Full Text:

Butterfield Road Subdivision Proposed

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

In the continuing development of Hawleyville, a new 16-lot residential

subdivision known as Butternut Ridge has been proposed for 65 acres off

Butterfield Road.

Applicant Raymond-Anderson Properties, LLC, submitted the development plans to

the Conservation Commission May 12 in seeking a wetlands construction permit.

The site is south of the intersection of Butterfield Road and Autumn Ridge

Road. A section of the site containing swampland abuts Currituck Road. The

owners of record are William G. Major, Lanny Roy Anderson, and Patricia L.

Anderson.

All but one of the 16 proposed large lots contain wetlands, so Conservation

Commission members will be looking closely at the development application,

said Conservation Official C. Stephen Driver. The site has 2-acre and 3-acre

minimum residential zoning. Mr Driver said he expects the application will be

the subject of a public hearing considering the amount of wetlands on the

property.

The town doesn't have flood mapping for the site which is in the Pond Brook

watershed, Mr Driver said. That lack of flood mapping may complicate the

commission's review of the project.

The applicant proposes donating two pieces of open space land in connection

with the subdivision. One three-acre parcel is adjacent to Butterfield Road.

Both the Algonquin and Iroquois natural gas pipelines run through it. The

other proposed open space parcel consists of eight acres of swampland which

lies north of Currituck Road.

Mr Driver termed the large swampy area adjacent to Currituck Road "a very,

very viable swamp" which contains various wildlife. Commission members will be

considering whether the developer's proposed donation of the swamp constitutes

useful open space land, he said.

The largely undeveloped Hawleyville has experienced increasing residential

growth during the past several years, including subdivisions near the

Butternut Ridge site such as Butterfield Woods, Autumn Ridge, Arrowhead Hills,

and the proposed Daniels Hill Estates and Newtown Hunt.

If the Conservation Commission grants Butternut Ridge a wetlands construction

permit, it would be subject to Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z)

subdivision review.