Date: Fri 27-Dec-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-Avalon-withdrawn

Full Text:

`Avalon' Plan Withdrawn By Developers

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Following a lengthy and complex discussion at a December 19 Planning and

Zoning Commission (P&Z) public hearing, the applicants for Avalon, a proposed

16-lot residential development on 54 acres off High Bridge Road, have

withdrawn their application.

A resubmission of the plan in revised form is expected.

Attorney James White, representing the applicants, Avalon Developers LLC,

explained the development project to P&Z members.

More than 19 acres of the 54-acre site would be open space. Studies performed

for the developers indicate there would be minimal impact on the water quality

at nearby Rowledge Pond, Mr White said. The development site holds adequate

underground water supplies for domestic water wells, he added. The Avalon site

is across High Bridge Road from DeVivo Industries.

The Avalon developers spent much time before the Conservation Commission in

obtaining a wetlands construction permit, he said.

Area property owners have raised many environmental questions about the

project, focusing on area water quality.

Bill Carboni, an engineer for Spath-Bjorklund Associates, which represents the

developers, said the applicants have made some changes to their proposed

drainage work for the property based on Conservation Commission review of the

plan, an environmental consultant's recommendations, and town environmental

official David Thompson's advice.

The revised stormwater drainage plan is more elaborate than the one initially

proposed. The new plan focuses on the quality of runoff water as well as its

quantity.

The developers are seeking to improve the water quality of drainage before it

reaches its final discharge point in a nearby bog, according to Mr Carboni.

Robert Jontos, a wetlands scientist from Land-Tech Consultants who represents

the developers, said the control of sediments, as well as nitrogen and

phosphorus levels, are the developers' prime water quality concerns.

The modified drainage system now proposed by the developers improves the

quality of runoff water before the runoff reaches its discharge point from the

site, he said.

Mr White noted that one proposed lot in the subdivision is labelled Lot 16/17.

That lot may be the subject of a resubdivision application for two lots in the

future, he said.

P&Z Chairman John DeFilippe told the applicants they must obtain a road work

agreement from the selectmen before any subdivision plan can be approved. Such

agreements specify what work developers will do to improve nearby town roads

in connection with the development projects.

Questions Raised

Attorney John Fallon, representing Rowledge Pond, Inc, and others, said the

development plans which were posted on an easel by the developers were not the

same plans which P&Z members were holding in their hands. Mr Fallon said the

plans on the easel represent "a major change" in the development application.

Rowledge Pond, Inc, owns more than 60 acres north of the development site

where it operates a fish hatchery.

The town engineer hasn't seen the modified plans and they are the focus of a

public hearing, Mr Fallon said. The lawyer urged the P&Z to require the

developer to publicly file the revised plans and then have another public

hearing.

Mr Fallon said the developer's plans don't indicate a right-of-way for a road

extending to his client's land as is required by the regulations.

The lawyer said the proposed subdivision seeks to obtain a maximum number of

lots in an area with pristine environmental features. "It is unique," he said.

Not only air and water, but trees and wildlife are also natural resources, he

stressed.

"We are running out of environmental treasures," he added.

"Environmental (development) alternatives can generally be found under less

intense development," he said.

Mr Fallon charged the developers are seeking to "railroad" the subdivision

plan through town land use agencies. The applicants can provide the town with

a less intense development alternative, he said.

P&Z members then took a two-minute recess which turned in to a 20-minute

recess to discuss aspects of the development plan with the applicants and the

opponents.

Mr White later withdrew the development application from the P&Z, noting that

neither the town engineer nor the town health department had reviewed the

modified proposal which was posted on the easel.

"We're stymied," he said.

The applicant's representatives then walked out of the Newtown Middle School

auditorium where the session was underway.

The Avalon project proved controversial when it was before the Conservation

Commission, requiring several public meetings to discuss environmental

sticking points.

The Avalon property holds a black spruce bog, an unusual environmental feature

at a latitude this far south.