Sharon Gold Dog public hearingcloses without final decision

SHARON — After three sessions, the public hearing for a controversial housing development proposal in downtown Sharon closed June 11, but the Planning and Zoning Commission did not issue its decision as it awaits further third-party engineering review.

The plans, which are available for public viewing at the Land Use Office during regular hours or by appointment, detail 12 duplex buildings for 24 total condo units arranged around a 24-foot-wide driveway.

At the June 11 hearing, George Johannesen of Allied Engineering, representing the applicant, Gold Dog LLC, presented updated plans to specify fill material, pipe locations and other details.

Johannesen responded to four technical comments mostly related to runoff drainage and a few additional specifications on the plans from Colby Engineering, the firm hired by the Commission and paid for by the applicant to perform a review.

Commissioners agreed that these new details would need to undergo additional review from Colby before it could levy a decision on the application, which it now has 65 days to do according to state statute.

Artel Engineering’s Dainius Virbickas returned to the hearing with a list of 24 criticisms of the current plans. Virbickas, who was hired by Pablo Cisilino and Silvina Leone, neighbors to the proposed development on Hospital Hill Road, had previously distributed a list exceeding 50 comments at the first round of the public hearing in March.

Virbickas’ complaints primarily centered around what he described as a lack of specificity and detail relating to the applicant’s stormwater management plan, which has been a central topic of debate between the various engineers. “I find it difficult to see how the Commission could approve an application missing so much information,” he said.

Johannesen parried by saying that “it’s a simplistic analysis because it’s a small property” and that more detailed drainage plans are only required for constructions with a larger disturbance footprint.

Members of the Commission questioned Virbickas’ report, noting the Colby review, which included the review from Artel, only stated 4 corrections in comparison to Virbickas’ 24. “Maybe they’re not real issues?” posited P&Z Secretary Stanley MacMillan Jr.

Several residents who have opposed the project in previous hearings, such as Dobrila Waugh and Margaret Keilty, spoke out again citing runoff concerns and impacts to neighbors as their major concerns with the plan.

Richard Roberts, an attorney hired by Cisilino and Leone, added that the “cookie-cutter duplex houses” will alter the “character” of the neighborhood and that design flaws make the project untenable.

A letter from Amenia Road resident Cedric Autet that was read aloud similarly stated that what he saw as consistent errors in the application demonstrates a “persistent lack of preparation and professionalism.”

Several residents spoke in favor of diversifying Sharon’s housing landscape. Carol Flaton, who serves as an alternate on the town’s Board of Finance, submitted a leader that was also read aloud in support of the development. “This project appears to fit squarely within the town’s [Plan of Conservation and Development]” and would promote “prudent” growth, the letter stated.

The final speaker to take the floor was 61 Hospital Hill Road resident Andrea Weyant, who appealed to the Commission to think about neighbors’ privacy as the proposed driveway would pass close to her home.

“There are people this is going to hurt,” she said.

The Commission will resume the discussion at its next regular meeting on July 9.