Developers Envision 200 Condos For Site Off Route 302

By Andrew Gorosko

A development group is formulating a proposal to build up to 200 age-restricted condominiums on a steep, wet, rugged, 175-acre tract lying north and west of Route 302 (Sugar Street), in the vicinity of Robin Hill Road.

Stephen D. Wippermann, representing KASL, LLC, and IBF, LLC, met on the evening of April 29 at Edmond Town Hall with several dozen property owners from that area to address their concerns about the development project. Mr Wippermann is a member of the development group.

Mr Wippermann told a reporter who attempted to cover the meeting that it was a private session and not open to the press.

The two limited liability corporations have not yet submitted their plans for the project to town land use agencies. The project would be the largest local residential development proposal in the last several years.

The property proposed for condominium development is bounded on the north by Scudder Road, and on the south by Route 302. Access to the site would be provided from Scudder Road and from Route 302.

An emergency accessway to the site would connect to the western developed section of Robin Hill Road, off Rock Ridge Road. The eastern developed section of Robin Hill Road would not be used for access. The interior section of Robin Hill Road, which links that road’s two developed sections, is simply a trail through the woods.

A conceptual drawing of the complex prepared by Spath-Bjorklund Associates, Inc, Monroe, depicts a curving interior through-road extending over rugged terrain, linking Scudder Road to Route 302. That through-road would have a dead-end road extending from it.

The 28 buildings depicted on the drawing would contain 200 age-restricted condominiums for people over age 55. The project would include 17 buildings with five condos each, five buildings with 16 units each, three buildings with eight units each, two buildings with four units each, and one building with three units.

The three eight-unit buildings and the five 16-unit buildings would be three stories tall. The other 20 buildings would be two stories tall.

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members recently rejected a developer’s requested zoning regulation change that would have allowed finished basements in such multifamily age-restricted developments.

According to the conceptual design, the proposed condo development would be served by large-scale community septic systems. There is no sanitary sewer service or public water service in that area. The site is in the town’s sewer-avoidance area. Most multifamily complexes are served by sanitary sewers.

Change Of Zone

In a letter that Mr Wippermann provided to the people who attended the April 29 session on the development proposal, he explained that KASL, LLC, and IBF, LLC, intend to submit an application to the P&Z in the coming weeks for a change of zone, which, if approved, would change the 175-acre property’s zoning designation from R-2 (Residential) to EH-10 (Elderly Housing).

R-2 zoning is designated for single-family house construction, in which house lots are at least two acres.

EH-10 zoning is designated for high-density, multifamily housing for people over age 55. EH-10 is the zoning designation at Walnut Tree Village on Walnut Tree Hill Road, The Homesteads at Newtown on Mt Pleasant Road, Nunnawauk Meadows on Nunnawauk Road, Ashlar of Newtown and Lockwood Lodge on Toddy Hill Road, and Liberty at Newtown on Mt Pleasant Road.

Among the various forms of residential development, EH-10 development provides the town with the greatest tax benefit, and produces the least volume of traffic and least demand for public services, according to Mr Wippermann.

Without receiving a zone change from R-2 to EH-10 from the P&Z, the developers could not proceed with planning for the type of age-restricted project that they have in mind.

The developers would require wetland approvals from the Conservation Commission, as well as a “special exception” and “site development plan” approvals from the P&Z.

In his letter, Mr Wipperman explains that the development proposal, as depicted in the drawing, would change as planning for a complex evolves.

“The application process will involve many changes and, we think, will take about two years,” the letter states.

Basic aspects of the proposed development include vehicle access from Route 302 and from Scudder Road, emergency access from the developed western section of Robin Hill Road, but no access from the developed eastern section of Robin Hill Road, the letter adds.

Mr Wippermann has met with town land use officials in the past to discuss the prospects for developing the 175-acre parcel.

Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker said this week that any proposal for such an age-restricted housing complex would have to provide evidence of whether there is sufficient regional market demand for such construction. The town already has several complexes designated for people over 55, she noted.

The P&Z would weigh the specifics of any development proposal for the site, she said. Without knowing the details of such a project, it is premature to say whether such a complex would be beneficial to the town, she said.

Mr Wippermann’s letter to property owners near the development site states, “In the event that a zone change application is not successful, we would then pursue one for affordable housing. We are confident such a [affordable housing] proposal would be successful under state and/or local regulations, and would involve [a construction] density at least as great as one under EH-10.”

The Connecticut Affordable Housing Appeals Act provides a state-sanctioned regulatory mechanism for developers to pursue construction of affordable housing complexes in cases where they encounter local opposition to such complexes. At least 30 percent of the units in affordable housing complexes are designated for people meeting certain income limits.