Compromise Move—

Town To Extend Turkey Hill Road

By Andrew Gorosko

The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) has approved a set of zoning variances requested by the town to enable it to extend the dead-end Turkey Hill Road as a public safety measure.

On December 6, the ZBA unanimously approved three zoning variances requested by the town in connection with its plans to extend Turkey Hill Road and build a turnaround circle at its terminus.

The town served as an agent, seeking the variances on behalf of Anthony DeLucia of Bridgeport, who owns land at 37 Little Brook Lane. The DeLucia property, which has R-2 Residential zoning, would be developed as a result of the variances.    

The Turkey Hill Road turnaround circle would lie near the existing turnaround circle at the end of the dead-end Little Brook Lane, but not be connected to it.

Last August, the town’s controversial proposal to link Little Brook Lane to Turkey Hill Road drew heavy opposition from residents living in that area, who said they prefer living on dead-end streets, charging that linking the two roads would result in much traffic through the area, posing safety hazards.

The residents then said that that their quality of life would be damaged if the linked roads allowed through-traffic to pass through the area, increasing the volume and type of traffic that travels there.

The town had proposed linking the two streets to improve access to the area by police, fire, and ambulance crews, as well as improve the highway department’s routine access to Sandy Hook from the town garage, which is on Turkey Hill Road.

Under the project endorsed by the ZBA on December 6, although the two roads would not be physically connected, they could be connected quickly by the town if an emergency occurred, such as flooding at the nearby Pootatuck River.

The two roads had been linked until the mid 1990s, when a property owner disconnected the linkage.

Following the heavy public opposition that met last summer’s proposal to link Little Brook Lane to Turkey Hill Road, the town redesigned the project to allow the two turnaround circles to be situated near one another and be connectible in the event of an emergency.

Town Engineer Ronald Bolmer and Public Works Director Fred Hurley represented the town at the December 6 ZBA public hearing.

Mr Bolmer explained that considering Mr DeLucia’s plans to residentially develop his property, the town saw an opportunity to reconnect Turkey Hill Road to Little Brook Lane. However, that proposal drew public opposition, so the town, cooperating with residents in the area, formulated an alternate plan.

If the two roads need to be connected in an emergency, the work could be done “in a matter of hours,” Mr Bolmer said.

The new section of Turkey Hill Road would have a grade greater than nine percent and be roughly 700 feet long.

Resident James McFarland of 45 Turkey Hill Road urged that any zoning variance granted by the ZBA explicitly state that any linkage of the two roads would be for “emergency use only.”

ZBA member Alan Clavette assured Mr McFarland that any permanent linkage of the two roads would require another application for a zoning variance and another ZBA public hearing.

Mr McFarland thanked town officials for being responsive to area residents’ concerns.

Resident Natalia Aparicio of Little Brook Lane said that the alternate plans developed by the town represent a “creative solution” to the emergency access issues in the area. Ms Aparicio endorsed the alternate plan.

Before ZBA members unanimously approved the zoning variances, ZBA Chairman Charles E. Annett, III, said that the alternate plans formulated by the town represent an “excellent solution” to the previous conflict.

During an often contentious, three-hour informational session last August 23, affected residents made it abundantly clear to town officials that they opposed a municipal proposal to connect the dead-end Little Brook Lane to the dead-end Turkey Hill Road. Petitions bearing more than 200 signatures of those opposed to a road connection were then presented to town officials.