Newtown Sports Center Proposal Dropped

By Andrew Gorosko

A proposal to construct a controversial major indoor/outdoor private recreational sports complex on Mt Pleasant Road, known as Newtown Sports Center, has been dropped by its developers, as a local man proceeds with his plans to build a sports complex on town land at Fairfield Hills.

Repeated attempts to reach SEPG, LLC, officials to comment on that firm’s decision were unsuccessful.

Both engineer/architect Peder Scott and builder William Hoadley reportedly had no comment on the firm’s decision to withdraw its development proposal.

An employee at Mr Scott’s Brewster, N.Y., engineering and architecture firm, speaking on behalf of Mr Scott, but who asked not to be identified, said October 4 the firm has dropped the sports center proposal.

Last April, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) approved a set of zoning rule changes to allow sports complexes in the M-2A (Industrial) zone, following a March request from developer SEPG, LLC, of Brookfield, which had a purchase option to buy a sloping 33.4-acre site at 93 Mt Pleasant Road, where it wanted to build the proposed Newtown Sports Center in an M-2A zone.

An initial construction phase would have included indoor and outdoor sports facilities, as well as office space. Additional phases of the four-building project would have included office space and industrial space. One version of the overall project has been proposed to enclose more than 320,000 square feet of space. The site, which would have contained an estimated 500 parking spaces, is west of Whippoorwill Hill Road.

But the sports center proposal later encountered stiff opposition from neighbors, who charged that the presence of such a facility would adversely affect them. The neighbors charged that a P&Z legal notice on SEPG’s April public hearing was so obscure that they did not understand what was being proposed for the site.

In response to those neighbors’ concerns, the P&Z modified its zoning rules on September 20 to tighten its controls over the use of a sports complex. In that action, the P&Z stated that outdoor nighttime activities must end by 9 pm on Mondays through Saturdays, and must end by 7 pm on Sundays. Also, a sports center would be subject to various operational controls concerning the safety, health, and welfare of the community.

Additionally, the P&Z decided that standards would need to be set to protect nearby residents from the potential adverse effects of outdoor sporting events.

Also, on September 20, the Water and Sewer Authority (WSA) turned down a request from SEPG to extend municipal sanitary sewers to the sports center site from the Hawleyville sewer system.

WSA members turned down the request for a sewer extension because it was unclear how much money the town would be willing to contribute toward the construction of a sewer line serving the sports center.

Town Public Works Director Fred Hurley said this week that sewer construction would cost approximately $3.5 million. An appraiser for the town estimated that the sports center should pay at least $1.6 million toward that sewering project.

It remained unclear, however, how much money the town would be willing to contribute toward sewer construction.

As such, the WSA turned down SEPG’s sewering request, without prejudice, asking that SEPG negotiate with the town to clarify sewer funding issues before reapplying to the WSA for a sewer connection.

Also, on September 20, the P&Z approved modifications to the Fairfield Hills Master Plan, creating a mechanism to allow the construction of the nonprofit Newtown Youth Academy (NYA), a private sports/recreation facility at Fairfield Hills.

The Fairfield Hills Authority (FHA) recently recommended that the town enter a lease agreement that would allow the sports facility to be built. The project is proposed by resident Peter D’Amico.

Under the arrangement, the town would make land available at Fairfield Hills and Mr D’Amico would finance the sports complex. The project would include the demolition of Bridgewater House, where the sports facility would be built. The single-story structure would have two wings that enclose indoor sports courts. The 65,000-square-foot facility would be designed in keeping with the architectural style of Fairfield Hills.

In a related matter, the P&Z conducted a public hearing on September 20 on a site plan for the project. That hearing was slated resume on October 4, after the deadline for this edition of The Newtown Bee.