Many Hands Contribute To Conservation —

15 Acres Of Open Space Is Part Of Larger Scheme

By Kendra Bobowick

Another 15-plus acres in Newtown is spared from the touch of bulldozers, backhoes, and blacktop through the combined efforts of town government, nonprofit groups, and developers. Along this 15.29-acre parcel in part bordering the Pootatuck River banks is a newly established walking trail on the site where a new age-restricted development is being built. The trail will be opened for public use and has an entrance along Oakview Road, explained Toll Brothers Senior Project Manager Daniel Walton.

This particular 54-unit, 55 and older community’s proximity to the Pootatuck River concerned environmentalist James Belden, Candlewood Valley Trout Unlimited (CVTU) vice president. Envisioning the threats from development facing wildlife in the town’s waterways, Mr Belden said, “Development is not evil, but doing it well is the hard part.”

Mr Belden never expected to stop the proposed development off Oakview Road in Sandy Hook, also known as the Regency at Newtown, but he hoped to influence it, he explained. The initial proposal called for roughly 80 units on 50-plus acres.

“The hopes of keeping something from going there weren’t very high, but keeping things to a minimum is what we tried,” he said. Decisions from the town zoning and conservation boards determined the terms of applications. Although Trout Unlimited members offer environmental expertise, they do not participate in forming decisions, as clarified by First Selectman Herb Rosenthal.

“The [Toll Brothers] decided to give the land to the town and not use it for development,” he said. He explained that during the developer’s application process, “Planning and Zoning and Conservation decided [Toll Brothers] couldn’t use the land and so instead of keeping it and not using it they gifted it to the town…”

Mr Walton said the town retains stewardship of the Pootatuck’s banks, a Class I Trout Management Area that allows for catch-and-release fishing with barb-free hooks (see end of story).

The trail is approximately 6 feet wide and roughly a half-mile long. Portions of the trail arrive at the bank opposite Al’s Trail, which is near the water treatment plant. Additionally, the Pootatuck and Deep Brook converge along the trail’s bank where the trail broadens and Mr Walton envisions a parklike setting with benches.

The  parcel adds to a larger effort taking place in Newtown that was started roughly two years ago with Mr Rosenthal’s introduction of an initiative to strategically block residential development and acquire and preserve open space. Tying into this initiative are the contributed acres at the Regency at Newtown. Earlier this month Mr Rosenthal announced that Toll Brothers requested to give the town 15.29 acres, which he was pleased to acquire.

To date, plans for the 15.29 acres “will just be open space along the stream,” Mr Rosenthal said.

His concerns are rooted in quality of life and environmental aspects of Newtown’s future, he explained.

Through town approval, roughly $12 million is allocated for the land acquisitions. Acreage can be purchased, gifted, or protected through easements. Parcels are acquired “as opportunities arise,” Mr Rosenthal said.

Land ownership is primarily in the hands of residents, he explained, and although he enjoys seeing large portions granted to the town rather than sold, he said, “We can’t tell them what to do with it.”

Restricting development is also tricky, he explained.

“We do have to be concerned about the legal methods of managing development,” Mr Rosenthal said. “The town is limited to what it can do and we can’t just say, ‘No more development, that’s it.’”

He said, “We can’t just close the door.”

Making A Deal

The local Trout Unlimited chapter learned about the Toll Brothers application when the developer was before P&Z.

Mr Belden said, “We went to the hearings, and became aware of the intended development of the property.” At one point during the procedures the Toll Brothers had sought a zoning change.

Mr Belden grew more concerned.

 “It’s up to all of us to deal with issues whether it’s traffic or the environment. It’s up to us how the town is developed, not the developers,” he said.

He urges the general public to “go to public hearings. Find out what and why.”

As the Toll Brothers application remained open, Mr Belden approached the company.

“In an effort to be less combative we went to them,” he said. “We were able to sit with them and explain why these things mattered and where we’re coming from.”

Comparing the initial 80-unit proposal to the current 54-unit approval, Mr Belden said, “It’s a far cry better than what it was and the commissions did a commendable job so the development has much less impact on the site.”

Toll Brothers Division President Greg Kamedulski in the Newtown office said his company “saw a certain portion of land we thought would work well for open space and thought it would benefit the town.”

He acknowledged that, “yes,” the issues raised regarding environmental impacts were considered “concerning the river area.”

“We worked closely with environmental groups to have a minimal impact on the river,” Mr Kamedulski said.

Toll Brothers Inc, “America’s Luxury Home Builders,” a nationwide developer, is now breaking ground for a scaled-back 54-unit condo complex for residents age 55 and older off Oakview Road. The short road borders the back of Newtown High School fields and connects Berkshire Road to Wasserman Way. The original proposal for Regency at Newtown contained 80 units on the 51-acre area. The development parcel is situated near the Pootatuck River where it is joined by Deep Brook. The water’s proximity prompted concerns for Mr Belden.

As a Trout Unlimited member who within past weeks helped conduct riverbank preservation just several hundred yards away at Deep Brook, behind the Governor’s Horse Guard area of Fairfield Hills, he said Trout Unlimited is concerned with “anything that impacts water quality.”

“Whether it’s a landowner who wants to rip out trees and fertilize or the Toll Brothers who want to turn 50 acres into condos, nothing is too big or too small,” he said.

Mr Belden’s organization spoke out soon after learning of the development that would potentially threaten Deep Brook, one of just eight waterways in the state containing self-sustaining trout populations.

“The hillside was our main concern,” he said. Trout Unlimited “basically wanted the development pushed off the hillside, and a certain amount of trees must remain,” he said.

The Pootatuck, which is joined by Deep Brook, nestled in the adjacent Fairfield Hills property, runs through the Oakview parcel slated for condominium construction. Mr Belden’s first letter to Land Use Director Rita McMillan in December of 2004 was part of a chain of events that has resulted in the development’s reduced scope.

His letter stating, “We are very concerned about the possible impact such a development may have on the Pootatuck River…fish habitats as well as long-term affects on overall water quality…” was a move made by one of several conservation initiatives that eventually crossed paths during this project.

The Planning and Zoning (P&Z) and Conservation Commissions also imposed restrictions. Prior to August 2005 the condo proposal had dropped to 59 units, which Conservation Commissioners rejected. A year ago, commission members had voiced concerns about the proximity of some condo units to the top edge of the steep slopes that lead downward to the Pootatuck River, which is a spawning area for brook trout.

Essentially, development increases runoff containing fertilizers or pesticides harmful to fish, and the land cleared for any development could deplete the tree canopy and root system that shades the water and prevents erosion respectively, as Mr Belden explained. (See related article “Trout Unlimited Aims To Embrace Deep Brook,” on page C1.)

Mr Belden said, “Getting acreage was important to protecting that corridor.”

Class 1 Wild Trout Management Area, which includes this portion of the Pootatuck River is a catch and release fishing with single, barbless hooks and absolutely no bait of any kind allowed. This area is not stocked with fish.