Residents living near Taunton Lake are raising concerns about the potential negative effects that a proposed 29-unit condominium complex would have on that 124-acre spring-fed lake that is ringed by privately owned properties.Public Comment

Those residents spoke at an April 27 Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) public hearing on Rochambeau Woods, which developer Hunter Ridge, LLC, proposes for a 29-acre site at 41, 43, 45, and 47 Mt Pleasant Road (US Route 6/State Route 25). The site slopes downward toward Taunton Lake, where there is 450 feet of lake frontage.

The development proposal calls for 29 individual buildings to be clustered on the site near Mt Pleasant Road. The project would be a conventional condo complex, and not be age-restricted housing or affordable housing.

Under the terms of the Borough Zoning Commission's regulations on "cluster housing," at least half of the site would remain as undeveloped open space land under the provisions of a conservation easement. Access to that open space would be provided for condo complex residents and their guests, but not for the general public.

At an April 13 IWC public hearing on Rochambeau Woods, IWC members learned that if Hunter Ridge, LLC, gains the necessary approvals for the project, it might sell the land and the right to develop it to Toll Brothers, Inc, a major home building firm. Toll Brothers has built several residential subdivisions and condo complexes locally.

IWC members learned April 27 that if the proposal gains required approvals, Hunter Ridge might sell the development project to some other unspecified development firm.

Civil engineer Larry Edwards, representing Hunter Ridge, presented to IWC members a drawing indicating a picnic grove that would be created near the shore of Taunton Lake for Rochambeau Woods residents. Condo residents would have access to that area via a walking trail extending there from the condos.

The drawing depicts five clusters of picnic tables and chairs where condo residents could relax and enjoy the lakeside setting, he said. No trees would be removed to create the grove, he said. Trees and a wetland in that area would serve as natural buffers for an adjacent property, he said.

IWC member Mary Curran, who served as acting chairman at the IWC hearing, told Mr Edwards that the picnic tables should be located uphill from the lake, near the condos.

Mr Edwards responded that the land where the picnic grove would be located would be "open space" not "do nothing" space.

The site's lake access amounts to "a huge asset" for the property, he said.

Ms Curran said such picnic tables belong near the condos, not near the lake. She added she opposes the application due to the proposed lakeside location of picnic tables.

The owners of the site would have the legal right to use land near the lake, Mr Edwards said. A condo association would regulate that commonly-owned property's use, he added.

Due to the site's dense woods, there is no view of Taunton Lake from the area proposed for the condos, he noted.

IWC member Suzanne Guidera said that the presence of a picnic grove near the lake raises the issues of potential littering and the illegal use of the grove by trespassers. Garbage cans would be needed there for litter collection, she added.

IWC member John Davin recommended that any picnickers should carry out their litter from the site after a picnic.

Mary Beth Dinoto of Orchard Lane expressed her concerns about Taunton Lake's water quality, asking whether a future condo association would effectively enforce its rules concerning commonly-owned land at the complex. People who now own land near the lake are careful about lake water quality, she stressed.

"There'll be parties" near the lake, she predicted.

Dr Robert Grossman of 49 Mt Pleasant Road said of the proposed condo complex, "This is going to be an 'attractive nuisance' at the lake."

He predicted that teenagers and their friends would have parties near the lake, drinking beer, playing music, having campfires, and throwing litter into the lake.

"I feel this [project] is totally unacceptable," Dr Grossman said, adding that neighbors adjacent to the proposed picnic grove would be "miserable."

"This whole proposition is a big mistake… It' a totally inappropriate use of this land … I recommend that you turn down this proposal," he said.

Kelly Goodrich of Mt Pleasant Terrace warned that if the condo complex has a visitor parking area, people unauthorized to park there will use it and then make their way to the lake.

Ben Pilchard of 53 Mt Pleasant Road said that another large land parcel with access to Taunton Lake exists. If that site eventually also is developed with cluster housing, it could have a "dramatic effect" on the area, he said.

Linda Sobo of 36 Taunton Lake Drive said that a 29-unit condo complex would roughly double the number of families that live near Taunton Lake.

"The impact is enormous, absolutely enormous," she said.

The people who live near the condo complex would have no say over how a condo association regulates the condo complex property, she said.

Also, she asked if such an association would contribute funds toward the ongoing project to control the invasive weed known as aquatic milfoil that is now present in Taunton Lake.

In response to public comments, Mr Edwards told IWC members that a cluster housing project, such as Rochambeau Woods, would have less environmental impact on Taunton Lake than a previous residential subdivision application in which 14 single-family houses had been proposed for the site.

Mr Edwards said he would provide more information to the IWC on the proposed picnic grove when the IWC public hearing resumes on May 11.

The developer also would need approvals from the Borough Zoning Commission (BZC) for site development, and from the Water and Sewer Authority (WSA) for a connection to central municipal sanitary sewer system for wastewater disposal.