While the town has hoped to bolster development surrounding the train station in the Town Center South district between the Green and the marina, a lack of suitable waste water treatment has hampered some possibilities. A new committee has been tasked with determining if a 14-acre town-owned parcel along the West River could house a treatment facility that could increase development options.

After an initial attempt to assemble a Page’s Lane Development Committee fell through, the town is now ready to move forward. By approval of the Board of Selectmen (BOS) on May 4, a committee of 10 residents has been approved to begin considering possible uses, including a waste water treatment system, for the Page’s Lane property.

The Pages Lane property on Whitfield Street was acquired by the town in the 1970s. The possible creation of a waste water treatment system is a part of a recommendation included in the original Town Center South Plan developed in 2007.

The Town Center South Plan was created to encourage transit-oriented development, particularly residential, in the area south of the Green toward the train station and marina. Town Planner George Kral said the development of a waste water system would be in line with the plan’s goal of encouraging development.

To consider development options, the town submitted a request for qualifications (RFQ) to interested parties earlier this spring. While the original plan for the property is a waste water system, the town is open to considering a variety of development options for the land. The town received two proposals back from the RFQ.

The newly formed Page’s Lane Development Committee will now be tasked with reviewing the proposals and providing a recommendation to the BOS, according to Economic Development Coordinator Brian McGlone.

“The first job will be to meet and review the proposals and discuss the merits of each one of them and then determine the next step,” he said. “They may throw out all considerations or we might interview one or two proposals.”

Initial attempts to form a committee had been struck down after critics said too many committee members had a vested interest in the Page’s Lane property. Within this new committee, McGlone said they have included a broader range of residents for the committee.

“We have a diverse committee of residents ranging from people who live in the Town Center South area to people who live in North Guilford,” he said.

The committee will be supported by an advisory board made up of Town Planner George Kral, Director of Health Dennis Johnson, Environmental Planner Kevin Magee, and McGlone.

McGlone said he hopes the committee will have a proposal within the next 30 to 60 days.