EAST WINDSOR, CT — Opponents of a proposed 180-apartment development on North Road have launched a petition urging town planners to reject the project ahead of its next scheduled review.
The Change.org petition opposing the development at 120 North Road, started Nov. 5 by Margaret Karwowski, displayed 127 signatures when checked Monday, Nov. 9. The signature count does not establish that every signer lives in East Windsor.
The town lists the application among those to be heard at the Planning and Zoning Commission's Tuesday, Nov. 10 meeting. North Winkler EW LLC is seeking site plan and special use permit approval.
The petition cites concerns about traffic along Route 140 and nearby residential streets, stormwater runoff and infrastructure capacity. It says Wells Road already attracts drivers avoiding Route 140 and raises concerns about speeding and the lack of sidewalks.
"We are not opposed to responsible growth," the petition states, while arguing that residents' safety and the combined effects of nearby developments should take priority.
As Patch previously reported, the proposal is separate from a 189-home development approved at 173 North Road. Together, the projects would add 369 homes along the corridor.
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The commission unanimously approved a zone change for part of 120 North Road in July. That decision explicitly did not authorize development, according to the posted July 14 meeting minutes, which are labeled draft.
Those minutes describe 180 apartments in one building and a separate, approximately 7,000-square-foot medical office. In supporting the zone change, the commission cited the property's location in the northern business corridor and a proposed public-water extension.
Attorney Andrea Gomes, representing the developer at the July hearing, said the proposal met several goals of the town's conservation and development plan. She also said the developer intended to seek state traffic review covering both North Road projects, according to the minutes.
Commissioner David Leason expressed support for the development while raising traffic questions. Nearby property owner Darren Andrews also raised traffic concerns and objected to the building's design, the minutes state.
Drainage plans have since undergone engineering review. In a Sept. 11 response, the developer's consultant, SLR International Corp., described corrections to drainage calculations and plans, additional groundwater testing information and a higher stormwater basin berm.
Town Engineer Leonard Norton wrote in a Sept. 14 memorandum that his earlier engineering comments "have been adequately addressed." That finding addressed the engineering comments; the site plan and special use permit remain listed as pending on the town's application status page.
For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.
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