The Board of Selectmen heard presentations by two key town staffers June 1, detailing a number of comings and goings.

Brief presentations by Economic Development Coordinator Betsy Paynter and Planning Director George Benson revealed a number of new commercial projects going up or being planned for development, as well as buildings that have or will be coming down after being cited under Newtown’s Blight Ordinance.

Ms Paynter moved deftly through a thick dossier of projects on the drawing board or poised to open in the coming weeks and months, as well as detailing a new economic development map that has divided the community into seven separate business districts.

Those districts, she explained, encompass Hawleyville, Botsford, Dodgingtown, Sandy Hook Village, the Newtown Borough area, Fairfield Hills, and a strip stretching down along South Main Street between the Borough and Botsford.

She then detailed some of the developments either planned or in execution stage; whether and how much remaining developable land remains available; along with the utility infrastructure available in each of the districts.

In Hawleyville, Ms Paynter described continuing activity along the so-called “Medical Mile,” an area that is thick with developments supporting various medical and health care enterprises. She displayed photos of projects near completion, and a rendering of another planned new facility at 174 Mt Pleasant Road.

She also detailed planned expansions or developments slated for the Hilario’s service station property, as well as on the parcel occupied by Grace Christian Fellowship Church, which has both commercial and residential potential.

Ms Paynter’s review of borough projects included a new medical/retail site at 12 Queen Street; the new Hook & Ladder headquarters at 12 Church Hill Road, as well as another newly proposed modern office complex at 57 Church Hill Road.

Moving to Sandy Hook, the presentation revealed a rendering of a proposed apartment complex and community at 79 Church Hill Road, as well as an elevation sketch of another multifamily development called “River Walk at Sandy Hook Village” that could bring 74 new townhouses to the village center.

The Botsford focus was mainly on two large commercial industrial opportunities off Buttonshop Road, including the Batchelder parcel, which is still being considered for a solar power generating facility or “solar farm.” Ms Paynter also displayed an elevation showing the potential for a 9,600-square-foot development at 245 South Main Street.

The economic development official also detailed how the town was supporting both existing and planned businesses with a variety of activities including a manufacturers forum, ribbon cutting and groundbreaking ceremonies, and related marketing efforts all designed at boosting Newtown’s commercial tax base.

Ms Paynter was scheduled to make a similar presentation to the Legislative Council June 3, and presumably to the Board of Finance at some future date.

During Mr Benson’s brief presentation, he told selectmen that the town’s Blight Ordinance was continuing to serve its purpose. He said in the rare few cases where the ordinance and its legal ramifications had to be applied, it has been or is being effective in resolving situations that pose hazards to health, safety, and quality of life.

The planning official said Newtown has effectively used the legal tool to help facilitate removal of blighted structures on Hundred Acres Road, Ox Hill Road, Washington Avenue, as well as on Cedarhurst Trail and Church Hill Road, both where the town is still trying to identify the owner. Mr Benson told selectmen that his office works hard to identify and work with property owners so the town does not have to place a lien or initiate foreclosure actions.

“Some either basically don’t care, or they don’t have the money to do it, so we eventually have to foreclose,” Mr Benson said, adding that the town usually has to go to court to receive the citation fines, which amount to $100 per day until the blight condition is fixed or remedied.

The official then turned to the matter of an occupied home at 48 Main Street.

“We know the owner, they live there, they just have not responded to our requests,” Mr Benson said of the large residence straddling the corner of East Street.

First Selectman Pat Llodra asked about the status of a court appearance related to the property, which was set for June 1. Mr Benson said that the owner did not appear, so the judge made the unusual move of granting the town’s injunction immediately.

“Once that injunction is delivered, the court is fining them $100 a day,” Mr Benson said. “They have to comply or it will generate a fine of $100 per day, and I guess it could end up in jail time at some point. I don’t know where this is going to go — the person just doesn’t respond.”

Mr Benson said it is now a health and safety issue because “the building is basically falling down around them.”

Mrs Llodra said she has “significant concern about the welfare of the person that is in that structure,” and that involving the court is not to do harm, but to encourage the owner to do something about the health and safety issues.

Land records show the property owner is Janet M. Connor. Mr Benson said volunteers have offered to assist repairing and painting the property, and at this point the building inspector is poised to issue a condemnation order on the dwelling.

“Usually the people don’t live there, so it’s easier for us to go in and do things [to clean up blight],” Mr Benson said. “As long as people are complying or showing they are trying to do something, we usually leave them alone.”

This report was updated June 8 to remove an incorrect reference to the former BlueLinx property, and to a parcel on Hunter Hill.