Developerunveilsa new plan for Estates at Barberry Farm in Madison, next to working farm

Jul. 11—Greenberg and partner John Giannotti scrapped their first proposal to build a 12-home cluster development on land that formerly was part of Barberry Hill Farm. Greenberg bought the 5.8 acres for $2.4 million in November 2022.

The land was trickier to develop than Greenberg first thought. "It just made it cost prohibitive to keep going," he said about the cluster development. He noted that there are burdensome issues with wetlands on the site, which is bordered by the Neck River.

He said he decided to scale back the development to meet inland wetlands regulations without as much complexity and at a markedly lower cost.

"So it really came down to the overall infrastructure cost and the requirements that we were kind of facing — not for the health code but for the inland wetlands and certain nitrogen questions with the number of septics," Greenberg said.

The original development was "inside the 100-foot line" of the river, he noted. The new plan is well outside the 100-foot mark, according to Greenberg. "It's just a more cumbersome application ... once you go inside that 100-foot mark," he said about the first plan.

"We could have done it and continued down the path," he said, but noted regulations would have required 5-foot drainage underneath the entire roadway, which had to be built with costly pavers "just for water collection."

Added to that expense was the underground drainage required on the site "where all the water was being collected and dispersed throughout the property," he said.

Not only would the original project be far more costly, Greenberg added, but going with the cluster plan would have meant not giving his buyers more choices with sites and their homes. He said he is working with four buyers now.

Greenberg said he will be seeking approval from the town Planning and Zoning Commission for an Open Space Conservation District. The land is in a one-acre residential zone. He plans to build six units and either donate or put a conservation easement on 50 percent of the parcel, as required by the regulations.

He will also build "slightly bigger" homes, going from the originally planned 2,000 to 3,000 square feet up to 2,200 to 3,500 square feet, he said, "so nothing like massively different."

If approved for an Open Space Conservation District, he would have to go back to PZC to get approval for the subdivision, according to Town Planner Erin Mannix.

However, Greenberg's first stop before the PZC will be the Inland Wetlands Commission.

Greenberg noted that by going for a subdivision, which is an allowed use, he said he needs a referral, versus an approval from Inland Wetlands, so long as he meets all town requirements. Then he will seek approval from the PZC.

Greenberg said he has worked for several months to get support from neighboring property owners.

Allan Katz, a neighbor on Stony Lane who is part of a "loose" coalition of homeowners on the street, said the group supports the latest plan, as long as it meets all town regulations.

"We feel that as long as there's no interference with wetlands ... that six houses on that parcel on that acreage would be considered responsible development," Katz said. "And therefore we would be supportive of the project."

Katz said Greenberg "has been transparent and forthcoming and wants us to be kept informed and has done so along the way."

Greenberg said when he and Giannotti spoke to the neighbors, they got their support "because we didn't just come in and say, 'this is what we're doing and deal with it.' We went in and we listened.

"We heard their concerns, we changed our plans according to a lot of their concerns," he said.

There had been some controversy surrounding the project earlier this year when the PZC made a text amendment change to the zoning regulations, which allowed a floating Planned Development District for that parcel. However, Greenberg is not seeking the PDD for the property.

Despite some setbacks in the application process, Greenberg was optimistic.

"There's been a lot of interest in the property for sure," he said about his potential buyers. "It's a very desirable location and you know we're thrilled to have to have that," he said.