East Lyme ― The Water and Sewer Commission this week helped a 454-unit proposed senior housing development clear its first major hurdle.

Members on Tuesday voted 6-1 to allocate a majority of the sewer capacity Pelletier-Niantic LLC estimates it needs for 160 condominiums, 144 apartments, and a 150-bed assisted living section, as well as urgent care and radiology facilities that would be open to the public.

The company’s principal is listed as New York-based architect Eric J. Pelletier.

Pelletier’s application asked for 110,000 gallons per day of sewage flow. The request came as officials warned the town is close to capacity in the system designed to send 1.5 million gallons of sewage per day from East Lyme to New London’s Piacenti Water Treatment Facility.

The commission granted a reduced 75,000 gallons per day, which was a more generous number than the 55,000 gallons per day recommended by utilities engineer Ben North.

Civil engineer J. Robert Pfanner, representing the project, described the amount approved by the commission as “fine.”

“We'll never go over that allocation,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday.

The developer could begin filing permit applications with the land use department “maybe in a couple months,” according to Pfanner. Multiple public hearings will be required as the project moves through the regulatory process.

North at a public hearing earlier this month said the project would likely be “one of the last major developments” in town until officials figure out where to find additional capacity for its sewer system.

The commission on Tuesday considered either approving the reduced amount or denying the request. The decision hinged on different interpretations about how much capacity would be available going forward.

Officials said it’s a difficult number to predict because there are potential customers along the town’s sewer lines who are entitled to connect if they choose. That means there’s a pool of customers on septic systems currently who may decide to tie into the sewer system in the future, as well as vacant lots that may eventually contain buildings.

But it’s unknown how many of those possible ratepayers will actually connect.

North estimated there would be approximately 882 gallons per day of capacity left if he factored in all the properties that may or may not connect to the system. If he only looks at existing sewer customers and projects under construction, there would be 137,000 gallons remaining.

Commission member David Zoller said the focus needs to be on the amount of capacity actually being used instead of unreliable projections.

“We can’t stop the growth of this town because of some phantom number,” he said.

But he said the commission has to get serious about looking at ways to find more capacity before it runs out.

Of the 1.5 million gallons per day allotted for sewer lines in East Lyme, 1.02 million gallons are for municipal use while the rest are reserved for the state at sites including York Correctional Institution and Camp Nett.

The town averaged about 708,000 gallons per day in each of the past five years, according to North.

The state used only about 200,000 gallons per day of its 478,000-gallon-per-day allocation, which it currently shares with the private beach communities of Pine Grove in East Lyme and Point o’ Woods in Old Lyme.

Member Carol F. Russell, the lone opposition vote, said she didn’t believe the commission should immediately approve an allocation without having more solid information about where additional capacity might come from and how much it will cost.

Officials at the public hearing said options for increasing capacity could include renegotiating agreements with New London and Waterford or working with the state to access some of its unused allotment.

“We need a new policy in terms of other revenue to help pay for that,” she said, adding one option could be for developers to pick up some of the cost. Another would be for taxpayers to chip in if expanding capacity is going to foster economic development.

Commission Chairman and First Selectman Kevin Seery said the need for additional capacity is clear, but said he didn’t believe it was an emergency situation.

He said the eligible households along the town’s sewer lines would have to connect “abundantly” and in consistent numbers to max out the system over the next few years, which he didn’t foresee happening.

“So I don’t think we’re putting ourselves in a position where, within the next six months or couple of years, we’re going to have a problem with capacity,” he said.

For member David Bond, reserving capacity for customers that may or may not end up connecting is a waste of space.

“As a commission, we’re a business. We’re paying for capacity, we’ve paid for the sewage treatment plant, and now we have all this capacity that we can’t get paid for because people aren’t tied in,” he said.

He said maxing out capacity makes financial sense.

“We need customers,” he said. “All we’re doing every year is going up on our rates.”

e.regan@theday.com