P&Z Wants More Details  Of Montessori School Plan

Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members are seeking more details from the Newtown Montessori Society on the group’s proposal to convert the former Gordon Fraser Gallery at 173 South Main Street into the Newtown Montessori School.

At an October 21 P&Z public hearing on the building conversion application, P&Z members asked the society to return November 4 to provide architectural details.

In July, the P&Z approved the society’s requested amendment to the zoning regulations to allow a private school as a permitted land use in an M-2 Industrial zone. The society now is seeking a special exception to the zoning regulations to use the building as a school.

The society wants to move from its crowded facilities in Dodgingtown to the more spacious South Main Street site which formerly contained a warehouse, office space and store. The approximately 43,000-square-foot building was built in 1976. The society has an option to buy the property for $2.1 million.

At the public hearing, a report from traffic engineers I.K. Chann Associates indicated that a school at the site can be satisfactorily accommodated and will have no adverse effect on nearby roads.

In a report to the P&Z, Conservation Official C. Stephen Driver suggested environmental steps the society should take to handle storm water drainage on the 8.7-acre site in light of its location in the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD).

The society’s plans call for the creation of 13 classrooms when the facility opens, with an expansion to 15 classrooms by 2004. The new septic system designed to handle wastewater on the site would serve up to 265 students.

Engineer Larry Edwards explained aspects of the development plan to the P&Z. The society would create play areas for its students adjacent to the building. The site has access points from both South Main Street and Pecks Lane at the rear.

Architect Frank Greene said the building, which now is partially covered with fire sprinklers, would have full coverage with sprinklers when in use as a school.

Attorney James Mannion, representing the society, said the building’s interior would be extensively modified to make it suitable for school use. The exterior would remain essentially as is, he said.

P&Z member Stephen Koch said the P&Z should not have to “envision” what the building’s interior would look like when converted for use as a school, asking that architectural drawings of the interior be provided for review.

The commission also asked that the society provide plans for a sign for the school.

 When the society’s proposal to convert the building for school use surfaced last summer, the Economic Development Commission weighed in against the proposal, saying a conversion would take the industrially-zoned property off the property tax rolls.

In granting the zoning amendment allowing a private school as a permitted use in an industrial zone last July, P&Z members said the benefits of having a school on the site outweigh the drawbacks of a decreased potential tax base.