No consensus yet on Blackberry River Commons age restriction

NORTH CANAAN — A public hearing on a proposal to remove an age restriction at Blackberry River Commons brought a sizeable crowd to Town Hall July 21.

However, following the advice of Town Attorney Judith Dixon, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) will take moat or all of the 65 days it is allotted to make a decision. The matter will be on the agenda of its Aug. 18 meeting.

The condominium development on two private roads off of West Main Street is slated for 21 single and duplex units. Since it went on the market in 2007 with three models built, only one home has been sold. The rest of the cleared portion of the 10.5-acre parcel on the Blackberry River remains as vacant (although not subdivided) lots waiting for buyers.

Blackberry River LLC partner William Weingart has been appealing to P&Z for months now to release the 55-plus restriction so he can market to the middle-agers who have shown an interest. Many prospects, he said, are not that much younger, are already “empty-nesters� and are ready to downsize.

About a dozen neighboring property owners attended the hearing. Most chose to speak. A few suggested the homes would sell if the prices were lowered. Weingart said that is the plan.

Sewer plant dangers debated

Many spoke against changing the age restriction; they cited concerns about safety for children on neighborhood roads or at the nearby Canaan Fire District’s sewer treatment plant. They also cited the tax burden to the town that public school students represent.

Much of the testimony seemed to echo concerns raised in response to the proposed change by Canaan Fire District officials, who stated in writing earlier that there is a potential for injury and even death should a child find his or her way into the plant, with its open treatment vats.

Last week’s public comment came after Weingart’s attorney, Charles Ebersol, spoke at length about children in that neighborhood now and in the past.

No one disputed his testimony or discussed photos of children following a pathway along the sewer plant fence to a popular river swimming hole that is “a stone’s throw from the plant.�

He noted that previous property owner David Soper, who helped get the project off the ground, lived there with his young children. Before that, it was home to local vet Vincent Peppe and his wife, Shirley, who raised a family there.

Dr. Peppe had tennis courts and basketball courts built for neighborhood youngsters to use, all straddling the road that served as both his driveway and the access road to the sewer plant. That driveway, now called Housatonic Lane, has been upgraded and remains the access road off of West Main Street for both the plant and the condos. Plant operation has remained essentially the same over the years.

“I am surprised the Canaan Fire District would claim or admit it has a dangerous situation there,“ Ebersol said. “As far as I know, no kid has been struck by a vehicle or fallen into a vat at the plant. If they fear there are dangers, they are the ones who have the responsibility to protect others in the neighborhood.�

Soper said in the three years his family lived on the road to the plant, the fire district never advised him of dangers there.

‘Active’ communities needed

More to the issue, Ebersol noted the age restriction is not a requirement of local zoning regulations, nor is it a condition of the special permit.

When asked to elaborate as to why the developer requested the restriction, Ebersol explained that “active adult� communities were and remain in demand in Connecticut. They are springing up everywhere, except in the Northwest Corner.

Focusing on a perceived need simply seemed to be the best marketing strategy.

But development plans coincided with a spike in the cost of building materials following Hurricane Katrina. Condo prices ended up on the high end of the local market, with the single sold unit going for $410,000.

Ebersol noted as well that other condominiums around the state are typically located on main roads with high traffic speeds, and that he is not aware of any other Connecticut project turned down because of a danger to children.

Concerns ‘exaggerated’?

North Canaan resident Rev. Lance Beizer wrote a long letter that was read into the record. He called the safety concerns “greatly exaggerated.�

He noted that children regularly use the undeveloped portion of the Blackberry Commons property for biking, skateboarding and driving ATVs. They also walk to and from school on the town roads near the development.

“If traffic is a safety concern for Housatonic Lane, should it not also be a concern on the surrounding streets?� he wrote.

The Beizers have five grandchildren, ages 3 to 14, who visit often. Watching them play there has led the Beizers to conclude it is a “wonderful location for families.�

“The younger children should not be roaming the property unsupervised in any event, and the older ones should be quite capable of understanding the dangers of an open vat.�

Beizer addressed reports of teens using drugs behind the vacant model homes, and wondered, “Would it not be more beneficial to the community, and to the safety of all these kids, to finish the development?�

Was age a factor in permit?

Among the impassioned statements against the project was one by Bragg Street resident Gina Wilson, who said she has followed the project issues closely. She said the dangers will be higher for children whose families are unfamiliar with the neighborhood. They will not have the benefit of having an extra eye kept on them by neighbors who know them.

“Canaan has a tendency to not think one step ahead,� Wilson said. “We let it happen and then try to fix it.�

She and others raised questions about traffic on West Main Street, especially on Saturday mornings. A large number of residents head for the transfer station then. Speeders on the quiet neighborhood streets have been a chronic problem.

There were comments about how much influence the age restriction bore on the special permit decision made several years ago. In hindsight, for the commission, it seems like the largest pivotal factor. But Marty McKay, who chaired the board then, and who now serves as an alternate, said it was not the sole criterion for why it was permitted.

“There was not a lot of discussion about it among P&Z members,� he said.

Indeed, the public hearings and P&Z meetings held on the permit application in 2006 did not focus on safety concerns for children as much as the potential impacts of increased traffic and land clearing.

But with the developer seeking an age restriction to which P&Z or the public did not object, it was a point that did not need discussing. Had the possibility been raised at that time of children living there, perhaps the current objections would have been raised back then.

Canaan Fire District officials made demands as part of approval that allowed for aggressive landscape buffers, as well as conserving a tract of land to be used as a buffer and for a potential future plant expansion.

There has never been any public speculation that the proximity to the sewer plant may be a deterrant for potential buyers.