Waterford — Plans to subdivide a roughly 30-acre parcel bordering Oswegatchie and Shawandassee roads, and ultimately develop a neighborhood on the property, are drawing criticism from abutting neighbors.

Developer Sawyer’s Cove LLC plans to divide roughly 20 percent of the property into 11 lots for single family homes that Cove later plans to build, according to the application. The developer intends to transfer the remaining 23.5 acres of the parcel to Waterford Land Trust as open space, according to the application and planner Mark Wujtewicz.

Neighbors who have attended initial public hearings on the proposal have expressed concerns about the development drawing too much traffic to area roads, noise from the building process, negative impact on the environment and reduction in area property values.

Some expressed concern about the development not meshing with area homes or the surrounding Oswegatchie Historic District. The district, which runs mostly along the shoreline and borders the parcel slated for development, is on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Wujtewicz.

Though the property does not lie within the historic district, it may in some sense hold historic significance. In an email to Wujtewicz, State Archaeologist Dr. Brian D. Jones recommended conducting an archaeological survey of the property prior to breaking ground.

“It is a false assumption that the 11 homes in the cluster subdivision will be consistent with the unique and varied homes in historic Oswegatchie. They can’t be. Due to the size of the proposed lots and the size of the homes, the houses have to be all lined up. There can’t be a lot of variation,” Shawandassee Road resident Jean Van Arnam in a statement submitted for the record.

Cove is not yet applying for building permits. The current public hearings, which continue Monday, pertain to the developer seeking permission to subdivide the property. Cove is contracted to purchase the land from owners Marie Aydelotte Turner and Jeannette Farley Burr, listed in the application as living in Rochester, N.Y.

Scott Desmond, a general contractor and member of Cove, said the development LLC is planning to build colonial-style houses sized between 2,200 and 3,000 square feet, retailing at around $600,000 each.

Desmond said Cove was working to create something compatible with existing development in the area. He added the land that would remain open space was valuable by virtue of its proximity to Niantic River and Keeney Cove.

The retention of the open space is made possible by plans to develop the neighborhood as a cluster subdivision, according to the developer’s attorney Ed Cassella.

Plans to make the neighborhood a cluster subdivision have also upset some neighbors, who said a cluster division is not permitted under town regulations. Cassella said it was Cove’s understanding that cluster subdivisions are allowed under town zoning and subdivision regulations for the size of property in question.

Desmond, based in Old Saybrook, and Cove partner Peter J. Boccarosso, based in Norwalk, have done development work in Greenwich and Fairfield County, according to Desmond. The two are currently working together on a 27-lot colonial style housing development in Saratoga, N.Y. Desmond also built ranch-style homes over the winter in Groton City off Poquonnock Ave., which he said he has since sold.

The public hearing for the planned subdivision continues Monday during the 6:30 p.m. Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at Town Hall. Wujtewicz said the public hearing is slated for completion Monday, but could be continued if the commission and applicants agree to do so. He said the commission will not be voting Monday on whether to approve the subdivision.

t.townsend@theday.com

Twitter: @ConnecticuTess