Date: Fri 28-May-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Walnut-Tree-Village-complaints

Full Text:

Walnut Tree Village Faces Changes And Complaints

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Walnut Tree Village, an 80-unit condominium complex for people over 55 on

Walnut Tree Hill Road in Sandy Hook, is seeking Planning and Zoning Commission

(P&Z) approval for a variety of construction changes which its developers made

during the first construction phase of the complex without first obtaining P&Z

permission.

P&Z has scheduled a public hearing for June 17 at which Walnut Tree Developers

will seek approvals for the changes they made to the construction plan that

P&Z approved in early 1995.

Several dozen unhappy Walnut Tree Village residents met May 18 at the town

land use office in Canaan House at Fairfield Hills to review plans for those

construction changes.

Town land use officials had only expected a handful of residents to attend,

but a crowd showed up. The meeting turned into a noisy session at which

frustrated residents complained about various problems they have encountered

while living at the complex. Land use officials seemed surprised that what

they had expected to be a low-key review of development plans by a few

residents had turned into a large, loud gathering of disgruntled senior

citizens.

One man, who appeared to sum up the views of those present, said that although

the condominium complex is generally well built, the developers have not

promptly corrected various minor physical defects after repeated complaints.

The residents who were willing to discuss their concerns declined to disclose

their names for publication.

The residents are expected to make their specific complaints public at the

June 17 P&Z hearing.

One specific issue that some residents are concerned about is the presence of

exposed rockface in one section of the complex and what steps the developers

plan to take to resolve a falling rock hazard there.

"They've given me a list of things that they think are important," Building

Official Tom Paternoster said of the Walnut Tree Village residents'

complaints. About seven residents provided such lists to him, he said.

Mr Paternoster said he is assessing the seriousness of the complaints, adding

some of the complaints appear to address "cosmetic" problems, not structural

problems.

"We're trying to analyze this," he said. Town officials should know much more

about the nature of the problems after the residents organize and designate a

spokesman for their viewpoint, Mr Paternoster said.

At a February Conservation Commission public hearing about Walnut Tree

Developers' pending proposal to expand the complex by 133 condos, residents

raised a host of questions, including queries on tree cutting, drainage,

blasting, aquifer protection and the development's appearance. At that

hearing, residents urged that construction regulations be strictly enforced

during the second construction phase to prevent any new problems.

P&Z is expected to deal with the developer's requested construction change

amendments for the first construction phase before it handles the developer's

request for adding 133 condo units in a second construction phase. A P&Z

public hearing on the 133-unit expansion project is slated for July 1.

Amendments

To resolve construction changes made at the complex without first obtaining

P&Z permission, the developers are seeking a variety of amendments to their

special exception to the zoning regulations. These include: approval for work

involving sidewalks, exterior lighting, stone retaining walls, guard rails, a

pond aerator, sewage treatment, walkout basement window and door options, fire

hydrants, trees, bushes, signage, lighting, a gazebo and fixing the rockface

problem.

During the first construction phase, the developers returned to P&Z for

several construction changes in the project. P&Z granted some of those changes

such as allowing modified rooflines. P&Z denied other requests such as the

developers' application to add porches to the condo units. The developers sued

P&Z over that and won the right to build porches through court action.

In one request, the developers sought to rewrite town zoning regulations to

allow two-story construction in the second phase of the complex. P&Z denied

that request, deciding that a complex intended for people over 55 is more

practical when built on a single level.

Developers

Louis DeFilio and George Trudell are doing business as Walnut Tree Developers,

the firm which built and operates the condo complex.

Of the construction project which started in 1995, Mr DeFilio said, "It's

certainly more complex to do a site of this nature than a ten-lot

subdivision."

Mr Trudell said town land use staffers were informed of the various

construction changes as they were made at the complex. "There was a learning

curve on both sides of the table," he said.

The requested amendments tie up the loose ends between the plan which was

approved by the P&Z and the project which was finally built, he said.

Such construction changes occur in the course of a major project, he said,

adding the developers wanted to satisfy the requirements of the condo buyers

in making some of those changes.

"We're going back [to P&Z] to clean the record up," he said, adding Walnut

Tree Developers wants to be in compliance with applicable zoning regulations.

The firm wants Phase One of the project to be in compliance with zoning

regulations before Phase Two begins, he said.

The major aspects of the development plan never changed, he said, adding the

changes which the developers made have been positive ones.

Mr Trudell said the firm is addressing the exposed rockface issue in its

amendment application to P&Z. A consultant is recommending three possible

solutions to the falling rock problem, he said.

A Process For Repairs

Of the residents' complaints about lengthy delays in getting repairs done, Mr

Trudell said, "There is a process. We ask them to fill out a work order and

submit it to us."

Problems such as plumbing and electrical emergencies are dealt with

immediately, but smaller, less urgent items are subject to the repair process,

he said.

"[Repairs] take more time than most customers would like," sometimes months,

he said.

The average age of Walnut Tree Village residents is 70, Mr DeFilio noted.

"These are well-built condos," Mr Trudell said.

"These are minor issues, mostly cosmetic," he said of the residents'

dissatisfaction over the length of time it takes to get repairs made.

The length of time needed for a given repair depends on the nature of the

problem, Mr DeFilio said.

The area is experiencing a construction boom and it is difficult to get

repairmen to the condo complex quickly, Mr Trudell said. It's frustrating that

the firm can't get problems fixed as fast as the residents would like them

fixed, he said.

Walnut Tree Village residents and the developers are scheduled to meet soon to

form a condominium association. The planned association board will have as its

members Mr DeFilio, Mr Trudell and one resident, according to the developers.

Some residents at the May 18 meeting at Canaan House grumbled that with the

developers holding two of the three seats on the association board, the

developers will be in control of the association.