Date: Fri 12-Feb-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

traffic-safety-P&Z

Full Text:

Neighbors Say Proposed Development Could Pose Traffic Safety Hazards

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Parmalee Hill Road area residents are warning Planning and Zoning Commission

(P&Z) members that a 13-lot residential subdivision proposed for that area

would increase local traffic flow and pose added safety hazards on that steep,

narrow, winding street.

The P&Z conducted a public hearing March 4 on Daniels Hill Estates, a

subdivision proposed for 40 acres off Parmalee Hill Road by Daniels Hills

Development, LLC. Local builder Michael Burton is a partner in the development

project.

Twelve of the proposed 13 lots would have road frontage on Daniels Hill Road,

a proposed 1,490-foot dead-end street which would extend into the rugged

development site from the west side of Parmalee Hill Road, just north of the

Maybrook Railroad Company train tracks and east of Georges Hill Road. Nine

acres of the site would be designated open space land.

Resident Carol Turoczi of 38 Parmalee Hill Road told P&Z members the proposed

construction would be very disruptive to the landscape and would result in a

traffic burden on Parmalee Hill Road, a street which she termed "extremely,

extremely dangerous right now." She termed the street "one of the town's worst

roads" where large school busses have been banned for 20 years due to

hazardous driving conditions. The proposed construction work would cause

environmental damage in the drainage area leading down to the Housatonic

River, she said.

"When this subdivision is put in...it will change that whole entire area...it

will change everything," she said. "That road is horrendous as it stands at

the moment," she said of Parmalee Hill Road. "This is a brutal piece of land.

It is a horrendous piece of land to build on," she said.

Resident Paul Magnuson of 35 Parmalee Hill Road said the road is exceedingly

difficult in winter. "The whole road is extremely narrow" he said.

Resident Justin Scott of 40 Parmalee Hill Road said "It's a very, very narrow,

twisty road" both to the north and south of the proposed new intersection.

Resident Keats Skill of Parmalee Hill Road said there have been drainage

problems for decades on the narrow Parmalee Hill Road. The passage of heavy

construction equipment over the road will cause it to collapse, he said.

Considerable drainage problems exists to the area south of the proposed

intersection, he said. He urged P&Z members to adequately address drainage

problems before acting on the development proposal.

Resident Paul Carpenter of 19 Parmalee Hill Road said "The whole road is

dangerous. It's been neglected. I can't see why we're putting in new roads

when we can't take care of old roads...It's pathetic."

"I'm against it," he said of the development proposal. "I think somebody needs

to come up with a better plan," he added.

Resident Larry Russell of 53 Parmalee Hill Road wrote a letter to the P&Z on

the development proposal. He wrote, in part, "Like many of Newtown's roads

(Parmalee Hill Road) is narrow, hilly, winding, with virtually no shoulders.

There are several spots that are extremely dangerous due to blind curves,

steep inclines and minimal width. This proposed road may meet minimal planning

and zoning standards but I believe it will exacerbate an existing hazardous

condition on Parmalee Hill Road." Steps should be taken by the town or the

developer to improve visibility problems near the proposed intersection, he

wrote.

Also, the presence of the subdivision may provide easier access for youths who

loiter in two abandoned railroad tunnels beneath Parmalee Hill Road, he added.

Visual Aids

Resident Penny Meek of 40 Butterfield Road presented P&Z members with a

variety of graphics to explain her concerns about the development project.

Ms Meek said the locational map provided by the developers to depict where the

site lies in relation to other existing construction lacks sufficient

information, inadequately describing the area's construction density.

It takes two to three years to build the roadways and houses in a subdivision,

she said, speaking of her experience in living next to Butterfield Woods on

Butterfield Road. Ms Meek suggested that an adequate number of garbage bins

and portable toilets be kept on the development site. She said gravel driveway

aprons should be maintained to control sediment from entering roadways. Ms

Meek asked that nearby residents be given a break from workmen building

subdivisions on weekends. She urged that nearby homeowners have independent

pre-blasting inspections done to determine if blasting on the site causes

damage to their properties. The heavy truck traffic which would travel over

Parmalee Hill Road during construction will damage that road, she said.

"Parmalee Hill Road itself is in horrendous physical condition," she said. The

Daniels Hill Estates site is the last piece of open land in that general area,

she said.

Response

Attorney Bill Denlinger, representing the applicants, told P&Z members

different versions of the development application have been reviewed twice by

the Conservation Commission. "It's been engineered and re-engineered," he

said.

In response to comments made by nearby residents, engineer Larry Edwards,

representing the developers, acknowledged that Parmalee Hill Road is a narrow

road, adding that he understands the residents' concerns.

Mr Edwards acknowledged that many of Ms Meek's comments are valid ones.

The sight line distances for the proposed intersection comply with town

standards, he said. The publicly-owned Parmalee Hill Road doesn't meet the

town's standards for new roads, he said.

Land use regulations don't require the developers to improve Parmalee Hill

Road beyond the area where it will intersect with the proposed Daniels Hill

Road, he said. The proposed development will no have effect on drainage on

Parmalee Hill Road or Georges Hill Road, he said. The proposed work will not

increase the rate of stormwater runoff from the site, he said. A special

device will be affixed to a drain pipe to prevent it from being plugged by the

work of beavers, he said.

Road guardrails would be installed in areas where required along

steeply-sloped sections of Daniels Hill Road, Mr Edwards said. The engineer

said he expects rock ledge will be found in some areas of the development

where it would be used as a natural retaining wall for the landscape.

P&Z members said town land use staff members will review modifications to the

development plans which Mr Edwards had made in response to the staff members'

comments on the development proposal. The public hearing on Daniels Hill

Estates will be continued at an upcoming P&Z session.

Conservation

In December 1997, the Daniels Hill Estates developer applied to the

Conservation Commission to do regulated construction work in wetland and

watercourse areas. The commission conducted public hearings on the application

in February and March 1998, and rejected the application in April 1998. The

developers sued the Conservation Commission in May 1998 in seeking court

approval for the project.

According to the developer's lawsuit, the commission's denial of the

application was based on considerations which weren't part of the public

hearing record, exceeded the commission's powers, and was speculative and

vague.

The developer later submitted a revised wetlands application to Conservation

which gained commission approval last September.