P&Z Considers Revised Meridian Ridge Proposal for Hawleyville

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members are considering revamped construction plans for Meridian Ridge, a residential subdivision proposed for Hawleyville, which P&Z members rejected last winter.

HW 1945, LLC, and Charter Group, Inc, are proposing the 23-lot development for a 71-acre wooded parcel at 30 Old Hawleyville Road. The site lies north of Interstate 84 and south of the Maybrook rail line, which is used by the Housatonic Railroad. The development site holds many well-worn trails created by the use of all-terrain vehicles.

The developers propose two new streets for Meridian Ridge. A winding road, known as Meridian Ridge Drive, would intersect with Old Hawleyville Road and connect to Fairfield Drive in Brookfield. A dead-end spur road, known as Crosswind Court, would extend northward from Meridian Ridge Drive in Newtown, near the Brookfield town line.

Last January, citing a variety of technical problems, P&Z members unanimously rejected a 22-lot version of Meridian Ridge, which was then proposed for 60 acres. Reasons for the rejection included violations of “rear lot” regulations; lot access problems; questionable locations for some water wells and septic systems; easement issues, and land engineering concerns. Meridian Ridge initially had been proposed as a 24-lot development on 60 acres.

At a heavily attended August 2002 P&Z public hearing on Meridian Ridge, Old Hawleyville Road area residents voiced concerns that the presence of a new subdivision in their neighborhood would damage their quality of life, focusing on the hazards posed by increased traffic in the area and potential problems stemming from altered stormwater drainage flow.

Attorney Robert Hall, representing the developers at a July 17 public hearing, told P&Z members that the current development proposal is “substantially improved” compared to the previous version.

The developers have acquired more acreage to allow them to improve the project’s design, Mr Hall said. Also, the developers have obtained a drainage easement, which would make for a better subdivision design, he said. The redesigned drainage plans would reduce the size and extent of drainage structures on the property, he said.

Mr Hall said the project would make for a “high quality subdivision,” adding that it is “a plan that is going to be a real credit to the area.”

Redesign

Developer Dennis Stone, the president of Charter Group, which is the parent firm of HW 1945, LLC, said the proposed subdivision has been “substantially redesigned,” in view of the issues which were raised about the initial proposal. The development site is about 20 percent larger than the initially proposed site, he noted.

More open space land for passive forms of recreation also is proposed, he said. Initially, the developers had proposed approximately 14 acres of open space. The current proposal adds seven more acres of open space to the project, Mr Stone said. A walking trail system would run along the site’s perimeter, he said. Trees on the property would be preserved, where possible, he added.

The revised plans also contain additional “buffer areas,” which would shield existing properties from development, he added. One of these buffer areas is near the Old Hawleyville Road entrance to the site, he noted.

The project’s drainage design has been improved, Mr Stone said. The current proposal has fewer lots that are located near wetlands, he added.

All proposed lots in the development comply with the P&Z’s revised rules on calculating lot sizes, Mr Stone said.

Last September, P&Z members revised the town’s the land use regulations to exclude wetlands and steep slopes from minimum lot size calculations, in order to limit construction on marginal land, as the town continues to grow.

Last summer, the developers had submitted the initial Meridian Ridge proposal, before the land use rules became stricter.

Also, last year, the developers had simultaneously submitted their subdivision proposal and their wetlands construction proposal to the P&Z and to the Conservation Commission, respectively. Those simultaneous submissions resulted in various regulatory snarls, which typically would be avoided when subdivision plans are submitted to the P&Z after a Conservation Commission approval of wetlands construction plans has been received.

Mr Stone told P&Z members he expects that homes in Meridian Ridge would range from 3,300 to 3,800 square feet in floor area.

Mr Stone said Brookfield land use officials have endorsed his firm’s plans for a 24-unit complex of individual, freestanding condominiums situated on 25 adjacent acres in Brookfield, known as Carriage Homes on The Pond. Those condos would be built on Fairfield Drive in Brookfield.    

Only one member of the public spoke at the July 17 P&Z public hearing. Steven Lange, representing Anvil Properties in Brookfield, said that he has no objections to the Meridian Ridge proposal.

P&Z members are expected to act on Meridian Ridge at an upcoming session.

Hawleyville Growth

The Meridian Ridge proposal is the latest of several development projects that have been advanced for Hawleyville during the past several years.

Ginsburg Development Corporation, Connecticut, LLC, is now building a 92-unit condo complex for people over 55, known as Liberty at Newtown, on a 40-acre site at 178 Mt Pleasant Road. The units will be for sale.

In 1999, Avalon Bay Communities had proposed building 304 rental apartments at that site, 76 of which would have been designated as “affordable housing.” That project, however, never materialized.

In June 2000, the P&Z approved construction of Newtown Hunt, a 21-lot residential subdivision in a broad wet area in the Pond Brook watershed in Hawleyville. Toll Brothers, Inc, is currently building that project on 115 acres on Hawleyville Road and Farrell Road.

The Homesteads at Newtown, a 100-unit assisted-living rental apartment building for people over 55, opened in March 2001 at 166 Mt Pleasant Road. The Homesteads has also constructed 12 condominiums at adjacent 12 Pocono Road, which have never been occupied.

Although the P&Z approved construction of 298 total units at The Homesteads, including a 160-unit congregate housing complex, most of that planned construction has never materialized.