A development firm has submitted plans to the Borough Zoning Commission (BZC) for Church Hill Village, a 72-bed assisted living complex proposed for a vacant sloping 3.97-acre site at 37 Church Hill Road, at the eastern the corner of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard.

If all required approvals for the project are received, developer Teton Capital Company, LLC of Old Greenwich would buy the site from owner Pepper Partners, LLC, of Trumbull. The site has P-1 (Professional) zoning. According to Teton, the presence of an assisted living complex would have no effect on property values in the neighborhood.

The plans for the project indicate 72 resident beds in 69 dwelling units situated within multiple interconnected buildings. The project's architect is JRP Architects of Riverton, N.J.

The BZC has scheduled a public hearing on the application for August 9. The owners of 55 individual properties that lie within 1,000 feet of the site would be formally notified of that hearing by mail.

The developer has three separate applications for the project pending before the BZC. The applicant is seeking a special permit, a site development plan approval, and a Village District zoning certificate. The three layers of zoning approval are required due to the nature of the application and its location within the borough. The Village District rules cover the aesthetic aspects of commercial development.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), in its role as the borough's planning agency, is scheduled to discuss and formally comment on the Church Hill Village proposal at its July 20 meeting.

In April, the BZC indicated its willingness to consider allowing an assisted living complex in the borough, when it created a set of zoning rules that allow such a use within the borough.

Local existing assisted-living complexes are Masonicare's Lockwood Lodge at 139 Toddy Hill Road and Maplewood at Newtown at 166 Mt Pleasant Road. Those complexes were created under P&Z's jurisdiction.

The Church Hill Village project has received a wetlands/watercourses protection approval from town Land Use Agency staff.

According to the Church Hill Village plans, the complex would contain eight "neighborhoods," each of which would contain elderly residents requiring personal care from staff members. Two of those neighborhoods would have specialized care for residents with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

The complex would have buildings that enclose an overall 66,960 square feet of space. Most buildings would be one-story tall. The site would hold 40 vehicle parking spaces. The property would have separate entry-exit driveways on The Boulevard and on Church Hill Road. The Boulevard driveway would be located about 150 feet north of The Boulevard's intersection Church Hill Road; the Church Hill Road driveway would be situated about 410 feet east of the intersection of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard.

CCA, LLC, of Brookfield is the civil engineer for the construction proposal. According to submitted documents, if approved, the project would be completed and fully occupied with assisted-living residents by the end of 2019.

Frederick P. Clark Associates, Inc of Fairfield performed a traffic/access study for a 72-bed facility.

People living at Church Hill Village would not drive. The parking spaces at the site would be used by staff members and visitors.

In its detailed report, the traffic engineers found that "Traffic added to area roads will result in an insignificant impact, if any, to the overall operation of the nearby signalized intersection." The traffic signal there controls the intersection of Church Hill Road, The Boulevard, and the main entrance/exit driveway for The Village at Lexington Gardens, which is a retail/office complex.

The traffic engineers recommend that stop signs and stop bars be installed for exiting traffic at both driveways for Church Hill Village.

Because an assisted living complex would require fewer parking spaces than would other commercial uses, BZC members agreed that such a project's construction density can be somewhat higher than is otherwise allowed. Such projects must have a public water supply and public sanitary sewers. Also, such projects must be on sites of at least three acres and must be on a major roadway.

Applicable zoning rules limit the size of individual buildings to 6,500 square feet.

As defined by the borough zoning regulations, "assisted living" refers to an elderly housing complex in which a variety of basic services are provided, such as nursing and assistance with the activities of daily living.