DERBY – A developer who wants to build housing atop ‘Telescope Mountain’ is taking the city’s planning and zoning commission to court for denying the application.
Summit Hill LLC, of Shelton, filed the appeal to Superior Court on Oct. 28.
The Derby Planning and Zoning Commission rejected Summit Hill’s proposal by a 7-0 vote Oct. 13. Click here for a previous story.
Summit Hill wanted to build 34 new residential duplex houses and five single-family houses on just under 18 acres of woods at the end of Summit Street, according to documents submitted to the city for review.
The property has steep slopes and lots of rock. It’s nicknamed ‘Telescope Mountain’ locally because it used to be a hangout spot known for its views of the Housatonic River.
The proposal would require substantial blasting, a major concern among people living nearby.
Getting the land ready for development would require some 50,000 truck trips over four years to haul away about 400,000 cubic yards of soil and rock, according to a memorandum from the city’s engineering firm citing statements from the applicant.
That is the same amount of soil that was removed to make way for the new Tennessee Titans football stadium under construction in Nashville.
Neighbors opposed the development at public hearings held between April and August 2026, saying the proposal would turn the property into a quarry. Mayor Joseph DiMartino also spoke against the proposal, as did Aldermen from the Second Ward, where the property is located.
In rejecting the development, commissioners said the project would cause too much land disturbance and pose a threat to people living nearby because of the truck traffic.
However, in the written appeal, Dominick Thomas, the lawyer for Summit Hill, LLC, states that the proposal complied with zoning regulations.
Thomas argues that Derby rejected the application, in part, due to the condition of offsite roads – but that the condition of those roads is not his client’s fault.
“The plaintiff’s application was improperly denied on grounds an off-site public highway did not meet city road standards when the law is clear that a subdivision cannot be denied based on the conduction of a public right of way that is the responsibility of the City of Derby to improve,” Thomas wrote.
Thomas writes that the majority of the land is zoned R-5, which allows single and two-family houses. Since Derby zoned the land that way, the assumption is the use “does not adversely affect the district,” Thomas wrote.
Summit Street was a major cause of concern for residents and members of the Derby PZC during the project’s review. Construction trucks would have to use Summit Street to get into and out of the property. It’s a narrow road that ends at Cherry Street, a densely populated area with single-family and multi-family houses on small lots.
Thomas writes in the appeal that the developer did not want to use Summit Street, but was forced to because Derby refused to allow the development to use Coon Hollow Road for access, even though an existing condominium complex uses the road for access.
Thomas’ appeal is dated Oct. 28. A copy of the lawsuit was filed with Derby City Hall Oct. 29. Derby has to answer the lawsuit by Nov. 26.