The Planning & Zoning Commission will take a bit more time to ruminate on an application that would change the zoning of 70 acres of land at 10 Hawleyville Road from Industrial M-2a to Residential R-2.

Commissioners voted unanimously to continue a public hearing May 18. The topic is expected to receive further discussion at the commission’s next meeting on June 7.

Residents and commission members both had concerns about the town’s dwindling supply of industrial land and the need for further economic development to help take some of the tax burden off residential homeowners.

Commissioner Roy Meadows noted that the property is “a prime parcel” for economic development. “It behooves the commission to give [a potential zone change to residential] a lot of thought,” said Meadows.

Commissioner David Rosen agreed that more time was needed. “We’re not saying ‘no,’ but let’s be really thoughtful on this,” said Rosen.

Wayne Zuckerman, representing the developer, Sterling Properties, a New Jersey company, said the development will be in the same general area as the previous warehouse development, and will be for 14 buildings with 21 apartments each, for a total of 294 units.

There will be a 60/40 mix of one bedroom and two bedroom apartments, and the development will be for “luxury apartment style living,” with a clubhouse, pool, walking paths, and other amenities.

The one bedroom apartments will be 800 to 850 square feet with estimated rents of $2,300 to $2,500 per month, and the two bedrooms will be 1,050 to 1,200 square feet with estimated rents of $2,700 to $2,900.

The Incentive Housing Development zone this project would be developed under, has an inclusionary requirement that rents, while not as low priced as housing under the Affordable Housing Act, would be lower than the other rents.

According to the Connecticut Department of Housing, “Incentive Housing Development (IHD) means a residential or mixed-use development that meets the following criteria — is located within a DOH approved IHZ, is eligible for financial incentive payments, and sets aside lower cost units for a minimum of 20 percent of the households earning 80 percent or less of the area median income (AMI) for a minimum of 30 years. A unit is affordable if it costs no more than 30 percent of a person’s annual income to live there.”

Incentive housing does not meet the same income restrictions as affordable housing, according to Land Use Director Rob Sibley. The Covered Bridge development across the street from the proposed site is also an Incentive Housing Development, Sibley added.

Each building will be three stories, with a blend of walk-up and elevator access. The buildings will be buffered by large amounts of open space as well as neighboring vacant properties between them and neighboring single family homes. There will be one entrance driveway on Hawleyville Road, and an emergency access off a neighboring road.

Commissioner Corinne Cox asked what the impact on the trout brook will be. Rick Bollander, a site civil engineer with JMC Planning Engineering Landscape Architecture, the project’s site engineers, replied per Connecticut state standards all the water runoff and all the increase of run-off from the impervious surfaces will be treated, and they will make sure as best they can to maintain hydrology.

Chairman Dennis Bloom asked how many parking spaces there will be, and Bollander said two spaces per unit will be provided with an extra 10 percent for visitors.

Meadows asked what the long-term vision for the rest of the site is and Zuckerman said the conceptual plan is, there will be no additional phases to the project. Bollander assured the commission that the other areas of the site would involve a lot of environmental impact to develop and they are not interested in that.

Resident Pat Napolitano expressed concern that no former site plan has been presented yet, and that if a zone change were granted the applicant would be able to come forward with a wildly different vision than the preliminary plan that was shown.

Resident Doreen Trimarchi said she was in favor of the zone change, as she felt the housing development was a much better alternative to the previously rejected warehouse plan. She felt the apartments would “fit into the surrounding area where the only commercial properties are churches and daycares.”

“Warehouses and apartments are all that are coming to Newtown,” said Trimarchi. “I see this as way better than a warehouse.”

Resident Michael Richardi expressed concerns that there is no proposal to fix traffic on Hawleyville Road, when a “massive amount of work is needed to be done.”

“Unless there is a proposal [to fix traffic in the area], I’m not seeing how we can move forward with this [application],” said Richardi.

Resident Mark D’Amico said the property is zoned for light industrial “for a reason.”

“The parcel was identified for economic development,” said D’Amico. “[Residential apartments are] the opposite of that. Economic development is not the same as high density housing.”

D’Amico noted that the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development called for promoting economic development and attracting new businesses to develop vacant land, among other items that would encourage taking the tax burden off residential taxpayers.

He also noted that the proposed entrance was directly across from the Covered Bridge development, which is 220 apartments and “already a busy intersection.”

“This is not consistent with the PoCD, not needed, not wanted, and not something that the area can handle,” said D’Amico.

Resident Mary Wilson noted she is getting “very used” to coming to P&Z meetings concerning the 10 Hawleyville Road property as this is the “third application in the last year.”

She said that the apartment buildings could add 300 to 350 cars to “an intersection that is already failing.” She also agreed for the need for economic development, which is important to “the health of the town economy.”

“This will not do anything for the town but clog up roads and use services,” said Wilson.

During discussion among commissioners on their thoughts on the application, commission member Gregory Rich noted that the owner has a right to develop a property, and questioned what the town wants there. He said the town does not want a warehouse or a medical building. He noted that any development would have an impact on traffic, “no matter what goes in.”

“I’m not opposed to residential development,” said Rosen. “What I am opposed to is a willy-nilly change to zones. We need a plan.”

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.