New information about an application received by the Town for an extension of the municipal sanitary sewer in Cannondale prompted a special meeting of Wilton’s Water Pollution Control Authority on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
The WPCA had previously referred the sewer application, which was received by the Town on Oct. 31, to the Planning & Zoning Commission for review. At Wednesday’s special meeting, however, the WPCA voted to withdraw the referral from P&Z based on new information from DPW Director/Town Engineer Frank Smeriglio.
Important Background
The sewer application — and subsequent related documents posted on the Town website — mistakenly identified the property as 440 Cannon Rd. GMW has confirmed the application concerns 440 Danbury Rd.
The parcel is on the corner of Danbury and Cannon roads.
Documents on the Wilton Historical Society‘s website indicate the property was previously known as 8 Cannon Rd. The house on the property — built in 1922 by Nelson S. Hurlbutt — is described as “an extremely important element in the historic streetscape” and “a very important contributor to the original residential character of Cannondale center.”
It appears that the owner, Marc Gueron — who owns other parcels in the area including the quaint Cannondale Village — intends to keep the historic structure.
The property is currently permitted for commercial use, and until recently was operating as a preschool and daycare center (Apple Blossom Waldorf School). According to the sewer application, Gueron intends to convert the existing building back to residential use, with a total of three bedrooms.
The engineers who submitted the sewer application on behalf of Gueron asserted that “the existing property requires an expansion to the existing septic system; however, based on Town requirements, modifications to the existing septic system are not allowed and the property is required to connect to the sewer main in Danbury Road.”
For that reason, at the Nov. 8 meeting, the WPCA voted to refer the matter to the Planning and Zoning Commission.
P&Z has not yet discussed the matter. In the meantime, Smeriglio provided an update at the WPCA’s special meeting.
New Information, New Priorities
Smeriglio suggested the sewer application may have been misguided. The notion that the Town would require a sewer connection rather than a septic upgrade “is really not the case,” Smeriglio told the WPCA.
Smeriglio reported that he had confirmed the Health Department would consider approving septic upgrades at the property.
“They did confirm they would entertain a septic system design as part of [the property owner’s] improvements for the property,” Smeriglio said. “It’s a two-acre parcel, where they can explore septic system feasibility to do a design for a two-family house.”
Smeriglio went on to say that even if the owner preferred a sewer connection over septic, the application should not be given high priority, based on new priorities for sewer allocations established by the WPCA in October.
“Development on Danbury Rd. is really the third choice [for sewer allocation],” he said.
The highest priority is in the transit-oriented district (TOD) surrounding the Wilton train station, followed by Wilton Center — with Danbury Rd. as the third priority.
The Broader Area
“This proposal is at the intersection of Danbury Rd. and Cannon Rd., which is near 19 Cannon Rd., the [Cannondale] train station and so forth,” Smeriglio said, reminding the members that the WPCA had rejected a sewer proposal at 19 Cannon Rd. last year.
That decision effectively preempted a proposal for a multifamily housing development at that location.
First Selectman Toni Boucher, who is also the chair of the WPCA, says she has concerns that extend beyond 440 Danbury Rd.
“It is in an important area,” Boucher said. “I do have concerns about the whole area of this part of Town, and future possibilities and usage of that area.”
“We do have to consider capacity down the road for other, more top-priority projects in other areas of the Town,” she added.
GMW reached out to both Smeriglio and Boucher to ask if there is an underlying concern about a sewer extension to 440 Danbury Rd. becoming a stepping stone for future development in or near Cannondale Village.
“The Cannondale Village area is a Wilton historical landmark,” Boucher responded via email. “What occurs in this area of the town is of importance to us and we pay close attention to it.”
“If the owner of Cannondale Village submits development plans for the parcel, the WPCA will review the plans accordingly,” Smeriglio responded via email. “The under[lying] concern is that the Wilton sewer system is nearing capacity of what we can discharge to Norwalk, and the WPCA set priority areas for sewer connections. Since 440 Danbury Road is a two-acre parcel like most residential properties in Wilton, the owner should continue the approval process by exploring upgrades to the septic system with the Health Department.”
Vote to Withdraw the Referral to P&Z
Boucher was inclined to act on the information provided by Smeriglio.
“My recommendation would be to withdraw this [referral] and have this worked out between our department [DPW] and the Health Department,” she said.
At least one member of the WPCA, Selectman Bas Nabulsi, was uncomfortable with the process the WPCA would be following, for not evaluating the application “on its merits.”
“The prioritization does not, in my judgment, mean that we don’t consider requests for connection,” Nabulsi said. “This particular property made the priority list, even though it’s third on the list. The approach I think we should take is that applicants should be evaluated and considered on the merits on a case-by-case basis, with that prioritization informing our thought process. But the idea of not taking the step that would allow it to be heard by the WPCA, on the merits, doesn’t feel right to me.”
“My instinct would be to go forward with the P&Z referral, and have it come before the WPCA and make a decision on the merits,” he said.
Boucher noted that the property owner could still make a sewer application if further discussions with the Health Department about septic upgrades did not have satisfactory results.
Nabulsi was the only WPCA member to vote in opposition to a motion to withdraw the referral from P&Z, which passed 5-1.