At the request of the developer, the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) has rescheduled a planned public hearing on a proposal to construct a 14,000-square-foot retail center, including a 2,800-square-foot restaurant, at the heavily traveled intersection of Berkshire Road (Route 34) and Toddy Hill Road in Sandy Hook, near Exit 11 of Interstate 84.

The hearing had been slated for Thursday, March 5, but has been rescheduled for 7:30 pm on Thursday, March 19, at Newtown Senior Center, 8 Primrose Street.

Developer James F. Walsh is seeking a site development plan approval and a special zoning permit to construct the project at a 3.07-acre site at 32 Berkshire Road.

In a March 2 letter to the P&Z, the developer’s engineer states that the postponement was sought because the developer would not have been able to have all of his technical experts present for a March 5 session.

As of the morning of Tuesday, March 3, the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) was still scheduled to hold a public hearing on the wetlands protection aspects of the project at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, March 11, at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street.

IWC members also serve as the town's Aquifer Protection Agency (APA). It was initially unclear if APA members would be meeting immediately after the March 11 IWC session to review the aquifer protection aspects of the project, which lies within the Aquifer Protection District above the Pootatuck Aquifer.