Lumberyard Proposed For Curtis Corporate Park

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members are reviewing a building supply firm’s proposal to create a lumberyard on Turnberry Lane in Curtis Corporate Park, off Toddy Hill Road in Sandy Hook.

Stock Building Supply, Inc, wants to convert the 30,184-square-foot building that has been used as a furniture warehouse by La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries for lumberyard use, as well as construct lumber storage structures on an adjacent lot.

The development site is at #2 and #6 Turnberry Lane. It has M-4 (Industrial) zoning, where a lumberyard is a permitted land use.

The North Carolina-based Stock Building Supply sells building supplies and tools to contractors. The firm operates more than 250 outlets in 30 states.

Engineer William Carboni of Spath-Bjorklund Associates, Inc of Monroe, representing the applicant, described the project to P&Z members at an August 3 public hearing.

“It’s a M-4 use in a M-4 zone,” Mr Carboni said.

The existing building on the site would be used for lumber storage, sales areas and vehicle parking, Mr Carboni said. A new drive-through storage building would be constructed, as well as multiple storage structures.

The project would have no significant effect on groundwater quality in the area, Mr Carboni said. The site is in the town’s environmentally sensitive Aquifer Protection District (APD).

Pressure-treated lumber would be stored under cover, Mr Carboni said. P&Z member Robert Poulin, however, asked whether the presence of such lumber would pose toxicity hazards to the underlying Pootatuck Aquifer.

The large majority of Stock’s business involves the sale and delivery of building materials to contractors, Mr Carboni said.

The lumberyard’s operating hours would be 6:30 am to 5 pm on weekdays, and 8 am to noon on Saturdays.

Consumers would be allowed to buy products at the lumberyard, he said. But the applicant would prohibit sales to consumers if the P&Z desires such a ban, he added.

Trees would be planted on the site to visually buffer the view of the lumberyard, Mr Carboni said. The site is adjacent to the 20-lot Quarry Ridge Estates residential subdivision.

Both the industrial park and the residential subdivision are located on an expanse of land that was formerly mined by Newtown Sand & Gravel. The P&Z approved the industrial park in January 2001, and then approved Quarry Ridge Estates in March 2002.

Stock Building Supply wants to install a 2,000-gallon above-ground tank on the site to store diesel fuel for its delivery trucks, Mr Carboni said.

P&Z member Lilla Dean questioned the wisdom of storing diesel fuel in the APD, saying she would research fuel tank issues.

Mr Carboni said the fuel storage tank would have various safety features to guard against spills.

P&Z member Sten Wilson asked why the applicant had not presented a traffic study, and said he is concerned about the effect that delivery trucks would have on the area.

Mr Carboni said he would seek traffic information from the applicant concerning projected traffic flow at such a facility.

Public Comment

During the public comment section of the meeting, resident Kris Cotton of 4 Quarry Ridge Road said that site lighting at a lumberyard is a big concern. The La-Z-Boy warehouse had lighting that shined directly onto her house until she complained and the company placed shields around the lighting fixtures, she said.

There is bright lighting in the adjacent industrial area, Ms Cotton noted.

P&Z member Robert Mulholland said that the nearby Curtis Packaging Corp’s parking lot has had its nighttime lighting levels increased.

Ms Cotton also mentioned as potential problems the noise of forklifts at a lumberyard, the reflective surfaces of storage shed roofs, the appearance of stacks of lumber. She also asked whether truck traffic would increase in the area, noting that it is difficult for tractor-trailer truck drivers to make the turn onto Turnberry Lane from Toddy Hill Road.

Jennifer O’Hara of 10 Quarry Ridge Road said she is concerned about the traffic implications of having a lumberyard in the industrial park.

Mr Carboni said he would obtain pertinent traffic information about the lumberyard proposal, as well as details about nighttime illumination at the site. He added that the applicant is “flexible” about whether there would need to be a diesel fuel storage tank on the site.

Mr Mulholland asked about the noise that would be created by multiple forklifts that have “back-up beepers” sounding when they are traveling backward.

Mr Carboni said such back-up beepers are a safety feature required by the federal government.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil said, “I have to feel sorry for the neighbors because this [lumberyard] could be a noisy activity.” Mr O’Neil urged that the applicant seek ways to limit noise emanating from the site.

P&Z will resume its public hearing on the lumberyard proposal at an upcoming session.