Date: Fri 29-Aug-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-Whispering-Pines

Full Text:

P&Z Approves More Lots For Whispering Pines

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have approved creating two more

building lots at the Whispering Pines residential subdivision in Sandy Hook,

bringing the number of lots there to 15.

The developers for the project, PSD Partnership, had sought three more lots,

but P&Z members only agreed to approve two new ones August 21.

The subdivision is at a 26-acre site at Pine Street, Cherry Street,

Narragansett Trail and Miya Lane.

P&Z member Heidi Winslow made a motion to approve dividing Lot 10 on Miya Lane

into two lots. She noted, however, that Town Engineer Ronald Bolmer has

expressed concerns about the severe geometry of driveways linking the houses

to the street.

The plans presented to the P&Z by the developers indicate feasible driveway

plans, not actual site plans for construction, she said. Ms Winslow said she

believes the applicants have met the applicable requirements for a

resubdivision of Lot 10 into two lots.

But P&Z member Thomas Paisley noted the slopes on the proposed lots are

"unreal."

"It just is such a horrendous mountain there. It just seems implausible to put

two homes on that piece of property," he said.

P&Z member Daniel Rosenthal noted that Mr Bolmer is concerned about the number

of curves in the proposed driveways needed to meet applicable slope

regulations.

P&Z members then took a vote on approving Lot 10, with Ms Winslow in favor and

Mr Paisley and Mr Rosenthal opposed, causing the motion to fail.

Mr Rosenthal said he has serious safety concerns about placing two houses on

the property. Noting that there has been erosion there already, he said the

ground can't be stabilized for building two houses.

Building two houses on the site will make for even steeper slopes than now

exist, creating erosion and water runoff problems, Mr Paisley said.

P&Z Chairman Steven Koch, who was ineligible to vote on the proposal because

he hadn't attended a past public hearing on it, suggested that the P&Z's

action to turn down the two-lot resubdivision be tabled and that the P&Z have

further discussion on the application at a future meeting before taking final

action on it.

Typically, when a motion to approve a development proposal fails to pass, P&Z

members then invert their action and vote in favor of a motion to reject the

proposal. Voting to reject the proposal makes the action more legally sound.

On August 21, however, P&Z members didn't take the second step of voting in

favor of rejecting the proposal. Mr Rosenthal said P&Z members will state a

regulatory rationale for rejecting the proposal before they vote on the

resubdivision of Lot 10 at an upcoming session.

Two Approvals

Ms Winslow made a motion to approve resubdividing Lot 7 on Miya Lane into two

lots, provided that the developers note on their master map that a planned

driveway there will abut a public accessway to open space land.

Such a note informs the future property owner that there likely will be people

walking along the edge of the property to reach an open space area for passive

recreation.

The motion passed in a 3-to-0 vote.

Ms Winslow then made a motion to approve resubdividing Lot 11 on Narragansett

Trail into two lots.

"I truly hate this lot," she said. "I think it's a travesty that this slope is

being covered with impervious surfaces."

Many curves in the driveway will cover much of the steeply sloped land with

pavement. The curves are required in order to meet driveway slope limits.

"As much as I hate it, I feel I must vote in favor of it," she said, noting

that the proposal meets applicable regulations.

P&Z members approved Ms Winslow's motion in a 3-to-0 vote.

The August 21 actions bring to 15 the number of approved building lots in

Whispering Pines.

After it was first proposed in the spring of 1996, Whispering Pines became

among the most controversial development projects submitted to the P&Z during

recent years, attracting scores of people who complained about it at P&Z

public hearings.

But on July 24, when the P&Z held three public hearings on PSD's proposal to

increase the number of house lots from 13 to 16, opposition was almost

non-existent. Only one person criticized the proposal.

Resident Mike Salvatore of 59 Buttonball Drive said that while the existing 13

lots is "sustainable" at the development site, creating 16 lots is

"questionable."

There are water supply problems in the surrounding neighborhood, he said,

noting he has had his water well improved to increase its yield.

Mr Salvatore also pointed out the development area has sandy soil and lies

atop the Housatonic Aquifer which serves as an underground water supply in the

area.

An increasing local population can jeopardize the quality of the public

schools and the quality of town services, he said.

It was the submission of the Whispering Pines project that led citizens to

start forming neighborhood associations to protest various residential

development projects in their areas.

Protests that followed earlier versions of Whispering Pines resulted in the

P&Z passing new regulations last spring to strictly limit the amount of earth

materials which can be removed or deposited on building lots.

In passing those new rules, P&Z members noted that removing about 37,500 cubic

yards of earth materials from the Whispering Pines site will radically change

its landforms. The intent of the new rules is to limit recontouring of the

landscape.

The protesters said the proposal would damage the environment by the removal

of an excessive amount of sand and gravel from the property; overcrowd the

neighborhood; jeopardize already-unreliable well water supplies; worsen

traffic hazards; and overburden the public schools, among other complaints.

P&Z rejected the 19-lot proposal, citing concerns over drainage,

sedimentation, erosion, excavation and grading.

The 26-acre site lies within an established neighborhood. Unlike some new home

construction projects in areas where there are few, if any, neighbors, the

Whispering Pines site is in one of the most densely-built sections of Newtown,

with 85 individually-owned parcels lying with 500 feet of the edge of the

development site.