Sandy Hook Center—

P&Z To Hold Hearings On Proposed Condo Complex

By Andrew Gorosko

Based on legal advice, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) plans to conduct public hearings on a Danbury developer’s proposal for a 26-unit mixed-income condominium complex in Sandy Hook Center.

The P&Z hearings on Dauti Construction, LLC’s proposal for Edona Commons are scheduled for December 7.

Last month, P&Z members had questioned whether it would be necessary to hold such hearings in view of their August rejection of the construction firm’s proposal for a similar 23-unit condo complex at the same location at 95-99 Church Hill Road.

After conferring with their lawyer Robert Fuller on November 2, P&Z members learned that they should hold hearings on the developer’s three-part condo application.

The current condo application seeks three P&Z approvals — the creation of a new zone known as the Mixed Income Housing District (MIHD) zone, a change of zone for the 4.5-acre site from R-2 Residential to MIHD zoning, and also a site development plan endorsement.

In what is his fourth proposal to develop the property at 95-99 Church Hill Road, developer Guri Dauti, doing business as Dauti Construction, LLC, seeks to construct 26 townhouse-style condos in six buildings on a steep, rugged site.

Project opponents have pledged to oppose the latest construction proposal.

The P&Z has rejected three past proposals from Mr Dauti to build condos there. The Edona Commons site abuts the site of the 189-unit age-restricted Walnut Tree Village condo complex.

On August 3, the P&Z rejected Mr Dauti’s proposal for a 23-unit condo complex on a 4.04-acre site, citing a host of reasons, including potential traffic problems and a high construction density. Mr Dauti then filed a court challenge against the P&Z in seeking to have a judge order that the project be approved. That lawsuit is pending in Danbury Superior Court.

In an initial 2003 attempt to develop the site, Dauti sought to build 16 units. In a second failed attempt early in 2004, he sought to build 12 units.

Since 2003, Mr Dauti’s several condo proposals for Sandy Hook Center have drawn strong opposition from nearby residents, who charge that such development is inappropriate for the area, stressing that the traffic that it would generate would worsen existing traffic problems in the area. Other complaints have focused on school bus safety, emergency access to the site, the historic character of the neighborhood, the removal of trees, and aesthetics. The current construction project would require the removal of 12,840 cubic yards of earthen materials.

The developer proposes setting aside eight of the 26 units as price-restricted dwellings for low-income and moderate-income families. In such high-density complexes, the lower prices of affordable housing units are subsidized by the higher prices of market-rate units.

The Edona Commons proposal was listed on the Police Commission’s November 8 meeting agenda. Commission members opted to make no recommendation on the traffic aspects of the project to the P&Z. The Police Commission is the local traffic authority and typically makes traffic recommendations to the P&Z on development proposals.

Last summer, the Police Commission had recommended that the P&Z not approve the then-pending 23-unit version of Edona Commons, citing traffic problems that such development would create in Sandy Hook Center.