Date: Fri 26-Feb-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Stocker-Hawleyville-rezoning

Full Text:

Development Director Urges Hawleyville Rezoning

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

In light of the planned sewering and expected development of a section of

Hawleyville, the community development director is recommending that the

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) rezone sections of Hawleyville.

(See related story on Hawleyville sewering project on page C1.)

In a February 18 memorandum to the P&Z, Elizabeth Stocker recommends that the

P&Z rezone sections of Hawleyville to conform with an economic development

plan for Hawleyville which the P&Z endorsed last year.

In April 1998, P&Z members backed an economic development study of Hawleyville

which foresees industrial, commercial and residential growth in that lightly

developed section of town near Exit 9 of Interstate 84. In endorsing the

"Interstate 84/Exit 9 Hawleyville Transportation and Development Study" P&Z

members made it an addendum to the 1993 Town Plan of Development and

Conservation.

Ms Stocker wrote in the memo, "The Homesteads at Newtown is proceeding with

their plans for sewer and water service on Route 6. I have been actively

working with town officials on the sewer service. Because of these actions, it

would be timely for the commission to move forward with the...[rezoning]

recommendations before any [new] applications for development are filed."

Last September, the P&Z approved The Homesteads at Newtown, a planned 298-unit

elderly housing complex including units for assisted, congregate and

independent living on 60 acres at 166 Mt Pleasant Road (Route 6). In March

1998, the P&Z had approved zone changes from R-1 (residential) and R-2

(residential) to EH-10 (elderly housing) which had been requested by the

developer so that it could proceed with site planning for the Homesteads

project.

In her memorandum, Ms Stocker recommends that the P&Z act promptly to rezone

land along sections of Route 6/Mt Pleasant Road because those areas will be

the ones most likely to undergo development pressure after water lines and

sewer lines are installed in the area.

To make The Homesteads at Newtown possible, the developer plans to extend

United Water water supply service to the site from central Newtown, as well as

discharge wastewater into a sewer line to be extended to Hawleyville from

Bethel.

The Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) is in the planning stages for

Hawleyville sewer service. Unlike the new sewer system in central Newtown

which is intended to rectify groundwater pollution problems caused by failing

septic systems, the sewer system planned for Hawleyville is intended to foster

economic development.

"If we're going to extend sewers, we've got to make land use [zones] coincide

with the [economic development] plan," Ms Stocker said. "They have to work

together," she said.

"The whole purpose of planning is to implement," she said. Good land use

planning requires that planning be synchronized with the installation of

sewers, she said.

P&Z members are reviewing Ms Stocker's memorandum and are expected to discuss

it an upcoming P&Z session.

Rezoning

The Hawleyville economic development study calls for rezoning land north of Mt

Pleasant Road/Route 6 near the Bethel border from a basic R-2 (residential)

zone to a new proposed zone known as the Route 6 Design District (R6DD).

The Route 6 Design District zone is intended to provide commercial and office

uses, as well as higher density residential uses consistent with the site's

location on a major road. The intent of the proposed Route 6 Design District

zone is to provide support for economic development, which strengthens the

local tax base without an undue burden of municipal services.

The Hawleyville economic development plan also calls for rezoning an area of

land north of Mt Pleasant Road/Route 6, which lies between the Homesteads site

and Hawleyville Road. That land would be rezoned from R-1 (residential) to

lower-density R-2 (residential).

The economic development study also calls for expanding an existing M-2A

(industrial) zone, which lies in the area north of Mt Pleasant Road, west of

Hawleyville Road and south of Interstate-84. That M-2A zone expansion would

extend eastward to the vicinity of Whipporwill Road, converting existing R-1

zoning to M-2A zoning.

Allowable uses of that area with M-2A zoning would be the industrial uses

which are allowed in a M-2A zone, and especially corporate headquarters and

office space, plus retail sales, personal services, banks, restaurants and

nursery schools.

Ms Stocker also calls for rezoning a piece of land lying north of Whipporwill

Road and Susan Lane and south of Interstate-84 from R-1 (residential) to the

lower density R-2 (residential) designation.

Hawleyville Study

The Hawleyville economic development plan expands upon and refines the 1993

Town Plan of Development and Conservation which calls for the

"industrialization" of Hawleyville.

The economic study analyzes Hawleyville's potential for economic development

through the year 2017. The study, which was prepared for the Housatonic Valley

Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO) by Barakos-Landino, Inc, of Hamden, finds

there is an opportunity for significant economic development, without

adversely affecting the basic character of Hawleyville or overburdening its

natural or built environment.

The study centers on a 1,200-acre section of Hawleyville, focusing on Exit 9

of Interstate 84. The planners suggest various development possibilities,

including: age-restricted housing, assisted-living facilities, medical office

space, single-family houses, mixed retail uses, corporate offices, a hotel,

conference center, open space land, a village center and industrial uses.

The proposed land uses would be created by private developers on

privately-owned land. The study describes the many road improvements which

would be needed in Hawleyville to facilitate its economic growth. HVCEO, which

oversaw the study's production, serves as the region's transportation planning

agency.

The planning study is based on the types of development which are logically

expected in Hawleyville due to market conditions and the limitations on the

land due to slopes, wetlands, soil types and floodplains. In suggesting

several development scenarios for Hawleyville, the HVCEO is seeking to balance

the interests of developers, the town, and the region.

The Hawleyville study creates a conceptual framework, establishing a hierarchy

of planning policies to foster the controlled growth of that largely

undeveloped section of town. The study creates a public planning model for

future development, in effect, setting a municipal tone for economic growth.