P&Z Collects Details On 54-Unit Condo Proposal

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members received design details on several aspects of a proposed 54-unit age-restricted condominium complex at a December 15 public hearing to help them decide when acting on the Oakview Road development proposal at an upcoming session.

Toll Brothers Inc’s proposal for Regency at Newtown on a 51-acre site at 21 Oakview Road was the subject of the December 15 P&Z public hearing. It was the third such hearing held on the proposal, following a December 1 session, and an October 20 meeting.

P&Z members are scheduled to discuss and possibly act on the construction plans at a January 19 session. The firm has been seeking town approvals since February 2004 for the condo complex intended for people over age 55.

Attorney Robert Hall, representing the developer, told P&Z members that a “viewshed analysis” was performed to determine the visibility of the condo complex from the nearby Al’s Trail, a popular local walking path.

Some of the proposed condo units would be visible from the trail during times of the year when foliage is off broadleaf trees, Mr Hall said.

Also, the developer performed additional studies on current traffic volume on Oakview Road, Mr Hall said.

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 nearby Newtown High School. The presence of sewers beneath Oakview Road makes possible a high-density development such as Regency at Newtown. Oakview Road contains about a dozen houses.

Mr Hall told P&Z members that he has formulated a property deed that the developer would use to transfer more than 13 acres of open space land to the town if the condo complex is approved. The open space area is adjacent to the Pootatuck River, which lies to the west of the proposed construction site. The environmentally sensitive Pootatuck River is a spawning area for brook trout and is regulated by the state.

Public access to the open space land would be provided along the development site’s southern boundary.

Dan Walton, Toll Brother’s project manger, described the handicapped accessibility issues posed by such condo construction for people over age 55.

Mr Walton told P&Z members that applicable regulations do not require the firm to provide any community facilities for the condo complex’s residents.

The Walnut Tree Village age-restricted condo complex on Walnut Tree Hill Road has two community buildings for its residents. The Liberty at Newtown age-restricted condo complex on Mt Pleasant Road has a clubhouse for its residents.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil asked Mr Walton how basements in the proposed Regency at Newtown would be used.

Basements would be used only as storage space, Mr Walton said, noting that the zoning regulations prohibit finished basements.

Mr O’Neil pointed out that the zoning regulations do allow a section of a basement to be used for recreational purposes.

Appearance Issues

Resident Elizabeth Lincoln of 34 Echo Valley Road suggested that the project be named something other than Regency at Newtown. She suggested a name with a local aspect such as Oakview Village, River’s Junction, or Pootatuck Landing.

Ms Lincoln told P&Z members that the proposed architecture “is not very attractive.” She likened the five-unit condominium buildings’ facades to “rental storage units.”

The buildings’ facades amount to a lineup of double-bay garage doors, she said. Better window design is possible for such development, she added.

Ms Lincoln suggested that Toll Brothers incorporate skylights into its architectural design. She also suggested that the individual driveways be kept away from the front of the buildings.

“Toll Brothers could do better by Newtown,” Ms Lincoln said, adding that the town should require better design from the developer when considering the scope of 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.

Toll Brothers proposes three condo models for the project, The Wynbrooke, The Milbrooke, and The Glyndon. Each of the units would enclose approximately 1,800 square feet of space, according to the developer.

The complex’s main 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.

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.”

Mr Walton has 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 has said.

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. Some evergreen trees would be planted at the site to create visual screening.

The proposed condos would be arrayed around a private loop road. A spur road would extend from that loop road. Municipal sanitary sewers and a public water supply would serve the project. It would not have sidewalks. About one-quarter of the site would be developed. Construction would occur on an upper plateau there.