NEWINGTON - The site plan approval for a continuing care residential community (CCRC) on Cedar Mountain will be voted on at the next Town Planning and Zoning Commission (TPZ) meeting.

       The TPZ voted to move the item to old business at last Wednesday’s meeting following a lengthy discussion regarding motorist safety and the coordination of traffic flow in and out of the site.

       The Commission reconvenes May 13.

       â€�"I don’t mind closing it, but I’d like to wait until May 13 to vote on it, because it’s a big decision,” said Commissioner Carol Anest.

       That was the sentiment expressed by the rest of the TPZ, which voted unanimously to move the item but hold off on taking action.

       â€�"I’m not comfortable voting tonight either,” said Commissioner Robert Serra, Sr. â€�"I’m still not a hundred percent on the wetlands; I think there are still questions.”

       And the TPZ has had a lot of questions throughout its discussion with Amara. The wetlands issue--the proposed building is outside of a buffer zone that includes a containing wall--was discussed mostly in meetings the applicant had with the Conservation Commission, but the TPZ had some other concerns of its own.

       The TPZ, after much deliberation, recently approved a text amendment that would increase the height limit of CCRC facilities from three stories to five while expanding the permitted density from 20 units per acre to 30 within business areas close to the Berlin Turnpike.

       Then the TPZ’s attention turned to traffic volume along Russell Road, which, by Amara’s count, reaches a daily average of 1,178. Commissioners suspect that the numbers are even higher, and have pointed to the tendency for accidents to occur in the area.

       At the last meeting Amara’s engineers proposed prohibiting left turns coming in and out of a Russell Road entrance. By last week, they came to the table with a tentative blueprint for an East Cedar Street entrance with the same stipulation.

       Whatever site plan makes it past the TPZ will need the final approval from the state Department of Transportation (DOT) because Russell Road is a state road.

       â€�"This is about as restrictive as they will go,” said Project Engineer Russel Seer of the right in, right out design. â€�"Typically their fallback is to do a right in, right out.”

       The DOT could, however, ask for a traffic light, he said.

       â€�"If they did, we’d put it in,” Seer said. â€�"But it’s not likely.”

       Amara is also looking to better coordinate traffic flow with Jensen Machine, a company that resides on the site and has delivery trucks that have to come in and out as well.

       â€�"I am willing and trying to make sure Jensen Machine has reasonable access to the property,” said Mike Frisbie of Hunter Development, which owns the property. â€�"We don’t want to hinder their business; they’re good neighbors.”

       Their proposal is to establish another entrance at the north end of the site that would be exclusively for Jensen Machine trucks.

       â€�"We wouldn’t be near anybody else’s traffic and there’d be no clash between Amara’s traffic and ours,” said Jack Jensen, owner of Jensen Machine.