NEWINGTON
Town Crier
Not so fast Friday, October 19, 2012
Conservation Commission votes to hire outside help to study impact of Toll Bros new proposal
By ERICA SCHMITT Staff wrtiter
After almost 40 Cedar Mountain devotees came to the Conservation Commission’s Tuesday night meeting in opposition of Toll Brothers’ new application for a 48-lot subdivision, the commission voted to bring in their own environmental experts to evaluate the plan. This is the second application for the 73-acre parcel that the national builder has presented to the town in the last 12 months, with the amount of open space to be donated to the town increased to 44 acres. The last plan won the Town Plan & Zoning Commission’s approval — with a lengthy list
of stipulations — but not the Conservation Commission, which must determine the viability of this new proposal. The applicant’s project team detailed how based upon their determination, construction would have no negative impact on the area’s surroundPhotos courtesy of the savecedar.com. ing wetlands and neighborhoods. More than 40 advocates for the preservation of Cedar Mountain attended a meeting of the However, much to the ‘Save Conservation Commission Tuesday to oppose a proposed 48-lot subdivision on the lands. Cedar Mountain’ advocates’ relief, the commission was not convinced of their claims, evidenced by their unanimous vote to hire unaffiliated blasting and wetland experts. “I move that we retain the services of an inland wetlands professional and a blasting contractor to give us balanced opinions,” asserted Commissioner Cathleen Hall after hearing the applicant’s presentation. “I quite frankly don’t care what happens to the rock, but I do care that these wetlands not be drained,” agreed Chairman Phillip Block. “Will the developer be responsible for any damage to our infrastructure?” questioned resident Gary Bolles, who lives in one of the neighborhoods abutting the mountain, where
Bolles went on to call the project “a God-awful nightmare.”
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