Following a public hearing on a proposal to greatly expand the Rand-Whitney Container factory at 32 Schoolhouse Hill Road, P&Z members on September 17 conditionally approved the project for the 18.7-acre site.

P&Z members agreed that the plans to increase the factory’s size from 127,500 square feet to 308,000 square feet meet the standards and criteria for site development plan approval.

Also, the project meets the terms of the M-1 (Industrial) zoning regulations and conforms with the 2014 Town Plan of Conservation and Development, P&Z members decided.

P&Z members approved the zoning aspects of the project on the condition that the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) approves the environmental protection aspects of the proposal.

The IWC started a public hearing on the Rand-Whitney project on September 9. That hearing was scheduled to resume on September 23. The firm is seeking a wetlands/watercourses protection permit from the IWC.

At the September 17 P&Z hearing, civil engineer Will Walter of BSC Group of Glastonbury, representing Rand-Whitney, provided P&Z members with multiple reports on the expansion project, describing the construction work planned for the site.

Mr Walter also described a series of landscaped retaining walls planned to enhance the appearance of the expanded factory’s facade.

Plant Manager Geoffrey Schiffenhaus said the firm has operated the factory for the past 12 years. The equipment inside the corrugated cardboard container factory is old, he said, adding that the company wants to remain competitive in the industry, and thus would bring in new equipment to do so.

Having new equipment in operation would mean that higher quality products are manufactured, he said. Such new equipment is larger than the existing equipment in the factory, he said.

Besides the factory’s expansion, the tractor-trailer truck traffic flow there would be reorganized, Mr Walter said.

According to a traffic/access study on the project presented to the P&Z, additional truck traffic can be accommodated by the roadways and intersections in the area.

 Also, the planned creation of a signalized four-way intersection of Church Hill Road, Edmond Road, and Commerce Road will improve traffic conditions in the area, according to the report.

Starting in 2016, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) plans to make a variety of road improvements along Church Hill Road, west of the Exit 10 interchange. That area has the town’s highest accident rate.

The $4-million project would include shifting the southern end of Edmond Road westward so that Edmond Road is part of a signalized four-way intersection with Church Hill Road and Commerce Road. The existing southern section of Edmond Road would then be demolished.

P&Z Chairman Robert Mulholland asked how much more truck traffic a factory expansion would create.

Mr Schiffenhaus estimated that truck traffic would increase by about 15 percent. The factory currently has about 60 workers, he said, adding that the staff could increase to about 100 workers after the expansion occurs.

The amount of pavement at the site would increase from 157,000 square feet to 270,000 square feet. The number of parking spaces would rise from 125 to 169.

Public Comment

Peggy Baiad of 4 Budd Drive, which is near the factory, asked about the expansion project’s effect on existing industrial noise caused by the factory.

Mr Schiffenhaus responded that the firm is seeking to reduce noise levels in the area by moving certain external equipment to an area inside the factory. The planned removal of an industrial device from the factory’s roof would decrease outdoor noise levels, he said.

Also, the new section of the factory would be built with outdoor noise reduction in mind, he said.

Bryan Atherton of Black Walnut Drive, who is a realtor, complimented Rand-Whitney on the expansion project’s design. Also, he said it is good that the plans call for improving the hazardous intersection of Edmond Road and Schoolhouse Hill Road.

 Betsy Paynter, town economic development coordinator, said the factory expansion project is good for local economic development.

“We’d like to have more Rand-Whitneys in Newtown,” she said.

In August, the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) granted Rand-Whitney two zoning variances, which the company sought for the expansion project.

ZBA members unanimously approved Rand-Whitney’s request for the zoning variances concerning the maximum percentage of lot coverage by structures, and also the minimum front-yard setback distance at the property.

The Edmond Road corridor has experienced some significant industrial expansion during the past decade, including the expansion and conversion of a former Pitney-Bowes facility by Advanced Fusion Systems at 11 Edmond Road, and the construction of industrial space by 5-K Enterprises Inc at 3 Edmond Road.

Besides Newtown, Rand-Whitney has eight other industrial locations, including Waterbury, as well as facilities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Ireland.