A developer is proposing a 20-home subdivision on Route 101 in Wilton.
The application, submitted by Glendale Homes of Hollis, would construct a 20-unit cluster development on a 24-acre parcel. The homes are anticipated to be two-story, four-bedroom bungalows, with a square footage of about 3,000 square feet.
Currently, there is a developed home on the property, but the majority of the property is wooded.
When asked about the timeline of the development, Nathan Chamberlin, of Fieldstone Land Consultants, representing the developer, said the pace of development and the cost of the homes would depend on the market and the rate the properties sold, though he noted that currently the demand is high. He said he would expect the houses to sell at the current market value.
The houses would be built on lots sized between .2 acres and 1 acre, and would leave an additional two lots as open space, totaling almost 16 acres.
Previously, the applicant had applied for a variance to restrict occupancy for residents 55-years-old or older, where Wilton requires age restricted housing for residents 50 or older. The Zoning Board denied that variance request in July. The Zoning Board has granted the property a variance to allow the development to have a shorter roadway frontage than usually allowed, as long as there is no further subdivision of the lot.
Some neighboring property owners said they were wary of what they said was a large development in a quiet area.
Abutter Cheryl Bosquet, of Proctor Road, said her property would overlook some of the proposed houses, and she was concerned about the screening and noise.
“I have a hard time believing that while driving down Route 101, you’re not gong to see these houses,” Bosquet said.
Bosquet said when she moved to town 30 years ago, the area was mainly wooded, and that she’s seeing that character change, and the proposed cluster development, along with others she’s seen go up in the area since she moved in have started to detract from Wilton’s appeal as a “woodsy” environment and put a “damper” on some of its most attractive points.
The Planning Board anticipates holding a site walk on the property on Jan. 30 at 9 a.m., at the property on 304 Gibbons Highway, also known as Route 101. The public may attend, but the board will not take testimony at the site walk. The board is scheduled to continue taking testimony and deliberate on the application during its next meeting, scheduled on Feb. 17 via Zoom.
The board also continued two other proposed subdivision developments to its Feb. 17 meeting after only minimal discussion Wednesday.
A proposal by Buchanan Construction Corporation of Wilton proposes to subdivide a lot off Pine Valley Street to create two new lots, one about 0.9 acres, and the other 0.7 acres. Both lots would be in the residential district, on town sewer and water, and would have a common driveway. During Wednesday’s meeting, the board reviewed updated plans for the development, including changes made to the proposed driveway to be more in compliance with the town’s zoning. To give the town’s engineers more time to review the plans, the board continued the hearing to Feb. 17.
The board was also scheduled to discuss another development proposal on Wednesday, a nine-lot development on McGettigan Road. The property would have about 20 acres of common land, and nine houses on lots between 0.9 and 0.7 acres. The board continued the hearing on the matter without discussion Wednesday after being notified of the unexpected death of one of the developers a few days before the scheduled hearing. The matter is scheduled to also be taken up at the upcoming Feb. 17 meeting of the board.
Plans for all three proposed subdivision developments are available on the Wilton town website under the Planning Board page.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.