Expected Action Delayed —

P&Z Awaits Condo Fire Access Review

By Andrew Gorosko

Before taking action on a 54-unit age-restricted condominium complex proposed for Oakview Road, Planning and Commission (P&Z) members are awaiting advice from the town fire marshal on whether the private roads proposed for the project are adequate for use by fire trucks.

P&Z members had been poised to act on Toll Brothers, Inc’s, proposal for Regency at Newtown at a January 19 session. But after learning that the adequacy of the proposed internal private road network requires more review by the fire marshal, P&Z members opted to delay action on the project until February 2.

The Pennsylvania-based developer proposes constructing 54 condos for people over age 55 at a 51-acre site at 21 Oakview Road, near Newtown High School. All 54 units would have basements, and some units would have walkout basements, depending on topography. The firm has been seeking town approvals for the complex since February 2004.

Oakview Road is a narrow, hilly, winding road that was unpaved until several years ago. It was paved after the town installed sewers beneath the road to provide sewer service to the nearby Newtown High School. The presence of sewers beneath Oakview Road makes possible a high-density development such as Regency at Newtown. Oakview Road contains about a dozen houses.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil told P&Z members January 19 that some of the design information that the P&Z had requested from the developer has not been provided for review.

“It does bother me, that given the amount of time that this application has been in the system, that these [issues] are still out in the open,” Mr O’Neil said. The P&Z has extensive technical information requirements for a project as elaborate as a 54-unit condo complex.

Mr O’Neil said the P&Z has been “wrestling with this application for a long time.”

The chairman told P&Z members that the town engineer’s review of the site plan indicates that some road curves in the proposed complex are tighter curves than those allowed by the town’s road ordinance. Such a situation might make it difficult for large fire trucks to maneuver there, he said.

Toll Brothers initially proposed Regency at Newtown as an 80-unit complex in early 2004. The P&Z, however, rejected a requested change of zone for the project in April 2004, citing the prospect of traffic problems on Oakview Road.

The developer then reduced the project to 60 units and designed traffic measures that would shunt traffic entering and leaving the complex to the northern end of Oakview Road, near Berkshire Road. The developer again sought a change of zone, which the P&Z then granted in January 2005, in a 4-to-1 vote.

Following the Conservation Commission’s July 2005 rejection of a 59-unit version of the project due to environmental concerns over the proposed construction’s potential adverse effect on the nearby pristine Pootatuck River, the developer appealed that rejection in court. The developer later submitted a 54-unit version of the project, which gained Conservation Commission approval.

P&Z Views

P&Z member Robert Mulholland said it appears that the developer simply took a set of condo plans designed for a Virginia site and applied them to the Oakview Road property, without making an effort to adapt the project’s design to the local landscape.

Mr O’Neil pointed out that the P&Z holds no “design authority” regarding the project’s appearance. He said he does not like the design’s multitude of garage doors along the condo buildings’ facades. Each condo unit would have garage spaces for two vehicles.

Also, Mr O’Neil said he would have preferred that the developer build sidewalks within the complex. No sidewalks are planned for Regency at Newtown.

The chairman added that the complex will be visible from the eastbound lanes of nearby Interstate 84, as well as from Fairfield Hills.

Mr O’Neil noted that much of the P&Z’s effort in reviewing the project has involved traffic flow, open space land, and environmental issues.

Mr O’Neil said that, on balance, he favors approving the project, but added that the fire truck access issue must be resolved.

P&Z member Lilla Dean observed, “We’ve been around and around with this” of the P&Z’s lengthy review of the construction proposal.

Toll Brothers did a good job in planning for the environmental protection of the nearby Pootatuck River, she said. “I think this [construction] plan works from that standpoint,” she said. The river is a state-regulated Wild Trout Management Area.

P&Z member Robert Mulholland, however, said that the traffic that will be generated by the proposed condo complex remains an issue.

The condo complex will add traffic to a heavily congested area, near two public schools and athletic fields, he said. Young athletes often run along Oakview Road, he said.

Mr Mulholland said he does not believe that the specialized driveway designed for Regency at Newtown would function as has been stated by the developer. The driveway has been designed to shunt traffic entering and exiting the condo complex to the northern end of Oakview Road, leading to Berkshire Road.

Mr Mulholland predicted that motorists going to and from and the condo complex would circumvent the driveway’s design and use the southern end of Oakview Road, leading to Wasserman Way. Such traffic flow could pose dangerous situations on the narrow Oakview Road, he said.

Mr Mulholland emphasized his opposition to Regency at Newtown.

In a straw poll of voting members at the January 19 P&Z session, Mr O’Neil, Ms Dean, and Jane Brymer indicated their support of the condo complex proposal, and Mr Mulholland indicated his opposition to it.

Mr O’Neil pointed out that some different combination of voting members may be present when the agency again addresses the condo proposal at its February 2 session. The panel has five regular members and three alternate members.

The chairman said he will have the fire marshal review the maneuverability of fire trucks on the complex’s proposed internal road network before the February 2 P&Z session.