Developer, neighbors clash over subdivision
Carrier Group Inc. is portraying its 25-home subdivision plan in Farmington as way to protect most of an unspoiled woodland, while neighbors slam it as a risk to the Scott Swamp wetlands that will cause flooding and worsen car traffic.
After hearing more than two hours of arguments from both sides at a hearing Monday night, the Town Plan and Zoning Commission continued the session until March 27.
Homeowners from the southwestern section of town have been organizing opposition to the Carrier project for more than six months, posting “Save Morea Road” lawn signs, running an online petition and raising $3,800 though a Gofundme campaign to hire a professional engineer.
But Carrier contends that by tightly grouping new homes into two clusters, its plan preserves 71 of the property’s 88 acres and therefore is far less destructive than a traditional subdivision would be. Those 71 acres would be set aside as permanent open space, according to the company.
Carrier has an option to buy the property; town records list the owners as Marian Cardone, Teresa Lattizori and Lisa Mancini.
“The current owner has been inundated by sales offers” from developers, including some out-of-state builders, Christian Hoheb, Carrier’s attorney, told the commission. “The cluster concept accomplishes the desire of the present owners to preserve as much of the land as possible.”
Carrier noted that the land is zoned R-40, which allows for residential development.
“The traditional R-40 (development) has a much larger footprint than the cluster plan,” Hoheb told the commission.
Part of the property is a wetland and unsuitable for building, but Carrier maintains that the cluster proposal leaves more open space for animal habitats and buffer between housing lots and wetlands. In addition, the 25 houses are designed to leave as much undisturbed land as possible, according to the company.
“The garage is tucked under the building, with living space above it. It’s a very efficient footprint,” said
Thomas Daly of the Cheshire office of SLR Consulting, Carrier’s chief consultant on the project.
Daly said the project will be comparable to Arbor Meadows, a Carrier cluster subdivision under construction on a former tree nursery in Cromwell. He noted that the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has said the cluster approach will minimize impact to three state-listed species on the land.
SLR said its traffic study showed the project would have no significant impact on nearby streets, and said that new storm water basins designed for two 100-year storms would protect against flooding.
Nearby residents, however, said they oppose the plan. Several took turns making their case Monday night, while more than two dozen others submitted letters beforehand.
“Morea Road has been shut down several times because of flooding,” said Eric Roy, whose Plank Hill Road home is just across the town border in Bristol. “Trees have toppled over because roots have become too flooded.”
Roy and resident Ed Gelardi both criticized SLR’S traffic study, saying it understated the existing level of rush hour traffic. The company said only 18 car trips would be added to the average morning rush hour.
“I think there were a lot more cars than they counted. I’ll be waiting through two, three lights on Morea Road to turn onto Plainville Avenue,” Gelardi said.
“SLR says there will be 18 cars leaving. In the 1950s that was probably true,” but families typically have two or more cars now, he said. “When you get on Morea Road in the morning, it backs up.”
Tall Timbers Drive residents Frank and Jane Carlozzi condemned the town’s wetlands commission for granting Carrier a permit, and said they feel the project is being “railroaded” to approval.
“My main concern has centered on the impact on the ecosystems surrounding Scott Swamp, as fragmentation of habitat is an unavoidable aspect of any construction project, but especially one that lies so close to wetlands and vernal pool areas,” Tall Timbers Drive homeowner Kay Higgins wrote in a letter to planners.
Higgins said she is also concerned about traffic safety, writing that Morea Road “already has a chronic speeding problem and has seen a number of (pre-pandemic) collisions.”
Numerous residents wrote to say they want the town or the Farmington Land Trust to buy the entire parcel, but neither one has put forward an offer.
Addressing the natural beauty of the land, resident Barbara Javarone told commissioners “there is no construction without destruction.” She warned that allowing homes so close to wetlands can create pollution.
“Occupants can use pesticides, herbicides, ice removal products, bug zappers destroying the mosquitos that surely will appear, but also the beneficial insects,” she wrote. “I have lived in Unionville since 1976 and stayed because of the wonderful open spaces that contribute to the well-being of the people who live here.”