Condo Developers Set

For A Tough Sell

By Andrew Gorosko

Developers who want to construct 110 condominium units on Mt Pleasant Road have a tortuous road ahead of them in their quest to win borough and town land use approvals for their construction proposal. They remain hopeful, however, that in the end the project will be constructed as planned.

Having conducted additional soil tests on the 36-acre site on which it wants to build the condos for people over 55, Ginsburg Development Connecticut, LLC, now plans to approach town land use agencies in a complex search for support for its proposal.

Thomas Gissen, the development director for Ginsburg, said Wednesday the firm expects to meet with the Borough Zoning Commission and/or the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) in September in seeking support for its condominium proposal.

Recent soil testing on the site has indicated that “110 units could be supported by group septic systems,” Mr Gissen said. Two large-scale septic systems, which would serve all condos on the site, would be located on the half of the site nearer Mt Pleasant Road, he said. The sloping site extends from Mt Pleasant Road to Taunton Lake. The developer has an option to buy the site from the Grossman family.

Having learned in June that the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) considers the condo construction proposal a “low priority” for sanitary sewer service, Ginsburg decided to approach local land use agencies to build support for its project, with the goal of eventually obtaining WPCA approval for sewer service for it. The WPCA has not allocated any sewage treatment capacity in its master plan for such a project lying outside the sewer district. The site, which is west of the Taunton Lake Drive neighborhood, is outside the sewer district, but borders the district.

WPCA members have said they would reconsider their position on providing sewer service if Ginsburg could convince the appropriate local agencies that such a complex would create “some major public benefit,” and would be better served by municipal sewers than by large-scale septic systems. WPCA Chairman Richard Zang has termed the WPCA’s posture on Ginsburg’s sewer extension request as “leaving the door slightly ajar.”

Last March, the WPCA had asked Ginsburg to do soil testing on the site to gauge its capacity for waste disposal via septic systems. The WPCA uses such soil testing to establish a point of reference in considering requests for sewer extensions.

Ginsburg tested two locations on the site that appeared to be promising places to build large-scale septic systems. One of the test sites was near Mt Pleasant Road and the other was near Taunton Lake. The firm had hoped to establish that the soil had the capacity to handle waste disposal from 110 condo units. But that initial testing indicated the soil could only handle waste disposal from 74 one-bedroom condo units. The test results from the area nearer Taunton Lake were not as favorable as had been anticipated.

Recent Tests

But the recent round of soil testing by Ginsburg indicates that soil on the property can handle wastewater disposal from 110 units, provided that the two large-scale septic systems are located on the half of the site nearer Mt Pleasant Road, according to Mr Gissen.

Most of the development site lies in the Borough of Newtown. The northwest corner of the site is in the Town of Newtown. The property lies within residential zones for both the borough and the town.

As a preliminary step in getting approval for the project, Ginsburg needs Borough Zoning Commission approval for new zoning regulations which would allow the type of project that it has proposed, plus a rezoning for the project, Mr Gissen said. The borough currently has no zoning regulations concerning multifamily housing for people over 55.

Also, Ginsburg would need P&Z approval to rezone the section of the site in the town from its current residential zoning to EH-10 zoning, Mr Gissen said. EH-10 zoning is intended for multifamily housing for people over 55.

Beyond the need for new borough zoning regulations and the two rezonings, Ginsburg would also need site plan approvals for the project from the Borough Zoning Commission and the P&Z.

Ginsburg also would need an approval from the Conservation Commission.

The firm also may make presentations to the Board of Selectmen and the Economic Development Commission is seeking support for the project, Mr Gissen said. The presence of such a housing complex would have a positive effect on the town revenues, he said.

Ginsburg is prepared to develop the project whether is it served by large septic systems or by sanitary sewers, he said. The firm, though, prefers discharging wastewater into the sewer system because it would make for a better layout of condo units on the site and would be a better long-term waste disposal solution, Mr Gissen said.

Ginsburg is willing to build the project with large-scale septic systems in the hope that it eventually can convince the WPCA that extending sewer service to such a complex is a better option, Mr Gissen has said.

In order to get sewer service for a condo complex, Ginsburg would have to convince the WPCA to redraw the boundaries of the local sewer district to include the 36-acre site within the sewer district.

Mr Gissen acknowledged that the firm faces several hurdles in getting the project approved, but said that developing the project is “achievable” because the company can show that the town would derive many benefits from the presence of such a complex. The project would generate property tax revenue without burdening the town with additional school children, according to Mr Gissen.