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OLD LYME — Road quality test results at the 16 Neck Road subdivision have returned as “deficient,” which will result in a delay in certification of a house foundation until the road quality is brought up to town standards.
Eric Knapp, the town’s land use coordinator, clarified Wednesday that the portion of the subdivision building permit under his jurisdiction is on hold, but other areas that fall under the building official or the Ledge Light Health District, for example, are not.
“The zoning responsibilities within the building permit are on hold,” he said.
However, he noted, putting a hold on this step will prevent approvals further down the list.
“There’s a limit to how far we can go down the chain with me placing a hold here,” Knapp said, referring to the list of items on the building permit.
Knapp said the developer, Frank Nocito of Keystone Capital Corp., submitted the surveyor certificate for the foundation of one of the houses, but his approval is on hold until road quality tests meet town standards.
The next step for Nocito is for his paving company, Anton Paving, to bring the road up to town standards.
Knapp said a representative from Jacobson Engineering should be present when the road samples are taken, which did happen the first time. He said the road material must immediately be sent for testing to verify that it meets the town’s standards.
“Theoretically, if we were doing this properly, we would have a representative from Jacobson out there to make sure that as it’s going in, it’s going in per our standards,” he said. “The goal is essentially our person is there witnessing that material being taken out of the sample and then being sent off to the lab. … But again, having someone from Jacobson there witnessing is the best insurance to make sure it gets done properly.”
Knapp said Nocito submitted a partial payment for Jacobson’s services in overseeing the work.
“What they have done is we showed them the bill that Jacobson has already provided us, that we’ve already paid, and they have reimbursed us for the amount of the bill that Jacobson has already sent us,” Knapp said.
He emphasized that road quality was of key importance to his areas of jurisdiction.
“Ultimately, it’s on them now to demonstrate that the road is of sufficient quality and in data core samples from very specific locations. … But it’s going to be on them to demonstrate that when they’re done, the road, in its entirety, meets the town’s standards,” he said.
The town’s Planning Commission approved Nocito’s application for a subdivision on 12.3-acre parcel in 2022. Nocito was ordered to install proper erosion controls in January after six months of disagreements about which town department had jurisdiction.