Waterford — Neighbors of a proposed subdivision and housing development on a 30-acre plot off Oswegatchie and Shawandassee Roads in Waterford continue to oppose the project as the developer takes a second shot.

Sawyer’s Cove LLC resubmitted its application in July to subdivide the property, which sits on the peninsula bordered by the Niantic River and Keeny Cove, and build 11 single-family homes.

The developers withdrew their original application in June because one of the neighbors of the property had not been properly notified, Town Planner Mark Wujtewicz said.

Sawyer's Cove resubmitted its application in July with some modifications, including a plan to widen part of Shawandassee Road and stagger the setback of the 11 lots from the road, according to Bill Heenan, owner of the real estate company representing both Sawyer's Cove and the property's current owners.

Sawyer's Cove plans to use about 5 acres of the property to build houses on lots of about half an acre each — a plan that has angered nearby residents who say putting the houses so close together would alter the character of the neighborhood.

The approach, known as a cluster subdivision, allows developers to build on smaller lot sizes than the zoning regulations for the lots permit, as long as they maintain a certain amount of open space.

Sawyer's Cove still plans to transfer the remaining land, which consists mostly of wetlands, to the Waterford Land Trust to be maintained as open space.

But the town Planning and Zoning Commission must first approve the subdivision plan, and its members have heard the same message from nearby residents at several public meetings in recent months: We don’t want it.

Steven Rowan, who lives near the proposed subdivision, said at the commission meeting Monday that the lots would “blatantly clash with the character of the surrounding homes.”

“I am fully confident that no one who lives in the area of Oswegatchie is in favor of this,” he said.

Rowan was one of several people to speak against the project at Monday’s meeting, the second public hearing on the topic since Sawyer's Cove resubmitted its application.

Other residents of the Oswegatchie neighborhood said they’re concerned that building 11 houses on a 5-acre plot of land will have negative environmental impacts on the nearby wetlands and Kenny Cove, drive down property values, increase traffic and “violate the neighborhood,” as one resident put it.

To get approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission, the commission members must decide that the project meets the town's zoning requirements for a cluster subdivision.

The town's Conservation Commission and the Waterford Land Trust have both already approved the plan.

Project engineer Joe Wren defended the project at Monday's meeting, citing a letter from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection that claims the Sawyer's Cove proposal "balances the development needs of the Town of Waterford with protection of the environment."

The commission voted Monday to continue the public hearing on the project at its Nov. 16 meeting before it makes a decision.

m.shanahan@theday.com

Twitter: @martha_shan