Waldorf School Proposes Redeveloping Dodgingtown Site

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members are reviewing a proposal from the Housatonic Valley Waldorf School Association, Inc, to reconfigure a section of its school campus on Dodgingtown Road (Route 302) in Dodgingtown Center.

Representatives of the private school presented the association’s proposed revisions to its special zoning permit to P&Z members at a March 5 public hearing.

The school owns facilities on the north side and the south side of Dodgingtown Road, east of that road’s intersection with Taunton Hill Road and Jacklin Road. The proposed changes would affect the school’s property on the north side of Dodgingtown Road. The affected street addresses are 36, 38, and 40. The site is in a R-1 (Residential) zone.

That 1.3-acre property currently has a single-story school with a parking area and a driveway, a single-story garage, and a single-family house.

The association proposes renovating the garage for classroom/school use. Also, a new parking area would be built. Revisions to an existing parking area and to a driveway would be made. The buildings and parking areas would be connected via sidewalks. Also, a crosswalk would be placed across Dodgingtown Road to link the school’s northern parcel to its southern parcel. The site would be landscaped. Stormwater drainage control structures would be installed.

Attorney Peter Scalzo, representing the association, said the group would construct a 16-space paved parking lot. Plans would include relocating seven parking spaces on the site. The association received a zoning variance for parking facilities from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), he said.

The changes proposed for the site would allow up to 78 students to be on the premises, a 30-student increase from the current limit of 48 students.

The specific design and student scheduling proposed for the property would alleviate congestion at the site, he said.

Engineer Dainius Virbickas, representing the association, described technical details of the application.

Mr Virbickas said the fire marshal has said the site should have a 30,000-gallon underground water tank installed for firefighting. Such an installation would be an expensive addition to the project, he said.

The Pinnacle Ridge residential subdivision off Route 302, near Rock Ridge Country Club, has an underground water tank in place, P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean noted.

“You’re right across the street from the [Dodgingtown] firehouse,” Ms Dean said of the Waldorf School’s location.

Mr Virbickas said the association is cooperating with the town health department concerning the septic waste disposal requirements for a redeveloped school site.

Mr Virbickas said the state Department of Transportation (DOT) has not yet commented on the school’s proposal for a crosswalk on Route 302 to link the northern and southern sections of the school campus.

Mr Scalzo said that the proposed changes to school’s site would be a clear physical improvement over what now exists.

P&Z member Robert Mulholland said he wants the town’s Design Advisory Board to review the architecture of the school’s proposal, noting that the drawings presented to the P&Z are of sharply contrasting architectural styles.

Ms Dean noted, however, the affected buildings are small structures.

Land Use Agency Director George Benson said the association’s redevelopment proposal would make a for “a great improvement” at the site.

No members of the public spoke on the school proposal at the public hearing.

Ms Dean said additional information on the proposal is yet required concerning fire protection, septic waste disposal, engineering, and mapping.

The hearing will resume at an upcoming P&Z session.