P&Z Due To Unveil Major ‘Upzoning’ Plan

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) will soon publicly present its proposal to upgrade the minimum zoning requirements for many residential sections of town, a plan aimed at protecting water quality in the Pootatuck Aquifer and groundwater quality in general.

The comprehensive rezoning proposal, known as “upzoning” because it increases certain minimum zoning requirements, covers an aggregate area of more than four square miles, or an area greater than 2,500 acres. The town’s overall area is about 60 square miles or approximately 38,400 acres.

The Pootatuck Aquifer is the public drinking water source for United Water, a privately owned public utility which provides water to more than 1,100 accounts in central and south-central Newtown. The aquifer also provides water to Fairfield Hills, Nunnawauk Meadows and Garner Correctional Institution, as well as providing water to hundreds of families which have individual wells drilled into the aquifer.

The P&Z has scheduled a public hearing on the upzoning proposal for Thursday, December 2 at 8 pm at Newtown Middle School auditorium, 11 Queen Street. Documents explaining which properties are affected are available for public review during business hours at the town land use office at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills, and at the town clerk’s office in Edmond Town Hall at 25 Main Street. Documents include a color-coded zoning map reflecting the proposed zoning changes, plus a color-coded list of affected properties.

Also, a list of frequently asked questions about the proposal, plus answers, is available at the land use office and the first selectman’s office.

The proposal covers approximately 2,300 residential properties in the central and south-central sections of town, plus the several densely developed lakeside communities situated along Lake Zoar. The proposed rezoning affects properties along more than 170 streets.

P&Z members have intermittently been discussing such a widespread rezoning since 1996. The idea gained currency after it was suggested by the Newtown Neighborhoods Coalition, an ad hoc group that is concerned about the adverse effects of continuing rapid residential growth.

The rezoning would not affect the Borough of Newtown, which has a set of zoning regulations separate from the town zoning regulations.

Elizabeth Stocker, the P&Z’s planning aide, said Wednesday the proposed rezoning would bring the town zoning map into harmony with new tougher aquifer protection regulations which the P&Z approved last June. Those aquifer regulations place new, stricter limits on development within the Aquifer Protection District (APD) which lies above the Pootatuck Aquifer.

The proposed rezoning is intended to reinforce the town policy of sewer avoidance, under which preventive steps are taken to keep the municipal sewer system from being expanded.

 Ms Stocker said the new zone boundaries created by a rezoning would not place individual properties in two different zones.

The proposed rezoning would help the town handle environmental issues stemming from “building knockdowns” in the lakeside communities along Lake Zoar, Ms Stocker said.  In such cases old, obsolete buildings are knocked down to make way for new buildings. New, stricter zoning regulations in those tightly built areas would maintain or reduce allowable construction densities as a means to prevent future groundwater pollution problems. Those areas include Shady Rest, Pootatuck Park, Riverside, Cedarhurst, and Great Quarter.

In general, the proposed rezoning seeks to maintain existing construction densities in areas that are already developed, as well decrease the potential construction densities in areas which are undeveloped. Much of the land proposed for rezoning already has been developed.

Zoning Map

The proposed zoning map shows four basic aspects of the rezoning proposal.

Areas of existing 1/2 -acre residential zoning increased to 1-acre residential zoning. These areas include a long strip of land along the western side of South Main Street extending southward from Borough Lane to Orchard Hill Road. The area extends approximately 1,500 feet westward from South Main Street. Also included are Shady Rest, Pootatuck Park, Riverside, Cedarhurst, Great Quarter, and an area north of Interstate-84, near Exit 10. 

Areas of existing 1/2 -acre residential zoning increased to 2-acre residential zoning. These areas include properties along the western end of Riverside Road and along Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook Center, as well as some properties along Botsford Hill Road.

Areas of existing 1/2 -acre residential zoning that would retain that zoning designation. This small area, which contains only a handful of properties, is along the southern end of Queen Street.

Areas of existing 1-acre residential zoning that would be increased to 2-acre residential zoning. Those properties are bounded by Black Cherry Lane on the north and extend southward along Toddy Hill Road to Botsford Hill Road. The western boundary of the area generally follows the Pootatuck River. The area includes properties with frontage along both sides of Toddy Hill Road, as well as the side streets that extend westward from Toddy Hill Road. The area also extends eastward along Route 34 to Sugarloaf Road.

Ms Stocker recommends that residents in the affected areas consult the zoning documents to learn whether their properties would be affected by the proposed rezoning.

According to the town health department, the proposed rezoning serves to protect the water quality of the Pootatuck Aquifer and groundwater quality in general.

In areas where sewer service is not available, a 1-acre residential lot is the minimum size lot that can safely accommodate both a domestic water well and a septic system; having water wells and septic systems on lots smaller than one acre leads to an accumulative degradation of groundwater, according to the health department.

Under the upzoning proposal, certain minimum new construction standards for undeveloped land would increase in terms of lot size; the minimum lot width at the streetline; the minimum building setbacks for front yards, rear yards and side yards; and the “minimum square” for building placement purposes. The construction potential of land whose minimum lot size is increased upward from 1/2 -acre zoning to either 1-acre or 2-acre zoning would be most affected by the upzoning.

In some cases, property owners whose land is rezoned would need to obtain zoning variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals for certain construction work.

The P&Z’s proposal to increase minimum lot sizes comes on a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission Advisory Task Force, an ad hoc citizens group which meets to find ways the town can better regulate growth and protect the quality of underground drinking water supplies.