Local attorney and developer Norman S. Drubner this week submitted plans for a 431-condominium complex on a 132-acre property he owns off Park Road next to the Western Hills Golf Course.

Plans call for 351 townhouse-style condominiums. The rest would be grouped flats. Drubner described his plans as upscale, but was unable to offer prices for individual units.

Drubner, in fact, has no immediate plans to build. He said he only hopes to preserve his existing development rights in the face of a moratorium on large-scale condo development, and accompanying revisions to the city’s development rules.

This week, city officials adopted a one-year moratorium on permits typically required for large condominium and apartment complexes. The move is meant to give city officials breathing room for a comprehensive revision of the city’s zoning codes and maps.

Together, the codes and maps spell out how land can be used.

One popular idea would replace many of the areas zoned for condominiums and apartments — like Drubner’s property — with single-family home zones.

“It’s not that we might not be able to build for a year or two,” Drubner said of the recent wave of condo proposals. “It’s people not knowing what is going to come out of this. A lot of this is being driven by the very act of the moratorium.”

In December, a Hartford-based partnership proposed 138 condominiums off Vivian Drive. Later that month a New Jersey developer submitted plans for a 330-condo complex off lower Highland Avenue. This month, a Prospect developer submitted plans to build up to 171 condominiums off Hamilton Avenue. And these are only the largest of a number of condo proposals facing the city.

Drubner’s submission was filed only a few hours before the Zoning Commission voted to fully implement a two-pronged moratorium. Their vote followed a similar move by the City Plan Commission.

Resident activists have pushed for a moratorium for more than a year, citing a wave of development proposals they believe threatens to overwhelm the city’s schools, roads and other infrastructure, as well as the character of predominantly single-family neighborhoods.

Drubner’s plans require approvals from the City Plan Commission, Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission and the state Department of Transportation Traffic Commission. Should it pass, his building authorization would be good for a decade, despite any change to zoning codes.

Similarly, other pending development applications that were submitted before the moratorium will not be affected.

Some of these proposals have already faced fierce protests by resident groups, most notably the two projects off Hamilton Avenue and Highland Avenue.

It is unknown if Drubner will face similar opposition. His property is further removed from single-family neighborhoods, and is in an area already inhabited by large condo complexes. The property is also host to wetlands, is covered in ledge and cut through with high tension power lines, making development difficult.

Drubner’s plans translate into only about three condominiums, or “units,” per acre, in an area that otherwise allows for 24 per acre.

The developer also disputes the notion that condominiums could cost the city heavily. He said these would generate taxes while consuming little in terms of city services. Drubner contends the development would host few schoolchildren. Parents are unlikely to buy high-end condominiums in the city, due to Waterbury’s lackluster school system, he said.

Source: www.rep-am.com

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 28th, 2007 at 3:49 am and is filed under Condo, Real Estate. Tags: City Plan Commission city services Condo Department of Transportation development Hamilton Hartford Highland Avenue New Jersey Norman Plan Commission Projects Property Zoning Commission . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.