Date: Fri 14-May-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-Parmalee-Hill-Road

Full Text:

P&Z Reviews Safety Concerns Over Parmalee Hill Road Subdivision

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

In light of area residents' public safety concerns, Planning and Zoning

Commission (P&Z) members have agreed to take a closer look at plans for a

residential subdivision proposed for land off the narrow, winding Parmalee

Hill Road.

P&Z members were poised to act on and possibly approve the proposed 13-lot

Daniels Hill Estates residential subdivision May 6 when P&Z member Michael

Osborne stressed his concern that many area residents at a March public

hearing had told P&Z members that traffic generated by the development would

worsen existing traffic hazards along Parmalee Hill Road, a street which links

Currituck Road to Butterfield Road.

The subdivision proposed by Daniels Hill Development, LLC, is planned for a

40-acre site west of Parmalee Hill Road. Local builder Michael Burton is a

partner in the project.

"I agree with the neighbors. I think the (traffic) sight lines are a major

concern," Mr Osborne said, adding he believes that extending a new road off

Parmalee Hill Road would worsen school bus safety.

Mr Osborne said he raised the public safety topic on behalf of current area

residents and people who would move into the proposed subdivision.

"I do respect the opinion of the neighbors who live there," he said.

"I believe there is going to be a (traffic) problem there," said P&Z Chairman

Daniel Fogliano. But the land use regulations don't allow the P&Z to reject

the application, as designed, based on sight line requirements, he said.

"What happens after we grant a subdivision approval?" Mr Osborne asked.

Mr Osborne said that when the developers finish building a subdivision, they

leave the area and any problems caused by the subdivision are inherited by the

town and the people who live in the area. Children will find themselves

waiting for school buses in a hazardous area, especially when it becomes icy

in the winter, he said.

Mr Fogliano said he will research the public safety issues posed by the

proposed subdivision.

P&Z member Heidi Winslow said the selectmen have the authority and duty to

consider the road-related public safety issues posed by the development plan.

The road geometry which would be created by the intersection of the proposed

subdivision road and Parmalee Hill Road is the issue the P&Z must address, Mr

Osborne said. "I think there's a problem with it," he said.

P&Z members will tackle that issue at their next meeting, Mr Fogliano said.

Parmalee Hill Road area residents in March warned P&Z members that the

proposed subdivision would increase local traffic flow and pose added safety

hazards on that steep, narrow, winding street.

At the March hearing, resident Carol Turoczi of 38 Parmalee Hill Road seemed

to sum up the views of the many area residents who attended. Ms Turoczi 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 described the street "one of the town's worst roads" where large school

buses 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.