It’s perfectly legal, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying for Cindy Campbell.
Campbell, a town resident for 20 years, lives near the intersection of Punkup Road and Route 34, where a construction project is underway.
Eventually the project will result in four, single-family houses. Right now, Campbell said, it’s little more than an eyesore along a bucolic stretch of Route 34 near the Stevenson Dam.
The construction project, underway for months now, involves the removal of 197,000 cubic yards of soil, rocks and ledge.
In layman’s terms — they’re tearing down a tiny mountain.
Campbell lives across the street. Like many of her neighbors, she opposed the project when it was in front of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
The excavation, neighbors said during hearings in 2007, would result in noise, truck traffic — and disturb wildlife along the shores of the Housatonic River, which is a stone’s throw from the site.
“It’s environmentally sensitive land,” Campbell said.
The neighbors won, with the Planning and Zoning Commission rejecting the application from Cocchiola Paving, Inc. and Lars Realty, LLC.
The victory was short-lived.
The developer appealed the town’s decision in court and, in 2008, Planning and Zoning approved a modified plan.
“The court let the project proceed,” Planning and Zoning Chairman Pat Cocchiarella said.
Changes to the application included decreasing to four lot sizes (the developer wanted five), decreasing the lot acreage and about 15 percent less excavation.
Some of the conditions approved in the appeal include closing down the site during January and February to allow bald eagles to occupy the land and established working hours between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Since the approval, Campbell said there has been constant noise from the excavation equipment and traffic from trucks hauling the materials off site.
Campbell claims the contractors begin working at 7:45 a.m., which she feels is a disruption to her family.
“It is an interference and it goes on quite regularly,” she said.
Developer Anthony Cocciola did not return calls for comment. His attorney, Steven Sosensky, declined comment.
Campbell said the project, in its current state, is ruining the neighborhood.
“This used to be a beautiful mountain with trees,” she said. “This is not what I was hoping for and is inappropriate for this neighborhood.”
Town Attorney Fran Teodesio said that as long as the Cocciola is in compliance with the court order, the town has no recourse.
“There is nothing the town can do legally, as long as they follow the conditions,” he said.
