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Commission Begins Wetlands Review Of Newtown Village

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

The Conservation Commission has started reviewing a developer's request for a

wetlands construction license for Newtown Village, a proposed 102-house

complex in Sandy Hook.

Following a Wednesday night meeting, commission members conducted a workshop

session to review the project, said David Thompson, the town's environmental

official.

The commission will review three environmental areas when deciding on the

development project. They are: the effects of drainage discharge into Curtis

Brook off the site; the effects of drainage discharge into wetlands on the

site; and the effect of a road crossing over an intermittent watercourse on

the site.

Commission members determined that other areas, which were claimed to be

regulated activities by opponents of the project, such as the clear cutting of

trees, are not regulated by the commission.

The commission has planned a special meeting February 3 to act on the

development proposal.

The Sandy Hook Neighborhood Coalition has urged the developers of the proposed

Newtown Village to scale down the 102-house proposal to 30 houses, or no

houses at all.

In their Conservation Commission application, D&H Homes, LLC, of New Milford,

and Fairfield 2000 Homes, Corp, of Stamford, seek approval for wetlands

construction work in connection with building 102 houses, 25 of which would be

designated as "affordable." The development site is a former sand and gravel

mine in the area bounded by Berkshire Road, Bishop Circle, Philo Curtis Road

and the eastbound on-ramp at Exit 11 of Interstate 84.

At a January 8 public hearing, Attorney Francis Collins, representing the

coalition, said Newtown Village would have negative environmental effects on

Curtis Brook, the Pootatuck Aquifer, area groundwater and domestic well water

quality. The development site lies within the town's sole source aquifer

protection area.

Mr Collins argued that the scope of wetlands construction activities regulated

by the Conservation Commission is much broader than the applicant has

portrayed.

What is proposed for the site far exceeds the maximum practical use of the

32-acre site, according to the attorney. The alternatives to 102 houses are

fewer houses, or no houses at all, he said.

In response to the coalition's claims, Attorney Timothy Hollister,

representing the developers, said the opponents did not present any

engineer-supported evidence to substantiate their claims. The applicants have

used the services of professional engineers, he said.

The proposed construction would not have any negative effects on wetlands on

the site, the lawyer said. The applicants stand by the information their

engineers have presented to the Conservation Commission at past sessions on

Newtown Village, according to their attorney.

The developers want to build detached housing ranging in sizes from 1,300 to

2,200 square feet to be marketed in the $140,000 to $200,000 price range. The

"market value homes" priced nearer $200,000 would subsidize the "affordable

homes" priced nearer $140,000, thus giving the developers a financial

incentive to build the "affordable housing."

A state law encourages developers to build housing complexes in which at least

25 percent of the homes are designated for moderate-income families.