With a long history of proposed developments that never came to fruition, 10 Hawleyville Road has added another to the list — 294 proposed luxury apartments.

The proposal ended when the Planning & Zoning Commission voted 4-1 against approving a zone change from Industrial M-2a to Residential R-2 at its June 1 meeting. Dennis Bloom, Corinne Cox, Connie Widmann, and Brian Leonardi voted against; and Gregory Rich in favor of the zone change.

Past proposals that never came to be included the Mendik Newtown Corporate Office in 1979, a 200,000 square foot medical office building with a 90,000 square foot mixed retail building and 335 age restricted apartments in 1997; the GE corporate headquarters in 2003; Newtown Crossings in 2011 — which would have been a 527,000 square foot mixed retail building with 184 residential units and a 100 room hotel; and Wharton Development’s 344,880-square-foot, 76 bay warehouse in 2022.

Prior to the vote, both Rich and Bloom stated that the property owner has the right to build something on the property. Rich said that many past proposals have been voted down because the town “doesn’t want anything there.”

“What about the owners?” asked Rich. “We have to let the owners build something. If people want it undeveloped, they should buy it and leave it undeveloped.”

Land Use Director Rob Sibley noted that there are only two open M-2a Industrial zones left in Newtown, 10 Hawleyville Road and 90 Mount Pleasant Road.

Commission member Brian Leonardi said that he agreed that the property owner deserves to be able to develop the property, but he also felt that the commission is guided by the town’s zoning regulations and the Plan of Conservation and Development.

“In the plan, the area is specifically designated to support commercial and industrial use,” said Leonardi.

Commission member David Rosen said that a new PoCD is coming soon and any changes to it should be entertained then, but there is no point in having a PoCD if the commission does not follow it.

Commission member Corinne Cox agreed.

“I’m not opposed to residential development, but we have to have the right plan,” said Cox. “Right now the plan says the area is for commercial development.”

Earlier in the meeting, Joe Rin, representing the developer and a commercial real estate broker with Caldwell Banker, estimated that the property would pay $750,000 in taxes per year and be the town’s highest taxpayer. He said that the apartments, which are one and two bedroom, would be unattractive to young families at the price point and would bring few school children to the school system.

Rin said that economic development “is not just factories and warehouses, it’s people.” He noted that there are few available living spaces around, while the area has low unemployment and 100,000 unfilled jobs.

“If you want economic development, this is where it is,” said Rin.

Rin said he did not see a significant traffic impact from the development, nor any other “negative impacts.”

“This is nothing but a positive for the town,” said Rin.

Cox expressed concerns about runoff from the project due to a large amount of impermeable surface, but Rick Bollander, a civil engineer representing the developer, said that several detention ponds would stop runoff that could affect the trout brook.

Commissioners asked if the developers were willing to preserve the undeveloped area as open space as Wharton proposed, and Bollander said that they were.

Rin also noted that his clients are spending “$1,000 per day” in sewer costs and taxes.

“That’s a lot of money,” said Rin.

Leonardi said he was sympathetic to that, but felt it was the “tail wagging the dog,” as there would be a zone change but no guarantee on what would follow.

“I’m not accusing you of acting in bad faith but it is a concern,” said Leonardi.

Rin said the project would be a boon to the town in terms of taxes and that the town spent $4 million to bring water and sewer to the area.

“Let’s use it,” said Rin.

Resident Mark D’Amico disputed the idea that the property owner was spending $1,000 per day; and he also raised concerns that more children would be brought in by the development than estimated.

“That $750,000 estimate of the taxes would go down quite a bit,” said D’Amico. “Residential developments largely don’t cover their own tax burden. High density housing definitely does not cover its tax burden. That $750,000 per year in taxes sounds like a great idea, but it is less so when you look at the costs to the town.”

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