P&Z Raises Questions About Cedar Hill Subdivision

By Andrew Gorosko

It appears that a developer’s controversial proposal to create a seven-lot residential subdivision on 15.7 acres on the north side of Cedar Hill Road, known as Little Ridge Estates, is headed toward rejection by the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), in light of P&Z concerns about groundwater contamination in that area.

P&Z members discussed developer Jude Tallman’s subdivision proposal at an October 18 session, but took no action on the matter, according Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker.

All P&Z members who spoke about the proposal, however, raised questions about the wisdom of the development plans, Ms Stocker said.

Conducting such a discussion session on a subdivision application before holding a P&Z meeting at which members vote on the application marks a new procedure for the P&Z, Ms Stocker said, adding that such discussion sessions will help the P&Z better formulate the motion on which its members vote. Such discussions are especially useful in formulating motions for P&Z actions on complex applications, such as the Little Ridge Estates proposal.

P&Z concerns about the presence of groundwater contamination in the vicinity of the development site is the focus of P&Z members’ doubts about the application, according to the development director.

Opponents of the development, who live in the vicinity of the site, have voiced concerns that the blasting and excavation required to build the subdivision could cause contaminated groundwater in the area to travel toward their domestic water wells and contaminate those wells.

“There’s no certainty as to what could happen” if the site is developed as has been proposed, Ms Stocker said.

P&Z members have apparently come to a consensus of opinion that approving Little Ridge Estates would not be in the best interests of public health and safety, according to Ms Stocker.

 Because no new groundwater testing has been done by the developer to gauge the current extent of groundwater pollution problem, and because the developer is unwilling to perform such testing, P&Z members have concerns about the extent of the subterranean pollution problem.

Based on discussion at the October 18 P&Z session, P&Z members appear prepared to turn down the development application at an upcoming session, Ms Stocker said.

The P&Z held four nights of public hearings across two months in considering the merits and drawbacks of Little Ridge Estates. The proposal has drawn organized opposition from some nearby residents who say that the project would pose pollution threats to their domestic well water supplies.

Groundwater in the general area is polluted by tetrachloroethylene (PCE) at concentrations exceeding acceptable levels. PCE also is known as perc, perclene, and perchlor. The chemical is used as an industrial degreasing compound and as a solvent for the dry cleaning of fabrics. Results of animal studies conducted with high amounts of PCE show the chemical can cause liver and kidney damage, including cancers. PCE may reasonably be anticipated to be a carcinogen or cancer-causing agent, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

It is thought that the chemical solvents found their way into area groundwater after a backyard mechanic in the Cedar Hill Road neighborhood used the toxic chemicals in the past to degrease machine parts, and then carelessly disposed of the chemicals on the ground.

Mr Tallman proposes Little Ridge Estates for a site that has road frontage at 32 Cedar Hill Road. The seven-lot subdivision would involve the construction of six new houses. One existing house would remain standing. The site would contain a 1,100-foot-long road known as Red Fox Lane. The site would hold 2.4 acres of open space land for passive forms of recreation.

A group known as the “Concerned Residents of Megans Circle and Cedar Hill Road” has formed to oppose Mr Tallman’s development proposal. The group has submitted a 20-signature petition, largely bearing the names of Megans Circle residents, and some Cedar Hill Road residents, who oppose the project. Some residential properties on the eastern edge of the Megans Circle neighborhood abut the Little Ridge Estates site.

The Megans Circle residents’ well water contamination concerns stem from the 1991 discovery of subsurface pollutants in area groundwater. The concerned residents say the need to blast rock ledge to build Little Ridge Estates could result in the groundwater contamination problem extending into their neighborhood and into their wells. The residents have urged the P&Z to deny the development application, citing public health, safety and welfare issues.

In 1999, to provide safe drinking water, United Water expanded its public water supply system to serve residents in that area who had polluted water wells and to residents who had wells that were threatened by that pollution. A public water supply started flowing through new water mains to homes on Appleblossom Lane, Dogwood Terrace, and a section of Cedar Hill Road. Approximately 100 addresses received new water service in the $1.5-million project, which largely was covered by state grants.

The proposed Little Ridge Estates would be served by that public water supply system.

At a recent P&Z meeting, attorney John Fallon, representing Mr Tallman, stressed that the development application complies with applicable subdivision rules and thus should be approved.

“There’s nothing in the record that would justify the denial of this application,” Mr Fallon has said.

The lawyer has urged that the development application be approved, with appropriate conditions being placed on the construction work. Such conditions would concern blasting, the location of such blasting, and the monitoring of blasting. Placing conditions on the development project would serve to protect public health and safety, according to Mr Fallon.