WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — The Selectboard is considering a developer’s request to close off part of a residential road in anticipation of an influx of new residents from a permitted 240-unit apartment complex.

The board has scheduled a public hearing on April 15 to weigh residents’ opinions, in hopes of making a decision, on White River Junction-based Simpson Development’s request to close off access to Hickory Ridge Road from Sykes Mountain Avenue to limit the amount of traffic on the street.

The request follows approvals last spring from the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission of the company’s plans to construct five buildings on a 25-acre parcel between Hickory Ridge Road and Lily Pond Road.

“Hopefully it’s a win-win,” Chris Holzwarth, Hartford’s assistant director of planning and permitting, said. “The town can get more housing and the residents of Hickory Ridge will get a more private road.”

If approved, there would be an entrance to the apartments off Sykes Mountain Avenue and the town would retain a gated right of way to Hickory Ridge Road for emergency access. There also would still be a pedestrian and bike path connecting Hickory Ridge Road to Sykes Mountain Avenue, Holzwarth said.

Hickory Ridge Road, which has a handful of houses on it, would only be accessible by Lower Hyde Park Road.

Residents of Hickory Ridge have expressed the desire to close off the street to through traffic from Sykes Mountain Avenue in the past, Holzwarth said.

One of the five planned buildings, comprising 48 of the 240 units, will be for residents earning 80% or less of the area median income. In Windsor County, 80% of the area median income for a two-person household is $64,350, according to the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. This structure will be managed by Twin Pines Housing, a White River Junction nonprofit that develops and manages affordable homes in the Upper Valley.

The apartment building set aside for households with moderate to low income will be on a 4-acre lot and will have nine studio, seven junior one-bedroom, 20 one-bedroom, six larger one-bedroom and six two-bedroom apartments.

The four-building complex of market rate units will be constructed on an 18-acre lot and will include 36 studio, 29 junior one-bedroom, 81 one-bedroom, 23 larger one-bedroom and 23 two-bedroom apartments.

Construction on the project has not begun. Efforts to reach Simpson Development for comment were not successful by deadline.

“Hartford is all about housing and if there are proposals that make sense that will provide more housing units, especially for all different economic classes, we’re pleased to do what we can to accommodate them within the rules and regulations,” Town Manager John Haverstock said in a phone interview.

The public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 15 at 6 p.m. in Hartford Town Hall or on Zoom at: https://zoom.us/j/549799933.

Emma Roth-Wells can be reached at erothwells@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.