Sandy Hook Advocates Press For A Historic District

By John Voket

A loosely-knit group of Sandy Hook residents who initially mounted a grassroots effort to block a condominium development on lower Church Hill Road has officially organized and received approval from the Legislative Council to take the initiative to a new and more permanent level. At its most recent meeting, the council authorized selectmen to appoint a Sandy Hook Historic District study committee.

Megan Williams and Morgen McLaughlin received the council’s endorsement for their group, dubbed “Preserve Sandy Hook,” following a spirited presentation on July 5. During Ms McLaughlin’s appearance, she advocated on behalf of local residential and commercial property owners in and around the neighborhood who want to maintain a sense of history and consistency, especially in the area of Sandy Hook Center where the town is completing a multimillion-dollar streetscape project.

Saying the effort grew “organically” from her opposition to a proposed condominium complex at 95 Church Hill Road, Ms McLaughlin said residents apparently had little or no input on the scope or design of certain developments in the area.

“Everyone is really open to it, because the [proposed] historic district would have some overlap to the existing Sandy Hook Design District,” she said. “We’re looking at the periphery. It’s been amazing to us how susceptible some of these peripheral properties are to commercial, high density development that may or may not come under affordable housing regulations.”

Calling for an additional review body that would help protect the Sandy Hook Center, with some control over future design and development, Ms McLaughlin said the group has enlisted the support of Newtown Historian Dan Cruson, former state legislator Mae Schmidle, and Michael Porco, who owns several commercial properties in the center.

Council member Joseph DiCandido wondered aloud how such a historic district could force a builder to stay within certain architectural design guidelines.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal reminded the council that Newtown already has two similar existing entities in the Borough of Newtown and in the Hattertown neighborhood.

“If a historic district was to be created, it could have design requirements that could determine the types and appropriateness of new structures,” Mr Rosenthal said. “In the existing districts, if someone wants to make changes to their buildings, they go before the district commission to determine if the changes are appropriate.”

The first selectman said the district procedure is an overlay above and beyond zoning and other regulations.

“The borough has its own zoning board as well as the district board, not for the entire borough but certain parts of it,” he said.

The first step in forming such a body would be following statutory process that calls for developing a study that is performed by a historic district study committee appointed by the Board of Selectmen.

Councilman Francis Pennarola pointed out that once and if the study committee justifies a move forward on the initiative, the historic district could only be formed if there is an approval by vote of two-thirds of all taxpayers affected by the district.

“We are still in the process of identifying how far the district would go,” Ms Williams said, adding that she has spoken to residents from Walnut Tree Hill Road to Riverside Road who she said would welcome the designation over their historic homes.

Council Vice Chairman Timothy Holian reminded Ms McLaughlin that such a committee would require five members and three alternates by statute, and that all members had to be electors and could not be municipal employees in Newtown.

Ms McLaughlin said she and the other supporters were reviewing documents about historic district formation that were provided by the town historian. Following the meeting, Ms McLaughlin said additional supporters to the core group include Mary Fellows, Anna Saterstrom, Lincoln Sanders, and Linda Jones, and that some or all of them may be candidates for the study committee.

Selectmen are expected to act on the appointments for the Sandy Hook Historic District study committee in the coming weeks.