24-Unit Condo Complex Proposed For Washington Ave

By Andrew Gorosko

A local builder/developer is seeking town approvals to create a 24-unit condominium complex situated along the west side of Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook Center.

Michael Burton of Michael Burton Builders, Inc, is seeking approval from the Water and Sewer Authority (WSA) to connect the proposed complex to the municipal sewer system, which runs past the property located at 12 through 20-A Washington Avenue.

The level site, which is owned by Mr Burton, covers 10.5 acres. The property, which is in a R-2 zone, lies between Washington Avenue and the Pootatuck River.

Mr Burton describes the proposal as a “workforce housing community,” which would comply with the terms of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s (P&Z) existing set of zoning regulations on “affordable housing.”

The proposed complex would consist of six new multiunit buildings. Five buildings would contain four housing units each. One building would contain two units, plus associated storage facilities. Also, existing houses at #18 and #20 Washington Avenue would be part of the 24-unit complex. Each of those two houses now has sewer service.

Mr Burton said this week that 11 of the new multifamily units would be one-story, two-bedroom ranch-style residences, with the other 11 new residences  designed as two-story, three-bedroom townhouse units.

Of the 24 overall units, eight of them would be designated as “affordable housing,” he said.

In such complexes, developers receive a “density bonus” from land use agencies to create affordable housing. Under such an arrangement, construction is allowed at a higher-than-normal density to encourage the creation of affordable housing. The sale prices of market-rate units, in effect, subsidize the sale prices of affordable housing units, which are sold at much lower prices, based on the state’s definition of “affordable housing.”

Mr Burton said he envisions a housing complex in which about half of the units would be sold to owners, and the other half of the units would be rented out to tenants.

To provide the housing complex’s residents with direct pedestrian access to the businesses in Sandy Hook Center, Mr Burton proposes constructing a footbridge across the Pootatuck River, which would link the housing site to the rear of a business plaza located at 102 Church Hill Road.

The Other

Condo Proposal

Last year, a Danbury developer filed court appeals against the P&Z and the WSA after both those agencies rejected its proposal to create a 26-unit condo complex containing some affordable housing units on a steep, rugged 4.5-acre site at 95-99 Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook Center. The P&Z had rejected site plans for the project and the WSA had rejected a sewer connection for the complex. Both of Dauti Construction, LLC’s, lawsuits are pending in New Britain Superior Court.

Those lawsuits are filed under the provisions of the state’s Affordable Housing Land Use Appeals Act. Under that law, applicants for affordable housing projects that are rejected by municipal land use agencies gain certain legal leverage in getting those projects approved through court appeals. Only public health issues and public safety issues are considered to be justifiable reasons for a land use agency to reject an affordable housing project.

Unlike Mr Burton’s project, which seeks to comply with the P&Z’s existing regulations on affordable housing complexes, the Dauti proposal for Edona Commons seeks to have the P&Z modify many zoning regulations to allow Edona Commons to be built.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said this week that town staffers are reviewing Mr Burton’s condo complex proposal to learn whether it meets the technical requirements of applicable regulations. The land lies in the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD), a tightly regulated land use zone lying above the Pootatuck Aquifer, Mr Hurley said.

“It seems to be a realistic proposal,” Mr Hurley said. The proposed buildings are not in the Pootatuck River’s floodplain, he said. Only part of the site lies within the town’s sewer district, he said.

Mr Hurley said he will submit a report to the WSA on Mr Burton’s request for a sewer connection for the proposed condo complex.

P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean said she would favor Mr Burton’s proposal, provided that it meets the P&Z’s applicable regulations on affordable housing.

Mr Burton recently met with town land use officials to discuss his condo complex proposal.

“This type of housing can provide an opportunity to the youth of our town, as well as town employees and volunteers, to buy a home in Newtown that might not otherwise be available,” Mr Burton wrote, in part, in a January 10 letter to the WSA.

In a statement on the proposal, Mr Burton wrote, “The six proposed buildings would resemble Colonial-style homes positioned in a semicircle at the center of the property, and will be fairly obscured from the road by existing vegetation…Attention would be paid to architectural features to give the buildings a top-quality appearance.” Mr Burton added that the architectural designs for the project are subject to modification. 

Applications for the project have not yet been filed with the P&Z or the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC).