Preston — Town agencies this week will resume their review of a controversial luxury RV park on 65 acres of land owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe at the junction of Routes 2 and 164 and abutting Avery Pond.

Maryland-based Blue Water Development Corp. has proposed the RV park and campground under the name Blue Camp CT LLC, on three parcels to be leased from the Mashantuckets. The plan includes about 300 camping spots, a welcome center, three bathhouses, a swimming pool, splashpad, playground, volleyball, tennis, squash and bocce areas, a floating dock and an elevated boardwalk at Avery Pond. The developer has called the site ideal for the proposed RV park.

The facility would be called Bluewater Recreational Campground Resort at Avery Pond. Todd Burbage, CEO of Blue Water, said the company learned of the property when Mashantuckets advertised nationally for a resort campground developer for the site.

Burbage told The Day on Friday that the property has several features that make it ideal for a luxury RV park, both for the development and nearby residents. Having the entrance on Route 2 would mean the town would not have RVs driving along narrow side roads. Access to municipal water and sewer lines is another asset, he said.

Burbage also argued that the engineered systems to collect stormwater runoff would improve water conditions in the pond, compared to the decades of farm activity on the property.

“It’s completely founded that farm runoff is much more responsible for degradation to pond water, with pesticides and herbicides,” Burbage said. “That’s been a parcel of farmland that has been farmed for generations.”

He added that the seasonal resort would be closed for nearly half a year with no planned activities.

The proposal has been sharply criticized by residents living on several streets near Avery Pond, including two Lynn Drive residents who have filed for intervenor status in the town’s review process, submitting their own reports and testimony.

The Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission will hold its third night of public hearings on the project at its 7:30 p.m. meeting Tuesday at Preston Plains Middle School before beginning its deliberations on the wetlands permits needed for the project. The Planning and Zoning Commission will begin its public hearing on the broader special exception permit the project needs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Preston Plains Middle School.

Burbage said he will attend Tuesday’s wetlands hearing, along with project wetlands experts to respond to concerns of residents.

At the previous wetlands hearings in December and January, the commission heard a lengthy presentation by project attorney Harry Heller and project engineers and architects. At the January session, most residents who addressed the commission opposed the project.

Residents Susan and Timothy Hotchkiss of 20 Lynn Drive and Jennifer Hollstein of 12 Lynn Drive have hired attorney Richard  Cody and filed petitions to become intervenors in the inland wetlands application.

The two residents submitted written reports to challenge the voluminous technical documents the Blue Water Development team has filed with the application. Much of the expressed opposition at the wetlands hearing centered on the proposed use of Avery Pond as part of the luxury facility.

Plans call for a 118-foot-long, T-shaped floating dock in Avery Pond and a 12-foot-wide golf cart boardwalk across wetlands to reach an area reserved for safari tents at the pond shore.

At the Jan. 18 hearing, Heller said plans were revised to address some concerns of the town’s wetlands expert. Most roadways and parking lots would be switched to gravel to allow rainwater penetration, reducing the size of stormwater collection systems needed. The boardwalk footings would be installed using an excavator with a 75-foot reach, perched on a ridge outside the wetlands.

During the public hearing, much of the opposition centered on proposed activities in and near the pond, especially anticipated heavy use by kayakers, which they said would destroy the area as a favored fishing spot. Residents fear the kayaks would damage lily pads and fish habitat and scare fish in the shallow pond.

Burbage on Friday said Blue Water is “flexible” to possible downscaling of the project, including directing patrons to use the existing public boat launch instead of building a new dock. He said most Blue Water campgrounds are located on waterfronts, hence the name, and patrons would be invited to use the pond for passive recreation and fishing, as all state residents are encouraged to do.

“It’s a public pond that has a public boat launch that the state encourages for recreation,” Burbage said. “If Todd Burbage wants to go up there and fish on that pond, he can get a fishing license, and he can go do it. It’s not their private pond.”

Much of the property is situated in the Resort Commercial zone, where campgrounds are allowed by a special exception permit. The PZC will have the authority to review the plans for factors such as compatibility with the neighborhood, lighting and traffic impacts.

Blue Water’s special exception permit application described the project as “compatible with the purpose of the Resort Commercial Zoning District.” The application cites the project's low-profile buildings, retention of existing vegetation along the Avery Pond shore and buffers between the project and nearby residential neighborhoods.

“Down lighting is proposed throughout the site and building design incorporates classic New England architectural features,” the application stated. “Due to the lack of verticality in the project, it is a most appropriate type of resort commercial development at the periphery of a residential zone.”

c.bessette@theday.com