Developer Appeals IWC Rejection Of Sherman Woods

By Andrew Gorosko

The developer of the controversial 38-lot Sherman Woods residential subdivision, which is proposed for a 158-acre agricultural site off Sherman Street in Sandy Hook, has filed a court appeal in seeking to overturn the Inland Wetlands Commission’s (IWC) recent rejection of the project.

In legal papers filed October 30 in Danbury Superior Court, developer William H. Joyce of Shepard Hill Road seeks to have a judge overrule the IWC’s October 14 rejection of the construction proposal and also order the IWC to approve the project.

Amey Marrella, the commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), is listed as a co-defendant in the lawsuit. The town has a December 8 court return date in the case.

After conducting seven public hearings from June through September, at which the developer presented the Sherman Woods proposal in detail, and nearby residents raised a variety of environmental objections to the project, the IWC on October 14 unanimously rejected the development application, listing a number of environmental concerns as its rationale.

Obtaining a wetlands permit for the project would precede the developer receiving a subdivision approval for the site from the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), which considers such applications as the town’s planning agency.

Sherman Woods is proposed for a tract of generally rolling, open and forested land in the area surrounded by Berkshire Road, Sugarloaf Road, Sherman Street, Still Hill Road, and Toddy Hill Road.

In the legal papers, the developer states that the wetlands permit application described construction work that would occur on one-twentieth of an acre of wetlands and also physical disturbances that would occur on 1.2 acres of “upland review area.”

Such upland review areas are upgradient areas adjacent to wetlands over which the IWC has review powers because water from those areas drains into wetlands and watercourses. Generally, the IWC has review powers over wetlands, watercourses, and areas lying within 100 feet of wetlands and watercourses. The group’s charge is to protect water quality, plus the flora and fauna in such areas.

“The application consisted of [physical] improvements related to 38 lots, including two lots containing existing dwellings, with 45 acres set aside as open space. and 17.6 acres to be protected by conservation easements,” the developer states in the court papers.

Open space land most commonly is owned by the town. Conservation easements typically exist on privately owned land.

Mr Joyce lists the ways in which the IWC erred in rejecting his development application.

According to the appeal, the IWC failed to base its decision on substantial evidence.

Also, the IWC demanded that the applicant submit design information which is not required by its wetlands regulations and did not substantiate the need for that information, according to the legal papers.

The developer is represented by attorney Matthew J. Willis of Branse, Willis & Knapp, LLC, of Glastonbury. The town is represented by Town Attorney David L. Grogins of Cohen and Wolf, PC, of Danbury. 

In their October rejection of the Sherman Woods application, IWC members decided that the applicant had not provided the IWC with complete detailed plans describing the extent of the project’s environmental impact and also the restoration of a physically disturbed area.  

Also, the applicant had not provided the IWC with complete significantly detailed alternative development plans describing the extent of the environmental impact, as had been requested, according to the IWC.

The IWC decided that there is the “potential likelihood” for short-term and long-term adverse effects on wetlands and watercourses due to a lack of assessable, feasible, and prudent alternative designs.

The IWC mentioned the prospect for adverse changes in the shape of stream channels and the quality of surface water on the site as a reason for rejecting the plans. Additionally, the design of stormwater treatment systems did not conform with applicable state standards, according to the IWC.

IWC members decided that the application lacked drainage reports concerning water which flows onto the site.

Public opposition to the Sherman Woods proposal from people living near the site largely focused on the potential for environmental damage to the area, especially wetlands and watercourses, caused by terrain changes and new uses of the property. Other people mentioned adverse changes to the area’s rustic character as a reason for their opposition.

The proposed 38-lot complex would include 36 new single-family houses, plus two existing houses. New streets serving the project would intersect with Toddy Hill Road and Still Hill Road. The developer proposed constructing about 3,550 linear feet of new roadways on the site.

In 2008, the developer acquired the acreage that would comprise Sherman Woods for $4.6 million.

Sherman Woods is the largest residential subdivision proposed for town in nearly a decade. The 52-lot Cider Mill Farm, which is situated on 137 acres adjacent to Lower Paugussett State Forest in Sandy Hook, was proposed in June 2000. It gained final approvals in November 2002.