Proposed Condo Complex Gains Aquifer

Protection Endorsement

By Andrew Gorosko

A proposal to construct a 24-unit condominium complex on the west side of Washington Avenue in Sandy Hook Center has cleared another regulatory hurdle, with Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members determining that the project would have no significant adverse effect on the underlying environmentally sensitive Pootatuck Aquifer.

At a December 10 session, IWC members unanimously endorsed the development application with a “finding of no significant impact” (FONSI) concerning the project’s effect on the subterranean water supply, which is the town’s designated “sole source aquifer.” The Pootatuck Aquifer is the source of two public water supplies.

Through the FONSI endorsement, IWC members are recommending the project’s approval to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z). The IWC is the town’s aquifer protection agency.

Because the site is within the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD), an aquifer protection review of the project is conducted by the town. The APD is an overlay zone within which strict environmental rules are enforced to protect the aquifer’s water quality.

In November, the IWC had unanimously approved local builder/developer Michael Burton’s wetlands permit applications to conduct regulated activities in connection with the construction of six new condo buildings, and also the construction a footbridge over the Pootatuck River, plus a footpath leading to that bridge.

The footbridge would link the fairly level 10.2-acre condo site at 12 through 20-A Washington Avenue to commercial property at 102 Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook Center.

The P&Z is scheduled to conduct a January 22 public hearing on Mr Burton’s application for a special zoning permit for the project, which is known as The River Walk.

Besides the special zoning permit request, the P&Z would act on the project’s proposed site development plans, as well the aquifer protection aspects of the application.

The River Walk project has been determined to comply with the town’s flood protection ordinance, meaning that the condo buildings would not be flooded during a “100-year storm,” or the worst flooding that could be expected from the nearby Pootatuck River during a hypothetical 100-year period. The site has about 520 feet of frontage on the river.

Also, the Water & Sewer Authority (WSA) has given preliminary approval to Mr Burton for a municipal sanitary sewer connection for the complex.

The condo complex’s drinking water would be provided by United Water’s public water supply system.

Town Conservation Official Rob Sibley said this week that the aquifer protection review of such a development proposal is simplified for the IWC when a project’s wastewater would be discharged into sanitary sewers and its drinking water would be provided by a public water supply system, as is the case with the proposed condo complex.

Heating equipment for the condo complex would be powered by propane gas stored in underground tanks.

In a technical report on aquifer protection planning for the project, hydrogeologist R.G. Slayback, representing the developer, states that the project’s stormwater drainage system, coupled with six water-quality basins, plus buried water infiltration devices, would likely result in improved groundwater recharge rates on the site. The site is in a primary water recharge area for the underlying aquifer.

“The condominium association by-laws will stress the importance of water quality protection within the Aquifer Protection District,” according to Mr Slayback’s technical report.

“If the proposed development is built in accordance with [its engineering plans], it will meet the letter and intent of the Newtown Aquifer Protection District,” he added.

Mr Burton proposes The River Walk as a complex where eight of the dwellings would be designated as “affordable housing” and be sold to owners or rented to tenants at prices that are significantly lower than the 16 “market rate” units in the complex.

The eight affordable housing units would conform with regulations limiting the amount of money which the owners would pay to buy the units, or that tenants would pay to occupy the residences.

Under the development plans, five existing land parcels on Washington Avenue would be combined into one 10.2-acre parcel for condo complex construction.

Six new buildings would be constructed. Five buildings would hold four condos each. One building would contain two condos. Also, two existing houses on the site would function as condos.

The developer proposes a condo complex at which half of the units would be sold to owners, with the other half rented out to tenants. In the proposed complex, 11 of the new multifamily units would be one-story, two-bedroom ranch-style residences, with the other 11 new residences designed as two-story, three-bedroom townhouse units.

The condos would have no basements. The complex would not have garages. About 3.15 acres of the site would be developed. The condo complex would be served by sanitary sewers.

The development application submitted to the IWC indicates that the condo complex would be completed by the winter of 2012.

The site has R-2 (Residential) zoning, which is designated for single-family houses constructed on building lots of at least two acres in area. However, when an application is submitted under the terms of the P&Z’s affordable housing regulations, a construction density bonus takes effect.

As an incentive to create affordable housing, the P&Z allows developers to create a higher-than-normal construction density on a site, allowing more residences to be built than would normally be permitted.

The construction density incentive allows sufficient units to be constructed so that the sale or rental of market-rate units creates financial subsidies for the construction of the lower-priced affordable units.