The Planning & Zoning Commission heard two applications during its April 17 meeting. The first application was by Newtown Youth Academy (NYA) requesting a text amendment to the zoning regulations for the Fairfield Hills campus. The second concerned the Taunton Press property on South Main Street.

NYA Director Fran Pennarola and NYA President Maggie Conway represented NYA. They approached the commission, they said, in hopes to expand the activities the NYA can offer.

Pennarola said the proposed amendment “really accomplishes two things. I think it clarifies and makes simpler for users what kinds of activities are going to be allowed on the campus … But it also allows for those activities to take place inside a building because currently the regulation does not appear to permit those. This would benefit certainly Newtown Youth Academy, but would also benefit the community center and other public users.

“The building does a good job at its sports-oriented programming, but as a practical matter, it can’t sustain itself long-term on just that alone. There are times … when the building is simply not being utilized. We still have to heat it. It’s a 24/7 need for utilities, we do need to pay our employees. The building … will need upgrades as it continues to age.”

Conway said those who are interested in using the space “have asked us to do some fundraising events there … and in addition to that, we’ve had people approach us about having a craft fair or a Christmas fair there. So those are the types of things right now that we are not supposed to have in the space, but we’re being approached a lot about those, and we’d like to be able to accommodate those to help with the revenue source.”

Pennarola explained the text amendment would make the “list of proposed uses easier for people to understand.”

After Pennarola and Conway addressed the commission, Connie Widmann, seated as chair for the evening, spoke.

“It’s not just NYA,” she said. “It’s the Community Center, Parks & Rec, the entire FFH campus would be affected by the text amendment in a more clear, and concise way to have an event, an application, a process to be followed that has not really been in place previously.”

P&Z Commission Alternate Peter Schwarz said: “I will say also that as Fairfield Hills develops, it’s a condition of the new residential leases that those entities coexist with the activities that are already permitted on Fairfield Hills. So being much more specific and detailed on what those activities are goes a long way to preventing friction down the road there.”

There was no public comment and no motion made. Director of Planning and Land Use Rob Sibley encouraged the commissioners to review the documents and make a decision before voting. The commission plans to vote next meeting, which is scheduled for Thursday, May 1, at 7 pm.

Taunton Press

Following the NYA discussion, Barbara Manville read applications 25.06, 25.07, and 25.08 into the record. All three applications are for the Taunton Press site located at 63 South Main Street.

Application 25.06 is for a text amendment to create a new special design district #15 located at 63 South Main Street, so as to permit mixed use buildings to be used for office space, residential units, storage, and outdoor recreational facilities.

Application 25.07 is in regards to a zone change for the site from special design district #11 to the new design district #15.

Application 25.08 is for the building itself. The application reads, “to permit the construction of a new residential building with 36 units and to change the use of two existing buildings; one existing building will be residential with 26 units and the other existing building will be mixed use with 15 residential units and commercial/office space. Other uses on the property include storage, outdoor recreational facilities, community gardens, café/restaurant and all associated site work.”

The applicant is Phil Clark, president of Claris Design Build, located at 53 Church Hill Road.

“Our main office is here in Newtown. We’ve grown over the years, and we need a new home. We’ve outgrown our space,” Clark told the commission.

“Everybody knows the Taunton Press office building,” he continued. “We’ve been by it, been through it, passed on it many times, it’s just too big for us, but something kept drawing us back. Frankly, it’s just a wonderful facility … It’s just a very, I call it, ‘calming’ facility, and I’d really love to figure out a way to be there with my office.”

Clark explained his office is running out of options in Newtown. He would love to find a way to make this proposal work, he said.

63 South Main Street is 13.44 acres and currently hosts two main buildings, two accessory structures, two main parking areas, and 191 parking spaces.

Clark is proposing adding a third building for residential use, as well as building upon the garden that already exists on the property and tearing down the single-family home that is in disrepair.

Megan Miller, a project manager with Civil 1, explained that the application utilizes a lot of what is already on the property, including driveways, parking lots, buildings, the garden, and catch basins.

“Our proposed plan would be to utilize [the existing catch basins], but then treat the water with the use of a hydrodynamic separator, which eliminates particles, oils, treats the water for better water quality, and then go into Deep Brook. The existing outfalls would remain. And we have absolutely no direct wetland impact as a part of this project,” Miller said.

She explained that storm water from the new building would be divided between the catch basin and a rain garden the applicant would install. Rain gardens are shallow, man-made depressions that are planted with deep-rooted native plants, she explained, adding they are strategically placed to collect stormwater and runoff from paved or developed areas.

Miller said the site would be landscaped with native plants, trees, and shrubs to help protect Deep Brook, a stream that is a self-sustaining wild trout stream, one of very few left in the state.

Miller and Clark both recognize the proximity to Deep Brook and the importance of proper environmental evaluation, they said. Clark mentioned he is working closely with Trout Unlimited to ensure the safety of Deep Brook.

Miller explained the proposal plans to use existing light poles on the property but will replace the luminaires to dark-sky compliant luminaires along the walking path and parking lots on the site.

Clark said he found the stone that is used on the original two buildings and plans to keep the new building the same style, opting to replace what pieces need to be replaced over rebuilding what is there now. He is still working out the layout of apartments, but said there will be a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and what he described as “one-bedroom plus.”

Clark further explained that the “one-bedroom plus” apartments will have a small office space with a door, but not something large enough to be considered a bedroom.

Some of the units will be considered affordable housing, but this is not an 8-30g application, it was noted.

“We do know there is definitely a need in the area,” Clark said. “Just in Connecticut there are 11,000 units short … the study we’re looking at says we need 940 units alone in Newtown.”

Following the presentation, the commissioners asked questions about storm water management, the height of the new building, and how many bedrooms there will be throughout the entire complex.

Sibley said he would like the applicant to consider adding connections to the Borough of Newtown sidewalk system and to the Fairfield Hills walking trails.

Public Comment

A few members of the public commented on the project. Susan Fellin had concerns that lighting and a trail path could be visible from her nearby home.

Joseph Hovious, who said he is a retired professional engineer, stated concerns for Deep Brook. He also said Trout Unlimited has concerns of changes to the wetlands, canopy, and temperature of the Pootatuck Watershed.

Aaron Nezvesky stated concerns with storm water management, the impact to irrigation, groundwater protection, and traffic.

Charlie Gardner offered his compliments to the applicant. He sees mixed-use zoning as in demand, he said, and would like to see the commission consider more applications of this type.

He asked to review the traffic study, and asked about sidewalks. Gardner also said he feels the current parking design “is excessive.”

Miller said a traffic study is currently being worked on.

The public hearing for these applications was also continued to the planned May 1 Planning & Zoning Commission meeting.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.