Proposed Sharon condo complex angers neighbors, sparks debate

Engineer George Johannesen leads a site visit through the bramble. The homes along Hospital Hill Road in Sharon are visible in the background.
Alec Linden
Engineer George Johannesen leads a site visit through the bramble. The homes along Hospital Hill Road in Sharon are visible in the background.
SHARON — A site visit and public hearing for a new housing development in downtown Sharon turned prickly in more ways than one as neighbors and residents showed up largely in protest of the project.
Late in the afternoon on March 12, George Johannesen, engineer with North Canaan-based Allied Engineering Associates Inc. and representative of the applicant Gold Dog LLC, led a group of about fifteen into the woods just below the Sharon Medical Arts building parking lot.
The group bushwhacked through heavy vines and thorny bramble, following Johannesen as he pointed out a group of orange-taped stakes spread across the cedar-dotted hillside, demarcating the dimensions of the proposed condominium buildings.
As the crowd slowly lost cohesion in the thick undergrowth, some expressed exasperation — not with the painful woodland stroll, but with Gold Dog LLC’s proposal.
“Homeowners not happy,” said 61 Hospital Hill Road resident Andrea Weyant with a rueful, pained smile. “They should take their ideas and bring them somewhere else,” she said of the developers. “And that’s putting it nicely.”
Silvina Leone parted from the main entourage to lead a smaller group straight down the hill to a point just behind her property at 71 Hospital Hill Road. She motioned to a stake indicating one corner of a building, sitting about ten feet from the mowed grass of her backyard, and then toward the side of her house where the entrance driveway to the complex is meant to be located. She noted it was conspicuous that Johannesen’s site visit didn’t mention the entrance, which she said was one of the more intrusive aspects of the plan, coming within feet of her home and necessitating the removal of a vacant home and stand of large spruce trees.
Leone explained that she already hangs curtains and blankets on the windows to block noise, light and sightlines into her home. “They’re nuking the value of my property,” she said bluntly.
Leone furthered her case at the public hearing that followed later in the evening at Town Hall. Reading a letter, which she said she would submit to the Planning and Zoning Commission, she explained how the pervasive ledge and gradient at the site make it a poor choice for development,.“Everybody loses except Mr. Palmer,” she said of Florien Palmer, the developer behind Gold Dog LLC.
Leone’s husband, Pablo Cisilino, offered an emotional appeal when he took the floor: “I beg you to stop it. I beg you to reconsider.”
Dobrila Waugh, whose family has owned 17 acres at the bottom of the hill for 75 years, has already seen the property face runoff damages from the large, paved areas of Sharon Hospital.
“Everyone is entitled to privacy and quiet enjoyment,” Waugh said, referencing a core tenant of real estate she had learned when working in the field years ago. This project, she posited, would radically upset that right.
Not everyone in attendance was against the development, though. Donna DiMartino, who is a member of several town boards, said she understood the concerns with the development but that the town needs more housing options. “We need to have houses like duplexes where people who are not millionaires can live,” she argued.
P&Z alternate Jill Drew asked whether the new condominiums — 24 units, each a duplex — would be designated affordable.
Johannesen said it is not an affordable housing development — “It’s for people who can afford to buy a single-family home and work in town.”
Resident Carol Flaton stated in a written comment that she is “keenly interested in a prudent path of growth for the town,” and that the development seems like “exactly what Sharon needs.”
After concluding public comment, P&Z decided to keep the hearing open as new information may be submitted in the coming weeks.
The public hearing will resume at the April 9 P&Z meeting.
LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.
Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.
In 1982 after graduating summa cum laude from Harvard College, Rhys returned to Hotchkiss to teach biology, where he met his wife of 35 years, Rebecca (Becky) Snow. After two years of teaching, he worked at a research field site in Borneo, then went on to the University of California, Davis where he earned a PhD in Animal Behavior in 1995.
Rather than follow an academic tenure track, Rhys preferred the solitary focus of field ornithology, and he spent several decades researching the ecology of bird species in California and on Cape Cod and the Islands. Rhys believed passionately in supporting biodiversity through habitat preservation. His proudest achievements, therefore, came through his work for the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, in New Hampshire, where he served on committees and the Board of Trustees for twenty years, including three years as Chair.
Deeply intellectual and curious, Rhys learned Homeric Greek so he could read The Odyssey and The Iliad in their original language. An amateur Melville scholar, he would wax poetic about reading Moby-Dick for the umpteenth time.Rhys’s spirit was filled by the performing arts. Concerts by the Handel and Haydn Society and Boston Early Music Festival often brought tears to his eyes, while Boston Bluegrass Union shows delivered toe-tapping fidgetiness.
Rhys will be missed by his wife, Becky Snow, his mother, Anne Bowen, extended family, friends, and anyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
A service will be held at The Hotchkiss School chapel on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 at 1 p.m..
In honor of Rhys’s memory, donations can be made to the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.
LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.
Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.
In addition to her husband and parents, Kelsey is survived by her two beloved children, Hunter Horton and Aryanna Horton, both of Lakeville; a step-brother, Jason Tuncy of East Hartford, Connecticut; her mother-in-law, Frances “Fran” Horton and her brother-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton III and his wife Penny of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and their son, Alec, and several aunts, uncles, cousins and many dear friends. She was predeceased by her father-in-law, Benjamin D. Horton, Jr. in 2017.
There are no calling hours. A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Millerton American Legion Post # 178, Route 44, Millerton, NY 12546. A time to celebrate Kelsey and share stories and memories. Memorial contributions may be made to The Jane Lloyd Fund. Please make checks payable to Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation (please note in memo line, The Jane Lloyd Fund) and mail to: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, 800 N. Main Street, Sheffield, MA 01257.
To send an online condolence to the family, flowers to the service or to plant a tree in Kelsey’s memory, please visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Avenue, Millerton, NY 12546.
SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.
In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.
Normally at this point one might list some interests, but in Eliot’s case, it’s easier to list what he wasn’t interested in: watching sports.
Eliot made a living as a fine craftsman and carpenter, but at heart he was an artist. He was well versed in music, painting, literature, biking, travel, Mardi Gras costumes, poker, pranks, street performance and on and on and on.Having previously hiked the entire Camino de Santiago in Spain and Portugal, he recently achieved another dream of summiting the highest stratovolcano in North America.
Eliot’s creative ability was astounding. His creations were designed to bring joy to others. He didn’t seek recognition or praise, and a large part of his work was anonymous. Pieces of art would appear in the community, encouraging people to think, connect and enjoy.
From the precociously funny and determinedly defiant boy that grew up in the Northwest corner of Connecticut, Eliot grew into a brilliant, gentle souled, boundlessly creative, ever mischievous, perpetually scraggly, and astoundingly wise and caring man who made an indelible impact on those who were lucky to have him in their lives.
In honor of Eliot, please consider making donations to organizations that work to end gun violence, support the arts, or provide mental health services. A service will be held at the Congregational Church in Salisbury on Sunday Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.
SHARON — Randall “Randy” Osolin passed away on Sept. 25, 2025, at the age of 74. He was born on Feb. 6, 1951, in Sharon, Connecticut to the late Ramon (Sonny) and Barbara (Sandmeyer) Osolin.
He was a dedicated social worker, a natural athlete, a gentle friend of animals, an abiding parish verger, an inveterate reader, and an estimable friend and neighbor. He was a kind-hearted person whose greatest joy was in helping someone in need and sharing his time with his family and good friends.
He was the beloved husband of Karen LaChance Osolin; the loving brother of Bruce Osolin and the late Gail Osolin Leo; the devoted uncle of Kyle and Andrew Osolin and Taylor LaChance; the brother-in-law of Debra LaChance; and the cousin of Brenda Curran, Jay Pickering and Audra Salazar.
To honor Randy’s memory, do a good deed for another or send a donation to the Little Guild, 258 Sharon-Goshen Road, West Cornwall, CT 06796. The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.