New sewer hook-ups will be banned for most sizable developments in East Lyme through 2029. Pictured is Rocky Neck State Park in the Niantic section. Photo by Morrowlong | CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
A moratorium on sewer connections will effectively ban large development in East Lyme until 2029, including a proposal for 840 housing units in the Oswegatchie Hills section of Niantic.
East Lyme’s board of selectmen this week unanimously approved the ban on large-scale sewer hookups, defined as those for 20 housing units, or those that produce more than 5,000 gallons daily.
Major development proposals for the Oswegatchie Hills area of Niantic date back to the 1980s. The latest attempt is by Landmark Development Group, a Middletown company whose principal spoke against the proposal before the board’s unanimous vote.
“It’s really a moratorium against developers: 5,000 gallons or 20 units. And obviously, that’s by design,” Principal Glenn Russo said during a public hearing.
Russo noted that his 236-acre site was allocated 118,000 gallons of sewer capacity daily in a 2018 state Appellate Court ruling, but has been unable to move forward because of a 2019 town ordinance that restricts large developments.
Noting that the town’s overall sewer usage is lower than it was in 2010, Russo characterized the town’s policies and the latest decision as part of a longstanding strategy to obstruct affordable housing.
“Everybody else in town is going to be able to build their houses and do whatever they have to do, but not me. Not the developers, because we dare to bring affordable housing to the state and … East Lyme,” Russo said.
Water and Sewer Department Chief Operating Officer Ben North said the state Department of Environmental Protection limits the town’s sewer capacity to 1 million gallons daily, approximately half of which is allocated to state properties such as the York Correctional Institute and Rocky Neck State Park. While the state’s share of the total has decreased, the town’s share has risen because of recent development.
“The state has roughly 500,000 [gallons], so that capacity that the state has is not capacity that we can just dip into,” North said.
East Lyme’s sewer system connects through Waterford to the city of New London’s municipal wastewater treatment plant in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.
Discussions are under way with New London and Waterford officials about an expansion of the treatment plant, which would be paid for through a three-town agreement, North said.
Upon recommendation of East Lyme Town Attorney Tim Bleasdale, the resolution requires the board to lift the moratorium if another source of sewer capacity emerges before 2029.
Nearly 78 percent of East Lyme’s 8,610 housing units are single-family homes, according to the town’s 2022 Affordable Housing Plan.
The report recommended that the town create an affordable housing overlay zone in areas with public water and sewer service, providing density bonuses for qualified projects. The report also called for creation of an inclusionary zoning ordinance, requiring a minimum 10-percent affordable component in multifamily developments with more than 10 units.
Year-to-date, the average single-family home sales price in East Lyme is $520,000, according to data compiled by The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record. That represents a 22-percent year-over-year increase.
