The Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) is expected to postpone its public hearing on a proposed 23-lot cluster-style residential subdivision in Dodgingtown, which initially had been scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, August 27.

Town land use officials said on Tuesday that the public hearing on the proposed The Preserve at Newtown would be rescheduled to 7:30 pm on Wednesday, September 10, at Newtown Municipal Center, at 3 Primrose Street.

The applicant for the project was not able to meet requirements on the legal notification of property owners near the 167-acre site in a timely manner, so he requested on August 22 that the public hearing be held on September 10, land use officials said.

The IWC is expected to legally “open” the public hearing on August 27, and then “continue” the session to September 10 without any substantive public discussion of the development proposal occurring on August 27, officials said.

Two development firms are proposing the construction of the subdivision. The project is proposed by developers KASL, LLC, and IBF, LLC. The firms are represented by local developer/builder George L. Trudell.

The cluster-style development is designed to cluster its houses in two separate areas on the sprawling site in seeking to preserve a large amount of undeveloped open space land.

About nine house lots would be created along Robin Hill Road #2, which extends northeastward from Rock Ridge Road near Rock Ridge Country Club.

Another cluster of house lots would be constructed on a proposed new dead end street to be known as Deer Hill Drive extending southeastward from Scudder Road, south of Ferris Road.

By clustering the houses on relatively small lots, the plans would allow 84 acres, or about half of the 167-acre site, to remain undeveloped and protected as open space land.

As part of their technical review of the application, IWC members will tour the site to learn how the project’s engineering design would environmentally protect wetlands and watercourses there.

The IWC’s regulatory role is to review development plans with an eye toward requiring measures to environmentally protect wetlands and watercourses.

After such a development project gains IWC approval, it typically is submitted for a planning review by the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z). P&Z also holds public hearings on such applications.

The IWC development plans filed by the applicant are available for public review at the town land use agency at Newtown Municipal Center during regular business hours, 8 am to 4:30 pm, Mondays through Fridays.