UPDATE (November 22, 2024): This article has been updated with the correct spelling of Attorney Franklin Pilicy's name.

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Debate continued during Planning & Zoning’s Thursday, November 7, meeting regarding the proposed development at 2-4-6-8 Riverside Road. The developers have been going back and forth between the Design Advisory Board and Planning & Zoning to present the commission with a full application. With each presentation, the applicants get closer and closer to landing a deal.

One outstanding item that remains is a letter from the Inland Wetlands Commission.

Land Use Director Rob Sibley said, “The Inland Wetlands has to give a ruling associated with the aquifer protection report called a ‘finding of no significant impact.’ It’s part of your zoning regulations for anything.”

Another pending item is the town engineer’s report, as the last report is from October 16, but revisions have been made to the application since then.

The original development included five buildings in Sandy Hook Center. Building one is a residential building with 12 units on 2 floors. Building two is a mixed-use building, with residential over retail, with 9 units in a town house style. Building three is 6 residential over garage units, and building five is another mixed-use building with 4 units over retail. Building five would rest where the building on the corner of Riverside Road and Washington Avenue is currently.

The biggest revision from the October 3 meeting to the October 17 meeting was the elimination of building four. The commission pushed for more green space, so the architect, George Wiles, dropped building four to accommodate those changes.

Planning & Zoning wanted to see a full photo optic report regarding how the development would be illuminated. The applicants worked with the Design Advisory Review Board on that issue closely, and settled with gooseneck barn outdoor fixtures to keep in line with the historic aesthetic the board pushes for in Sandy Hook Center.

There was mention of the color scheme again, with the applicant saying he worked directly with the Design Advisory Board. The board and the applicant, Kevin Williams, decided to stay with the Benjamin Moore historic color palette.

Traffic, Traffic, And More Traffic

Planning & Zoning Commissioner Don Mitchell probed the applicants regarding the traffic report for this proposal again. During public comments, it was clear traffic is something a lot of people are concerned about regarding the development.

Mitchell asked the applicant, “On at least three of your level of service analysis elements, the level of service goes from C or better to D … I’m excited about the willingness for somebody to invest this kind of money in Sandy Hook, but we have a regulation 802.213 that says, ‘Where it’s projected that the additional traffic resulting from a proposed project will reduce the level of service to D or below, the commission shall not approve the project, unless and until the applicant has made provisions for the improvement of said condition.’

“The wisdom of that regulation, I suppose is not up for debate tonight. It’s been talked about previously, but still, this kind of, I think ties, our hands.”

Scott Hesketh, the traffic consultant on the project, responded, “The signal light intersection, under background conditions, operates at levels of service E and F during peak hours. It will continue to operate at levels of E and F during peak hours. I don’t believe we are degrading the intersection from a C to a D or worse. Certain movements may be impacted such, but I think the intersection, overall, operates currently in a level of service D or worse and will remain so.”

“I believe the fact that we’re trying to create a village type environment here, where we’ve got sidewalks throughout the facility, where we’ve got retail facing the street down toward the intersection, where they’re reconstructing a place facing the intersection, we’re trying to create a walkable type environment. I don’t think we want to do improvements at the intersection to widen it, provide additional lanes and make it more difficult for pedestrians … that have to cross the street … We felt that it’d be better to have the walkability and the pedestrian friendly environment downtown than to have wider streets and slightly more efficient intersection,” he continued.

During public comment, Ned Simpson was the first to speak on the traffic issues. He suggested shaving a few feet off the corner of Washington Avenue and Riverside Road so cars could take a right turn from Washington onto Riverside. He added that with the application for another development half a mile up the road, there may be a “material amount of traffic being dumped” into that intersection.

Dave Ackert was the next to address the commission regarding traffic.

“I can be late to meetings, I can be hit by a car … you guys are not traffic experts, and the debate going back and forth and the questions going back and forth at every public hearing screams out to me for an independent third-party review,” he said. “Independent, not a traffic expert … not somebody who has to gain financially from their report,” he added.

Ron Bassio spoke on traffic, too, saying he agreed with what Simpson had said.

“You should have restricted no parking on that right curb [Church Hill Road to Washington Avenue] so that cars could make right turns and relieve some of that traffic.”

The last two to speak during the public comment were Satti Persaud, one of the owners of Hilltop Kitchen, the restaurant that will lie right in the middle of the proposed development, and Chris Bruno. Both were in favor of the development.

Persaud shared with the commission, “I am in favor of this project … I believe that the potential for benefiting the town is great with this project … I established my business in Sandy Hook because I believe that there is a lot more potential [in] this wonderful town and this project aligns with the needs and big picture of revitalization of Sandy Hook. Every town has to evolve.”

Bruno was the last to share his opinions with the commission.

“I believe this project is a fantastic improvement to an area that is long needed revitalization,” he said. “The current site has become somewhat of an eyesore, and this development will be the new life into Sandy Hook, creating a walkable area, something that will be a good addition to our town.”

The portion of the meeting regarding 2-4-6-8 Riverside Road closed with Planning & Zoning adding a special meeting on November 21. Franklin Pilicy, on behalf of the applicant, asked for an extension of the public hearing for then.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.