The Coach Homes at Ridgefield, a proposed 54-unit development of 55-and-older housing on the former Schlumberger property, has cleared one of its early approvals from town agencies.
The board of police commissioners unanimously approved the project, with contingencies, at its meeting on June 11.
At the meeting, Michael Galante of Frederick P. Clark Associates, and Martin Handshy, president of Charter Group Partners, addressed the commission on behalf of The Coach Homes.
Galante discussed the traffic study, and said that because it is a 55-and-over community, some people may not go to work and they all won’t be leaving at the same time. Galante said traffic from the development will travel west on Sunset Lane to Grove Street and will have no significant impact on overall traffic volume in the area, according to minutes of the meeting.
The traffic study, which focused on the intersection of Grove Street and Sunset Lane, projects that the proposed 54-unit age restricted development will introduce an additional 10 to 15 trips during the peak traffic hours of 8 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 6 p.m.
Members of the Police Commission worried, however, that the proposed development will bring an increase in traffic greater than the increase projected by Galante.
Commissioner Joe Savino noted that the increased traffic could upset residents of the sleepy, all-residental Sunset Lane neighborhood. “I think we need to go to the first selectman with this, because the public will hold us accountable if [Sunset Lane] becomes a major cut-through,” he said.
The commission also expressed unanimous concern about the potential impacts of increased traffic on the sharp turn of the intersection between Sunset and Prospect Street. “One of our concerns that we’ll have to address will be that awkward turn there,” said commission secretary Marcie Coffin. Members of the commission expressed interest in installing a roundabout to ease the flow of traffic through the intersection.
Several commissioners asked that it be put in writing that the access road to the back end of the Schlumberger property not be used as a major artery except for emergency vehicles.
The commissioners also agreed that all-way stop signs be installed at Grove Street and Sunset Lane.
The next step is for Police Chief John Roche to write a letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission approving the plans with the contingencies.
The development plans call for 45 single-floor “coach homes” in three 15-unit buildings, and nine townhouses in three-unit clusters. They reflect the priorities of the Board of Selectmen, according to Handshy.
“They did specifically ask for this to be an age-restricted 55-plus project,” he told The Press last February, in an article about negotiations with the selectmen on the sale of the town property.
The Planning and Zoning Commission must schedule a public hearing on the project.
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