high-density, multifamily housing for people over age 55.

The site overlooks the floodplain of the Pootatuck River and the eastbound lanes of Interstate 84.

On November 3, the Police Commission, acting as the town’s traffic authority, endorsed Toll Brothers’ traffic-flow plans for the proposed complex. That traffic design would shunt traffic flowing to and from the 60-unit project to the northern end of Oakview Road.

The site’s traffic design is keyed to having the traffic generated by the complex use the intersection of Oakview Road and Berkshire Road when entering or leaving the project, rather than using the intersection of Oakview Road and Wasserman Way.

Besides a main driveway entrance to the complex on Oakview Road, the developer would create an emergency driveway entrance intended for use only by emergency vehicles.

It was the high traffic volume that a condo complex would generate on the narrow, hilly, winding Oakview Road that resulted in the P&Z last April rejecting Toll Brothers’ initial request for a change of zone for the project. Oakview Road residents had strongly opposed the project at a preceding public hearing, citing traffic concerns as their prime objection.

At that time, the developer had proposed constructing 80 condo units, representing a third more units than now proposed. Also at that time, the development design did not include provisions to shunt traffic to the northern end of Oakview Road.

Oakview Road links Berkshire Road to Wasserman Way. There are about 12 houses in Oakview Road.

The currently proposed 60-unit complex would hold about 120 residents who have about 120 motor vehicles. Such development is restricted to people over age 55.

In October, Toll Brothers sought but did not receive an endorsement for the project as a form of local economic development from the Economic Development Commission (EDC). EDC members took a neutral stand on the request.

Earlier this year, the EDC had endorsed the then-proposed 80-unit condo complex as a form of local economic development. The EDC had then determined that such a project would have a “very positive effect on the economy of Newtown.” Such development places few demands on the local infrastructure and makes no demands on the public school system, the EDC then said.

Toll Brothers wants to construct a housing complex that is architecturally similar to a project that it is now building on Route 25 in Trumbull, known as Regency Meadows at Trumbull. Oakview Road condos would have starting prices at $425,000.

Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) members have told Toll Brothers that if the firm receives required approvals for the project from other town agencies, the WPCA would negotiate with the company on extending municipal sanitary sewer service to the complex.

In a critique of Toll Brothers’ request for a change of zone, Elizabeth Stocker, the town’s community development director, noted that the site contains wetland soils, watercourses, flood hazard areas, a pond, and steep slopes. Whether a multifamily complex is constructed, or single-family houses are eventually built on the property, “environmental constraints appear to be significant,” she said.

The presence of a nearby wild trout area should be considered during the design and construction of such a complex, she adds. The effect of construction on the river and on wildlife must be carefully reviewed in avoiding river system degradation, she stated.

 “The…site is attractive for higher density development due to its proximity to all of Newtown’s major roadways [and sewer and water utilities]. The constraints of the environment and immediate roadway capacity, however, should be examined and weighed to determine if this property is appropriate for the proposed zone change,” Ms Stocker wrote.

Wild Trout Stream

In a March letter to the P&Z, Don Mysling, a senior fisheries biologist with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) raised concerns about the site’s development.

The western boundary of the site abuts a “Class 1 wild trout management area,” which is one of eight such areas in the state where trout breed naturally. The Pootatuck River contains native brook trout, wild brown trout, rainbow trout, blacknose dace, common shiners, tessellated darters, and white suckers.

Although the state stocks the Pootatuck River with adult brook, brown, and rainbow trout, the state has stopped its river stocking in the section of the river near the development site because trout reproduce naturally there. That one-mile-long river reach, which lies both north and south of Deep Brook’s confluence with the Pootatuck River, supports an abundant, wild, self-sustaining trout population, which provides high quality wild trout fishing, Mr Mysling explained. Fishing is allowed year-round. Anglers are required to release their catch.

Mr Mysling provided the P&Z with a detailed series of environmental measures needed to protect the Pootatuck River, if the site is developed.

In addition to a change of zone, in order to build an age-restricted condo complex, Toll Brothers would need, a municipal sewer connection; zoning rule amendments to allow its architectural design to be built; a special exception to the zoning regulations from the P&Z; a site development plan approval from the P&Z; a wetlands construction permit from the Conservation Commission, serving as the town’s inland wetlands agency; and an aquifer protection approval from the P&Z, based on an aquifer protection review conducted by the Conservation Commission.

Besides the Oakview Road proposal, Toll Brothers is seeking town approvals for a proposed 104-unit, age-restricted condo complex that it envisions for 79 Church Hill Road. That 35-acre site is near the Exit 10 off-ramp of westbound Interstate 84.

The Toll Brothers’ 104-unit condo complex would lie across Walnut Tree Hill Road from the 189-unit, age-restricted Walnut Tree Village condo complex.