P&Z Endorses Settlement In Walnut Tree Village Suit

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has endorsed a tentative legal settlement which would resolve one of three pending lawsuits that were filed against the P&Z and also against Walnut Tree Developers, Inc., in connection with the P&Z’s approval to expand the Walnut Tree Village condominium complex from 80 units to 190 units.

Following the P&Z’s approval of the expansion project last August, a total of seven plaintiffs filed three separate lawsuits seeking to block the expansion of the complex on Walnut Tree Hill Road in Sandy Hook.

Plans to expand the complex for people over 55 had drawn strong opposition from nearby property owners at public meetings earlier this year.

In the lawsuit, Duane G. and Linda L. Jones of 16 Walnut Tree Hill Road had charged that in approving the expansion project, the P&Z acted illegally in that the development site has insufficient street access. The Joneses also had charged that the P&Z had disregarded the town engineer’s advice in that regard.

The lawsuit states that in approving the expansion project, the P&Z did not enforce its regulations which require that such development not create health and safety hazards for nearby people, although the P&Z knew that the Joneses have a special needs child to whom the construction project and the additional traffic created by the development would pose a safety hazard.

Also, the Joneses had alleged the expansion project would substantially damage nearby property values; would not be in harmony with the general character of the neighborhood; and would create a traffic hazard on existing streets.

Through their lawsuit, the Joneses had sought to have the P&Z’s development approval nullified and have the special exception to the zoning regulations for the construction project revoked. The Joneses had sought to have a judge order the developers to stop all construction.

Tentative Settlement

In the tentative settlement of the Jones lawsuit, Walnut Tree developers agree to give the Joneses $17,000.

The Joneses would then seek town permission to connect to the municipal sewer system. If the town does not permit them to connect to the sewer system, the developers would be required to pay the Joneses an additional $8,000.

Besides payment made to the Joneses, the developers would make various improvements on the Jones property, including supplying fieldstone for construction of a stone wall; installing a 180-foot-long heavy duty split-rail fence; repairing and improving the Joneses’ driveway; installing a stormwater drainage catch basin, and planting 36 white pine trees between the Jones property and the condo complex, among other work.

P&Z members endorsed the tentative settlement December 7.

Two other lawsuits stemming from the Walnut Tree Village approval are pending against the P&Z and Walnut Tree Developers.

In one of those lawsuits, Michael and Kathleen Nowak of 7 Patriot Ridge Road, and also Keith and Mary Ann O’Donnell, also of Patriot Ridge Road, state that in approving the expansion project, the P&Z acted illegally, arbitrarily, and in abuse of its discretion. The plaintiffs state, in part, they are aggrieved by the P&Z’s development approval and will suffer the direct adverse effects of traffic and noise from the development site.

Through the lawsuit, the Nowaks and O’Donnells seek to have a judge overturn the P&Z’s approval of a special exception to the zoning regulations to build the 110-unit expansion project.

The other lawsuit against the P&Z and the developers filed on behalf of Mary Burnham of 24 Walnut Tree Hill Road contends that an agreement she reached with Mr DeFilio limits the developers to the 80 condo units, which they have already built on Walnut Tree Hill Road. Mr DeFilio and his business partner, George Trudell, do business as Walnut Tree Developers.

Through her lawsuit, Ms Burnham seeks to have a judge reverse the P&Z’s decision to approve the expansion project, plus have her legal costs covered.

Plans to expand Walnut Tree Village drew stiff opposition at a June public hearing from neighboring residents. They objected to the project on several counts, and in some cases asked the P&Z to reject the construction proposal. The 110-unit expansion project is a scaled-down version of a 133-unit expansion proposal that the P&Z had rejected in November 1999. The revised application addresses issues raised by the P&Z in its initial rejection.

The developers plan to build 110 new condos on a rugged 35-acre site on Walnut Tree Hill Road adjacent to the 18-acre site where 80 condos now stand. Unlike the 18-acre site, which is relatively level, the 35-acre site is steep and poses a more complex construction project than did the 18-acre site.

Walnut Tree Developers has started construction of a private road at 14 Walnut Tree Hill Road to provide access to the condo expansion project. A private road at 26 Walnut Tree Hill Road serves the existing 80 condos.