After several rounds of review and negotiation, the Inland Wetlands Commission voted on Thursday, May 23 to approve a proposal for an eight-building, 93-unit apartment complex at 64 Danbury Rd. The project will now proceed in its review at the Planning and Zoning Commission, which is expected to open the public comment period tonight, Tuesday, May 28.

Over the last several weeks, the Inland Wetlands Commission and Wilton Director of Environmental Affairs Michael Conklin were able to secure a series of improvements to the proposal to mitigate its impact on the nearby environment. The site lies within Wilton Corporate Park and includes both a wooded hillside and a portion of watercourse known as Copts Brook. These changes included:

  • The redesign of Building 7 and 8 into a unified Building 7 that provides an expanded 65-foot buffer between the structure and Copts Brook
  • The preservation of a significant maple tree on the site and a planting proposal to add four trees and 27 shrubs in exchange for those being eliminated for the construction process
  • A boulder wall behind the new Building 7 that will replace a proposed artificial retaining wall and provide a natural habitat for species displaced elsewhere on the site
  • Inspections of the site for sediment and erosion controls weekly and following any rain events with half an inch of precipitation or more
  • Inlet protection to keep sediment and debris out of storm drains, a measure that the applicant team initially said would require too much maintenance.

Developer Samuel Fuller and his team had maintained for weeks that the proposal submitted in January was the only “reasonable and prudent alternative.” Conklin and members of the Commission, particularly Chair Nick Lee and commissioner Rem Bigosinski, pushed back and ultimately the project team returned with two alternate proposals. One of them, known as Alternative 101-B, is the layout that has now been approved.

Peer review firm Cardinal Engineering had also flagged a lengthy list of concerns about the project, all of which appeared resolved by the final changes Fuller and his team offered up.

“All of our comments have been addressed,” said Cardinal’s Roy Seelye. “I really applaud the applicant and his design team for the efforts they made in responding to our comments. We think it’s now a good plan that can be constructed.”

Looking Ahead

The next step in the application process is a vote by the Planning and Zoning Commission, which began public review of the January version of the proposal on Mar. 25. Public comment on the project has not yet opened but is expected to begin (and possibly conclude) during tonight’s Tuesday, May 28 meeting.

Architecturally, the project itself has gone through numerous iterations of design prior to this formal review process beginning. In September 2023, before this latest design was presented, P&Z Chair Rick Tomasetti told developer Fuller, “The other one looked like a Super 8, this one looks like marine barracks.”

During the initial February 2021 discussion with P&Z, Fuller assured the Commission that he intended “to have the most iconic architecture anybody can imagine and have everybody completely psyched about the architecture.”

“You have my word and our commitment that we will deliver really profound, impactful architecture that’s timeless and tasteful and fits within the town and that everybody will like,” he said.