Bethany Planning and Zoning Holds Public Hearing on Subdivision

The Bethany Planning and Zoning Commission conducted the first public hearing on May 4 for the 2016 application that proposes to build a 4-unit town house at 4 Peck Road. This is the second application for this proposal, the first filed in 2014 which ended in a law suit brought by applicant James Sakonchik of Cheshire against the Planning and Zoning Commission for denying his application. Mr. Sakonchik, president of Kratzert, Jones & Associates, Inc. a civil engineering firm based in Cheshire and a land developer, filed his application under the Connecticut General Statute for Affordable Housing section 8-30g.

According to the statute, a certain number of the units to be sold or rented are restricted to individuals and families showing annual incomes between 40 percent and 80 percent of the median for the area. And the number of the units set aside as affordable varies depending on whether they are designated for sale or rent.

The property in question is 1.90 acres and is zoned for building on 1.5-acres. There is currently a 3-bedroom, single family house on that property. If approved, the new structure would add 4-living units, each having 2-bedrooms.

During the public hearing, Bethany Fire Marshal, Rod White, stated that subdivision regulations call for a 30,000-gallon underground water supply tank.He said that a fire department water tanker carries only 9,000 gallons of water. And given the tight space proposed between the house that already exists at is location and the new 4-unit building being proposed, he wanted to see a clearly defined plan for parking and driveway to determine if emergency apparatus could access the back building if necessary. Mr. White also questioned the height of the building. He said there is a maximum building height in Bethany of 35-feet but he saw no architectural drawing indicating this is the plan.

Bruce Loomis, chairman of the Bethany Conservation Commission asked about the maximum number of vehicles that would be parked at this location given there would be eleven bedrooms in total if the new building is approved. He asked if the heat source would be oil or propane and what amount of storage would be available for each unit. Mr. Sakonchik said he was considering propane for fuel but reserved the right to make the decision at a later date. He did not address the storage space question. Mr. Loomis recommended that there be a limit of two parking spaces per unit including the ground floor garages of which there is one per unit.

Jason MacNevin, 18 Peck Road, asked how neighboring wells would be affected by the increased demand for water for the number of people that could potentially live in the five dwellings at 4 Peck Road. Residents Sharon Huxley, 340 Old Mill Road, Vincent Gentile and Donna Gentile, 11 Peck Road, all had questions related to increased traffic and specifically, traffic traveling north on Amity Road, turning left onto Peck where the sight line is blocked by the hill on the southwest corner. Mr. Sakonchik then introduced Scott Hesketh of Hesketh and Associates out of Hartford who said that according to the Connecticut DOT guidelines called ConnDOT, the existing sight distance meets regulations.

During the time allocated for questions from the Commission, Michael Sullivan said he wants to see an architectural design because Mr. Sakonchik’s drawing showed the building height to comply with the 35-foot maximum but the drawing was not a building plan and lacked sufficient detail to ensure conformance. Commissioner Eric McDonald asked that parking spaces be clearly marked so they could determine if an emergency vehicle could gain access if needed.Commission Chairman Kim McClure Brinton called for a full traffic study.

The Commission asked Mr. Sakonchik for his plans to either sell or rent the units.He said he was undecided at this time.But the Commission continued with this line of questioning indicating their need to understand if there will be common heat and electric sources or individual ones per unit and how many propane or oil tanks would be installed.

Commission attorney Peter Olsen, considered an expert in statute 8-30g and the legal consultant for the Commission in 2014 during the Rocky Corner application process and Mr. Sakonchik’s 2014 application, said that per Section 8-30g-7, Mr. Sakonchik must find a qualified site manager to administer the affordability plan, a point of contention during the 2014 hearing. Mr. Olsen said that Mr. Sakonchik must provide a survey of common elements, condominium documents including an association set up plan and a well screening report.Attorney Olsen informed the applicant and Mr. Hesketh that ConnDOT does not apply to municipal roads which has its own method of calculating sight lines and distance safety regulations.Olsen asked both Mr. Sakonchik and Mr. Hesketh if either had read the Bethany Road Ordinance and both replied, “no.” The Commission recessed at 10:30pm and continued the Public Hearing to Wednesday, June 1 at 7:15pm.