Following discussion at a November 20 Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) session, P&Z members unanimously endorsed Newtown Hook & Ladder, Company, No. 1’s proposal to build a firehouse on Church Hill Road to replace the town-owned firehouse at 45 Main Street which the fire company now uses.

The fire company is seeking a special permit from the Borough Zoning Commission (BZC) to build a firehouse at a 3.16-acre site, which would have the street address of 12 Church Hill Road.

Trinity Episcopal Church of 36 Main Street now owns that land which it would sell to the fire company for $500,000, if the company receives all required regulatory approvals for the construction project.

The P&Z serves as the borough’s planning agency and thus makes recommendations to the BZC on development proposals from a municipal planning perspective.

The proposed firehouse would enclose approximately 16,000 square feet of floor space, of which about 13,000 square feet would be at ground level, and about 3,000 square feet would be in a partial second story, according to George Benson, town director of planning.

The firehouse proposal is slated as the subject of a BZC public hearing on December 10, according to Mr Benson.

Mr Benson told P&Z members that after the fire company receives all required approvals for its project, the 3.16-acre site would be legally split off from the church’s existing 8.06-ace property. The land has R-1 (Residential) zoning.

Consensus

Before the P&Z had reached a consensus among members to endorse the firehouse proposal, P&Z Chairman Robert Mulholland told P&Z members that the borough zoners have the regulatory authority over the specifics of the firehouse project.

The P&Z’s role involves deciding whether the firehouse plans are consistent with the purpose and intent of the 2014 Town Plan of Conservation and Development, he said. The town and the borough are covered by that plan.

Rob Manna, representing Hook & Ladder, told P&Z members that the firehouse which the fire company now uses is in “deplorable condition.”

The structure was declared structurally unsound many years ago. Steel beams are being used to shore  up its main-level floor. Also, bracing has been placed on its western exterior masonry wall to counteract wall cracking. The building, which has been in service for about 80 years, was not designed to house modern fire trucks, which are much heavier than those of the past.

The firehouse construction project would allow the fire company to own its firehouse, rather than continue to operate out of the town-owned firehouse. The town’s four other volunteer fire companies — Dodgingtown, Hawleyville, Sandy Hook, and Botsford — each own their firehouses.

The overall price of a new Hook & Ladder  firehouse project is yet unclear. So that Hook & Ladder could effectively make the transition from housing its equipment in municipal quarters to housing the equipment in quarters which the fire company owns, the town would provide an overall $1.5 million subsidy toward the firehouse project.

Mr Manna told P&Z members that Hook & Ladder responds to many fire calls and wants to operate out of a safe structure. Also, the current firehouse is not large enough for its work, he said.

Mr Manna said fire company would keep the size of the proposed firehouse “condensed” through a design feature that provides double-depth garage bays. Thus, the structure would have garage doors on the front and rear of the building.

Specifics

According to documents which have been submitted by the fire company, the presence of the firehouse would not have any adverse effects on property values in the area. The plans call for 28 parking spaces at the site. The facility would be served by public water and public sanitary sewer lines.

J. Edwards & Associates, LLC, of Easton is the engineering firm. Claris Construction Inc of Newtown has done the architectural drawings.

The construction application lists the names of people who own 122 properties which lie within 1,000 feet of the development site. Those people will be formally notified of the BZC’s upcoming public hearing.

At that BZC hearing, the applicant is expected to present a traffic report which would, among other topics, address the project’s impact upon area traffic flow and safety; its effects on peak-hour traffic flow; its effects on area roads’ service levels; and address any road improvements that would be needed.

Following an architectural review, the Borough of Newtown Historic District Commission in October granted the fire company a “certificate of appropriateness” for the proposed firehouse.

The fire company recently received a wetlands/watercourses protection permit.

In November 2013, Trinity Episcopal Church members endorsed selling land to the fire company for firehouse construction. The firehouse site lies generally south and east of the church’s rear driveway.