Seven Lots—

P&Z Approves Subdivision

For Rugged Sandy Hook Site

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have approved a proposal for an unnamed seven-lot residential subdivision on a rugged 33.8-acre site at 127 Walnut Tree Hill Road in Sandy Hook.

P&Z members approved the project for the Schultz Family Limited Partnership in a 4-to-1 vote on December 4, with member Jane Brymer dissenting. Ms Brymer voiced concerns about the steepness of the site and the need to make major earthen cuts on the property for its development.

In December 2006, the P&Z had rejected a nine-lot version of the development proposal, citing various environmental concerns about the project proposed for the steep, thickly wooded site. That rejection stemmed from P&Z’s members’ concerns that seeking to maximize the number of lots on the site was an impractical approach to developing the environmentally sensitive land.

Last September, the P&Z conducted a public hearing about the developer’s proposal for an eight-lot version of the project. At that session, residents living near the site raised various environmental issues about creating eight building lots on the difficult terrain.

The property lies near the intersection of Walnut Tree Hill Road, Alberts Hill Road, and Black Bridge Road. No new roads would be built to provide access to building lots.

A sticking point between P&Z members and the developer over the eight-lot version of the project was the plan’s requirement for a driveway serving one building lot to cross over another building lot, in effect, creating the need for a new driveway easement. Land use officials seek to avoid creating such driveway easements when creating new subdivisions of land to prevent potential conflicts between property owners.

The developer then revised the plans, specifying a seven-lot version of the project.

Although the 33.8-acre site would not be densely built, it was the severity of the terrain and the physical complexity of developing it which was the issue that resulted in conflict during the P&Z’s review of different versions of the project.

The project would provide a 5.7-acre parcel of open space land, allowing public access for passive forms of recreation. That open space acreage would abut existing open space in the area.

In its motion to approve the seven-lot subdivision, P&Z members decided that the application is consistent with the town’s subdivision regulations, and also meets the requirements of the R-1 and R-2 zones. Such zones require minimum lot sizes of one acre and two acres, respectively. The ruggedness of the terrain, however, requires that the lots on the site be substantially larger than the minimum allowable sizes.

P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean noted that the town engineer determined that the proposed earthen cutting and filling on the site that would be needed to create seven buildings lots meets the requirements of applicable town land use regulations.

The initial nine-lot version of the subdivision proposed by the developer in 2006 drew heavy opposition from nearby residents. The P&Z later rejected the nine-lot version of the project stating that the applicant had proposed an overly intensive and complex engineering design for an environmentally sensitive piece of land.