Sale sign for building lots in the proposed Shepaug Crossing subdivison.
Nearly a dozen people expressed concerns about increased traffic, safe access to Route 202, and water issues during Monday’s public hearing for a proposed 20-lot subdivision off Old Mount Tom Road.
The 270-acre property is located on Litchfield’s western boundary with Warren and Washington. It includes frontage on the Shepaug River and apple orchards that were once part of Avalon Farm.
A group of 20 Bantam residents waited from 7 to 10:30 p.m. to hear details about the plan, while the Planning and Zoning Commission addressed other items on a long agenda. It was nearly 11 p.m. before residents had a chance to comment. The hearing will continue at the commission’s Dec. 14 meeting.
The development, called Shepaug Crossing, includes lots ranging in size from 3.5 to 20 acres, said Dennis McMorrow of Berkshire Engineering & Surveying in Bantam. Ten of the smaller lots would have direct access to Old Mount Tom Road, currently a dirt road. Most of the other lots would share two common driveways, he said.
The plan would preserve about 70 acres along the river as open space. The owners are willing to donate that land to the Litchfield Land Trust, McMorrow said.
“We could put 34 lots on there and still give you 70 acres of open space, but the developer chose not to do that,” said Peter Hughes of Middletown, the project planner. The plan protects about two-thirds of a mile of riverfront property. The closest house would be located 1,200 feet from the river, Hughes said.
“It’s dangerous getting on Route 202 from Old Mount Tom Road,” said Ellen Keeney, who has lived on the road for 40 years. Old Mount Tom Road intersects Route 202 on a sharp curve near the entrance to Mount Tom State Park. The curve makes it difficult to see westbound traffic on Route 202 from Old Mount Tom Road.
Many years ago, another developer promised to build a new access to Route 202 “and it hasn’t happened,” Keeney said.
“We’ve had a couple of fatalities at that corner” (on Route 202), said Bantam Fire Chief Rick Duffy. Most people who live in the area take Goslee Road to Route 202, because the sight lines are much better.
“All those cars come down Goslee Road at a high rate of speed,” said Duffy, who lives on Goslee Road. “We don’t need another 40 cars coming down Goslee Road.”
Several residents said the developer should improve access from Old Mount Tom Road to Route 202.
Town planner Thomas McGowan said that’s not likely to happen.
“Planning and zoning commissions don’t have the authority to require an off-site road improvement to improve that intersection,” he said. The State Traffic Commission required a new access road for earlier development plans, because they called for many more lots and higher traffic counts, McGown said.
Kim Barbieri, the town’s interim land use administrator, suggested the commission ask Public Works Director Jack Healy if the intersection is on his list of proposed projects.
Contacted Tuesday, Healy said the intersection is not listed on the town’s 10-year road improvement program.
John Pater of Goslee Road said he is concerned the development could affect his well water. In the last 15 years, his water quality has declined, as more houses were built around him. Recently, he installed a household water filter.
“I’ve seen beautiful, pristine, gorgeous water turn to rust,” he said.
His wife, Monica, said she is afraid more traffic would make it unsafe to walk on Goslee Road.
Duffy would like to review plans for two, 20,000 gallon water tanks required by the town fire marshal. The minimum house size would be 2,400 square feet on one level or 2,800 square feet for two stories, McMorrow said.
In his youth, Duffy worked at Avalon Farm, which used chemical pesticides on the orchards. He asked whether the pesticides could affect well water.
C A Litchfield Land LLC purchased the property last October for $1.6 million at public auction. The principals in the partnership are Alan Temkin, who owns Alan Temkin Associates, a construction company in Torrington, and Christopher Wilson of Monroe.
