Date: Fri 27-Aug-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Walnut-Tree-Hill-P&Z

Full Text:

P&Z Weighs Its Options On Unauthorized Work At Walnut Tree Hills

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members find themselves facing a dilemma

in deciding what to do about Walnut Tree Developers' request for P&Z approvals

for construction changes which the firm made at its 80-unit Walnut Tree

Village condominium complex without first obtaining P&Z permission.

The developers need the P&Z's endorsement to obtain the final certificate of

occupancy for the 80-unit complex.

P&Z members discussed the situation at an August 19 meeting but did not act.

Discussion and possible action on the matter is slated for a P&Z meeting at

7:30 pm September 2 at Room A-107 at Newtown High School, 12 Berkshire Road.

The requested approvals involve work concerning sidewalks, exterior lighting,

stone retaining walls, guard rails, a pond aerator, sewage treatment, walk-out

basement window and door options, fire hydrants, trees, bushes, signage,

lighting, a gazebo, and a falling rock problem.

The P&Z approved Walnut Tree Village as the town's first condominium complex

in 1995. Since then, Walnut Tree Developers has been building the 80-unit

complex on Walnut Tree Hill Road in Sandy Hook for people over 55, but made

many changes to the construction plans without first seeking P&Z approval.

P&Z member Stephen Koch expressed safety concerns about an exposed rockface

near some of the condo units which was not graded as the construction

specifications had indicated and now poses a falling rock hazard. Mr Koch also

expressed concerns about the developers creating walkout basements in some of

the units without the construction drawings showing such features.

"The plans didn't show doors and windows on the basements," said P&Z member

Heidi Winslow, adding that construction drawings indicated there would be

living area on only one level of the buildings, not two levels. Allowing

living areas on two levels is not permitted in housing for the elderly such as

Walnut Tree Village, she said.

Although the drawings the developers had presented to the P&Z in 1994 did not

show doors and windows on the basement level of condo units, notes on the

construction drawings referred to such features.

Mr Koch asked members whether the P&Z had been duped by the developers in the

creation of walkout basements at the complex.

"The applicants took all the `gray areas' and used them to their advantage,"

said P&Z Chairman Daniel Fogliano, adding that the applicants, in some cases,

regraded the land to make slopes which would allow walkout basements to be

created.

"It was a bit of a learning curve," said Mr Koch. In some cases, the

developers did things they should not have done, he said. In other cases, the

construction project was a learning experience for both the developers and the

town, he added.

Town zoning regulations specify that housing for the elderly must be built on

one level, Ms Winslow stressed. She noted that the P&Z had rejected a past

request from the developers which would have allowed them to build two-story

condo units in the proposed second phase of Walnut Tree Village.

The developers are seeking P&Z permission to build an additional 133 units.

(See Related Story).

Of the existing units with walkout basements, Ms Winslow said, "It's a

dilemma. What's built is built."

The P&Z cannot have the zoning enforcement officer bar those illegal doors,

but how can the P&Z allow such architectural features the violate the zoning

regulations, she asked.

"We shouldn't be amending our own regulations by default," she said.

"There certainly were quite a few changes overall," said P&Z member Lilla

Dean.

"People have made a large investment in those facilities," said P&Z member

Michael Osborne. "It puts our town in a very horrible position to come back

after the fact and adjust these things." Granting such zoning amendments is a

road the town should not travel, he said.

Mr Fogliano said, "I can't see approval of this (request) just because the

work is already done." Applicants should seek permission from the P&Z before

they make construction changes, he said. The original application for Walnut

Tree Village was "highly sensitive" when it was approved in 1995, he noted.

Mr Fogliano said he cannot support the request for zoning amendments, adding,

though, "I don't know what the recourse is."

"What options are there?," Mr Koch asked.

Ms Winslow said the three possible solutions suggested by the applicants to

solve the rockface problem are not satisfactory solutions.

Work should be done to make the rockface meet the specifications of the

grading plan submitted to the P&Z in the 1994 construction drawings, she said.

The P&Z must strive to maintain public safety, she added.

P&Z members should gather more information on the problems posed by the

construction changes and discuss the matter further before acting, Mr Fogliano

said.

While the P&Z mulls what to do about the developers' requested approvals for

the construction changes, the developers also have pending before the P&Z a

proposal to add 133 more condo units in a second construction phase. The land

where the 133 units would be built is much steeper and more difficult for

construction than the site of the first phase.