Iron Street Subdivision Wins Approval

The Ledyard Planning Commission last week voted unanimously to approve a 10-lot subdivision on a little more than 63 acres off Iron Street. The vote will allow the initial subdivision of the Via Verde housing development to go forward.

There is no timetable for house construction, but terms of the agreement oblige Via Verde to put roads in within five years.

The commission held a public hearing on a subsequent part of the project, which calls for a 17-lot subdivision on a 25.12 acre parcel within the 63-plus acres, but did not vote. 

A question was raised about which water source would supply houses in the subdivsion. The developer, Anthony Silvestri, said he was looking at two different local water systems, the Southern Connecticut Water Authority (SCWA) and the Ledyard Water Pollution Control Authority. The developer would be responsible for installing new water lines.

Commission Chairman Mike Cherry was concerned about fire safety if the developers went with SCWA. "We have to check the pressure and see what we can do, but you couldn't fight a fire with it," he said.

If any of the houses caught fire, the fire department would have to bring a tanker truck in order to pump the necessary volume and velocity of water.

Ultimately, the commission agreed it could support the subdivision with the houses sharing their water supplies with SCWA and WPCA.

Silvestri told commission members he would prefer to build houses on his subdivision two at a time rather than all at once. This would allow his company to take less risk by not having to pay for the expenses of the full housing project at once.

Cherry, however, told Silvestri that would complicate approval. "We're approving the whole subdivision. What you're talking about is phasing," he said.

Cherry said phasing construction would require a whole different agreement, and also would make laying roads and warer lines more difficult.  Upon hearing about that, Silvestri changed his mind. "We're going to build this whole thing in one shot," he said.

The Planning Commission then opened the floor to residents who wanted to discuss the application. The proposal would create a "conservation subdivision," so called because it would set 40 percent of the land aside as open space.

One resident was concerned that new water lines to the development would destroy her hedges. She also thought the town was showing lack of consideration to those living near the construction.

"We're the ones who have the least say but we have to live with it," she said.

"It's going to change your neighborhood, we know that," Cherry replied.

But he said the planning commission did not have authority to make its own judgment as to whether it wanted the subdivision or not. "As long as they follow the rules of the state of Connecticut, we have to approve it," he said. 

The commission has 65 days to act on the proposal.