A proposal to convert existing buildings on a former farm in Wallingford to apartments was unanimously rejected recently by the Town Planning & Zoning Commission.
During its meeting on April 13, the commission reconvened a hearing it had opened on March 9 to consider the proposal, which sought a special permit for an adaptive re-use of the property at 386 Williams Road.
The property currently is zoned RU-40, a rural residential housing zone.
The application was filed on behalf of the owners, Mark and Mike Malchiodi, who were represented by Bob Wiedenmann of Sunwood Development of Wallingford.
The property is the original Malchiodi home and family farm. Wiedenmann said it currently has three buildings, including a residential building served by a well and septic system.
During the continuation of the public hearing, Wiedenmann said the applicants had decided to reduce the number of proposed apartments from nine to seven. Two of the units would be located in the existing house, with the rest located in the barn. One unit in the house would have two bedrooms, the remaining six units would be one bedroom, he said.
The decision to reduce the number of units was intended to reduce the “intensity” of the development, which would require “less impervious surface” for parking, he said.
Wiedenmann added that the developers intend to have two separate septic systems on the property to serve the apartments, which would be the same as if the proposal was to develop two four-bedroom single-family homes on-site.
Commission members and neighbors, however, raised concerns about the development, including the impact of the well and septic systems on neighboring properties.
Commission Vice Chairman Jeffrey Kohan noted that town zoning regulations require such buildings to be served by public water and sewer systems.
Other commission members questioned whether the development was in character with the residential neighborhood, which has mostly single-family homes.
After closing the public hearing, Kohan raised a motion to deny the project, citing concerns about the impact on the well and septic systems and the neighborhood.
The commission then voted 5-0 to approve the motion to deny the project.
