An applicant’s plan to build a 171,600-square-foot industrial warehouse on a parcel at 1535 Straits Turnpike has taken a step forward after being given the green light to connect the property to the town’s existing sewer line. Middlebury Land Development, a subsidiary of parcel owner Timex, received the approval Nov. 19 from the town’s Water Pollution Control Authority. Middlebury land use officials noted the town’s sewer capacity, through the Naugatuck line, can accommodate 338,000 gallons per day, more than enough to accommodate the plan. MLD’s application now heads to the Planning and Zoning Commission tonight. Middlebury attorneys have said the regulation was not intended to restrict storage of new products, even if they are not actually produced on the premises. That appeared to be the basis of the PZC’s approval in January of construction of a 750,000-square-foot distribution center at the former Timex world headquarters property off Christian Road. That project remains on hold, tied up in court on appeal by residents who have fought a two-year battle to keep that facility from being built. The final oral arguments are scheduled for Monday at 2 p.m. at Waterbury Superior Court.
