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Stone Ledge townhouse proposal continued for traffic, utilities and documentation
Summary
The board continued the Stone Ledge major site plan (proposed 70-unit townhouse development) to March 18 after the applicant updated the board on traffic, buffer, water-loop and utility coordination and agreed to provide additional engineering materials, third-party reviews and interdepartmental input before the next hearing.
The Milford Planning Board on Feb. 18 continued its public hearing on the Stone Ledge major site plan — a proposed 70-unit, townhouse-style rental development on roughly 15.96 acres along Nathaniel Drive and South Street — to the board’s next regular meeting on March 18.
The applicant’s representative, Matt Peterson of Keach Nordstrom Associates, reported progress since the January hearing and said the project team was preparing additional materials requested by the board and town consultants. Peterson said the team met with the town’s counsel and traffic consultants and expected to submit a consolidated package — including an updated landscape plan with increased buffering, traffic build-out scenarios for four additional pad sites, and revised water-main alignment — well ahead of the March date.
Steven Haas of Hoyle Tanner, the town’s third-party reviewer, joined via Zoom and was available to answer questions. Board members focused most of their questions on traffic and access: potential signalization at the primary intersection, level-of-service projections under a 2035 horizon with the proposed development and a nearby gas station, and whether emergency-only access points (including a Knox box gate proposed for Webster Street/Panema Hill Road) would remain restricted to emergency use. Peterson said the team would include a full build-out analysis of the four remaining pad sites to allow the town and its traffic reviewer to evaluate cumulative impacts.
Board members also asked about water infrastructure. Peterson said the development team was coordinating with the water department on a looped main; he reported ongoing conversations regarding Webster Street water needs and a possible joint project to address both the development’s needs and existing town infrastructure deficiencies.
Other topics raised included whether blasting would be required (Peterson said he would confirm details at the next hearing), gate and turnaround design for emergency access and public-safety apparatus, and landscaping and buffer increases along the project frontage. Board members requested clarity on where plow turnaround space would be provided and how gated access would affect municipal operations such as plowing.
Members of the public raised broader concerns about how the proposal aligns with Milford’s master plan and the projected impacts of more multifamily rental units on school enrollment and town character. Mike Thornton, a resident, referenced language in the master plan about maintaining Milford’s small-New-England-town character and asked whether owner-occupied units would better meet that goal than rental, multi-family developments.
Planning staff told the board they would run the project materials through interdepartmental review (including fire and building) and that traffic materials from the applicant and third-party responses would be provided in advance of the next hearing. The board did not take a final vote on the Stone Ledge application on Feb. 18; instead members unanimously voted to continue the hearing to March 18 to allow time for the revised traffic study, updated plans and interdepartmental review comments to be distributed to the board for review.
No conditions of approval were adopted at the Feb. 18 hearing; the continuance is intended to give staff, the town’s review engineer and the applicant time to address the outstanding transportation, utilities and design tasks identified during the discussion.
