News

‘It Is An Opportunity To Preserve Open Space’: Indian Waters Drive Neighbors Seek Alternative To Planned Development of Aquarion Land

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Saying they’re worried about construction vehicles on a narrow private road and the development of a long-untouched wooded parcel that straddles the Noroton River watershed, residents of Indian Waters Drive are raising concerns about the water company’s plan to subdivide and sell large piece of land at the end of their cul-de-sac. Aquarion’s approximately 19-acre property occupies a wildlife- and wetlands-heavy parcel bordered by the points of three dead-ending roads—Indian Waters Drive, Welles Lane and Thurton Drive. Peter Fazekas, Aquarion’s director of public relations, told NewCanaanite.com that the company has entered an agreement with one neighbor who wants to purchase 8.3 acres contiguous to his or her property, and will pursue a 2-lot subdivision of the roughly 10 remaining acres, with frontage on Indian Waters Drive. Yet for Susan Bergen, a resident of the private road, the Aquarion parcel is a “perfect piece of property to put into preservation.”

“This property is sort of in a green belt with a bunch of others in this town that form a corridor for wildlife and bird life,” Bergen said. Indian Waters Drive includes 15 homes whose owners sign deeds that guarantee they will not allow access to any developer, Bergen said.

Government

Water Main Hookup to Renovated Town Hall to Cost Unanticipated $74,000; Overall Project Remains on Budget

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New Canaan will spend an unanticipated $74,000 to connect the renovated Town Hall to a water main, after officials from the public water company found the hookup that had been in place wanting for the expanded structure, officials say. When workers at the Main Street site went to connect to the water main through an existing line, Aquarion discovered that a single line had been serving not only Town Hall but also the Outback Teen Center behind it, and “it turned out we needed a separate line with the two buildings,” said Michael Pastore, director of the Department of Public Works. “We didn’t know that,” Pastore said. “There is some confusion as to how come this is different to what it was. But it has to be different to what it was.