P&Z Continues Review Of Proposed 54-Unit Age-Restricted Condo Complex

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members are reviewing the site-design aspects of a 54-unit age-restricted condominium complex proposed by Toll Brothers, Inc, for a 51-acre site at 21 Oakview Road, near Newtown High School.

P&Z members held the second session of an ongoing public hearing on the project, known as Regency at Newtown, on December 1. The hearing is slated to resume on December 15, when the developer will provide additional information. An initial hearing was held on October 20.

The firm has been seeking town approvals for the condo complex intended for people over age 55 since February 2004.

Dan Walton, Toll Brothers’ project manager for Regency at Newtown, presented plans for the project to P&Z members at the December 1 session. Among the plans were an artist’s rendering of a typical five-unit condominium building that would be built; a site plan that provides an overhead view of the proposed construction; and floor plans for the three condo models, The Wynbrooke, The Milbrooke, and The Glyndon. Each of the units would enclose approximately 1,800 square feet of space, according to the developer.

Toll Brothers Inc is seeking a site plan approval and a special exception to the zoning regulations for the project.

Because the site is not within a designated design district, and because the development is considered “residential” instead of “commercial” architecture, the proposed construction is not subject to review by the town’s recently created Design Advisory Board.

Attorney Robert Hall, representing the developer, told P&Z members December 1 that the Police Commission, acting as the town’s traffic authority, has endorsed a design for the complex’s driveway connection to Oakview Road.

That driveway design would physically encourage motorists arriving at and leaving the condo complex to use the northern end of Oakview Road, which connects to Berkshire Road, as has been recommended by town land use officials. The southern end of Oakview Road connects to Wasserman Way and the often-congested area near the Exit 11 interchange of Interstate 84.

Mr Hall told P&Z members that Toll Brothers has had additional traffic studies performed near the condo site to gauge current traffic flow there.

Oakview Road is a narrow, hilly, winding road that was unpaved until several years ago. It was paved after the town installed sewers beneath the road to provide sewer service to the high school. The presence of sewers beneath Oakview Road makes possible a high-density development such as Regency at Newtown.

Consulting traffic engineer Michael Galante, representing Toll Brothers, explained the methods used to count the traffic flow on Oakview Road. 

Following P&Z members’ comments that they found a traffic chart presented by Mr Galante to be confusing, Mr Galante agreed to revise that document for the sake of clarity. He also plans to provide a map depicting the two points at which traffic volume was measured.

Mr Hall told P&Z members that Cultural Specialists, a consulting firm, has performed preliminary archaeological studies on the development site to determine whether it has archaeological significance. More study is planned, he added.

Architecture

Mr Walton said the proposed condo buildings would have earth-tone coloration to better blend with the surrounding landscape. The buildings would have jogs in their outlines to prevent the structures from appearing to be visually “flat,” he said.

P&Z member Robert Mulholland asked whether the multiple double-bay garage doors along the facades of the buildings could have more subdued coloration, rather than the bright white color depicted in the artist’s rendering. Mr Walton said the garage doors’ color could be altered, if necessary.

Mr Mulholland expressed aesthetic concerns about the proposed condo buildings’ appearance. The site would hold ten buildings containing five units each, and one building holding four units.

Mr Walton said the challenge in designing such a project is how to best blend the architecture with its surroundings. Toll Brothers believes it has created a good design for the project, Mr Walton said.

P&Z member Robert Poulin suggested that the artist’s rendering of the complex probably is more attractive than what would actually be built at the site. Ms Poulin posed a series of questions to the developer on the physical aspects of the condo buildings.

P&Z member Jane Brymer suggested that the developer revamp the general design to create a “courtyard setting” to make for a more attractive site layout.

In response to a query from Mr Mulholland, Mr Walton said the condos would not be soundproofed. Mr Mulholland had pointed out that the area has a high noise level due to its proximity to Interstate 84.

“I’m extremely concerned that we’re going to end up with 54 families demanding a ‘sound wall’ on I-84,” Mr Mulholland said. The state Department of Transportation (DOT) has erected sound barriers along various sections of interstate highway to muffle the sound generated by highway traffic. Sound barriers stand along a section of westbound I-84 in Southbury near Rochambeau School.

With persistent high noise levels in the area generated by highway traffic, condo complex residents would not be able to enjoy their decks or open their windows, Mr Mulholland said. The need for a sound barrier to dampen highway noise defeats the P&Z’s intent for residential development, he said.

Of the highway noise, Mr Hall said, “You’re going to hear it. You can hear it from a mile away.”

P&Z member Lilla Dean pointed out, “There’s a lot of truck traffic at night.”

Consulting engineer Tom Daly, representing the developer, said, “The topography is the topography. I-84 is I-84.”

Some of the evergreens now standing at the site would be removed in order for condo construction to proceed. That dense stand of trees is visible from I-84’s eastbound lanes.

The project would maintain as much evergreen tree buffer as is possible between the condos and the highway, he said. Some evergreen trees would be planted at the site to create visual screening, Mr Daly added.

Public Comment

Resident James Knapp of 22 Oakview Road told P&Z members that the developer’s traffic study does not address issues posed by the presence of an athletic field located at the corner of Oakview Road and Wasserman Way.

Traffic levels have increased on Wasserman Way, he said. The state created Wasserman Way in the late 1990s to provide an alternate east-west route through town that would divert east-west traffic flow from Church Hill Road.

Due to increasing traffic congestion, it has become difficult to travel from Oakview Road to the town center, Mr Knapp said.

Joseph Hovious of 3 Leopard Drive, representing the town’s Open Space Task Force, suggested that the developer visually screen the view of the proposed condo complex from hikers walking on Al’s Trail in the area, if necessary.

In response, P&Z Chairman William O’Neil recommended that the developer prepare a “viewshed analysis” of the project regarding Al’s Trail.