52-Lot Subdivision Proposed For Sandy Hook

By Andrew Gorosko

A development firm has proposed construction of the largest local residential subdivision in several years, near Lower Paugussett State Forest in Sandy Hook.

In an application to the Conservation Commission, M&E Land Group proposes the construction of Cider Mill Farm, a 52-lot development on a 137-acre tract, generally north of the Bennetts Farm residential development.

M&E is seeking Conservation Commission approval for regulated construction work for the entire site. The developers would seek P&Z approval for the development in three distinct stages, with the phasing of the project dictated by market conditions.

Although the proposed construction would have no direct impact on wetlands, numerous construction activities would occur within 100 feet of wetlands, and thus fall under the Conservation Commission’s review of construction within “regulated areas.”

The commission last year expanded the definition of regulated areas to those areas which lie within 100 feet of wetlands. Under its previous regulations, the commission had reviewed construction proposed for areas which lie within 50 feet of wetlands. Last fall, a group of five local builders sued the commission over its expansion of the wetlands “buffer areas.” That lawsuit is pending.

The Cider Mill Farm development site has frontage on Gelding Hill Road, Orange Pippin Road, Charter Ridge Road, and Russett Road.

Of the 137-acre site, 12.2 acres are listed as wetlands. About 1.1 acres of wetland buffer areas would be disturbed by the proposed construction work. A wetlands/watercourse system runs through the site in an east-west direction.

The developers propose donating 20.6 acres to the town as open space land with public access for passive recreation.

Development would involve the construction of 4,800 linear feet of new roadways.

In an initial construction phase, the end of Charter Ridge Road would be extended northward to connect with Orange Pippin Road.

A second construction phase would create a new dead-end road, known as Cider Mill Farm Road, extending eastward from the new section of Charter Ridge Road.

A third building phase would extend the dead-end Russett Road southward to a new dead-end terminus.

The first construction phase would involve a minimal amount of construction regulated by the Conservation Commission. The second and third construction phases would involve more extensive regulated work.

M&E Land Group, a partnership of developer Thomas Maguire and engineer Larry Edwards, has developed many local subdivisions.

The general area where Cider Mill Farm is proposed has undergone heavy residential development during the past decade.