 |
Inland Wetlands Commission
MINUTES
Regular Meeting
June 10, 2009 7:30 p.m.
31 Pecks Lane, Newtown, Connecticut
Present: Peters, Curran, Salling, Kotch, Pieragostini, and Bryan
Staff Present: Rob Sibley, Deputy Director, Ann Astarita, Wetlands Enforcement Officer and Ann Mazur, Clerk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commissioner Peters opened the hearing at 7:30 p.m.
Violations
Commissioner Peters noted that Newtown Car Wash violation will be continued at the June 24 meeting.
Public Hearing
#09-15 Joyce William, Sherman Road & Berkshire Road. Application for a 38 lot subdivision.
Chairman Peters noted that the public hearing will be open tonight for one and one-half hours and that the hearing will continue to the June 24 meeting and possibly beyond that date. Tonight the applicant will make a presentation. Following that the Commission and staff will ask questions of the applicant. The public will then have the opportunity to make comments and ask questions; anyone who does not have the opportunity to speak tonight can speak at the next meeting and possibly beyond the next meeting.
Commissioner Pieragostini read the call for the hearing: “Notice is hereby given that the Newtown Inland Wetlands Commission will hold a public hearing on June 10, 2009 commencing at 7:30 p.m. at 31 Pecks Lane, Newtown Connecticut on the following application: #09-15 William Joyce, Sherman Road & Berkshire Road, Application for a 38 lot subdivision. Copies of the above are on file in the Land Use Office at 31 Pecks Lane, Newtown, Connecticut and are open to public inspection. All parties in interest and citizens will have an opportunity to be heard.”
Larry Edwards, P.E., 227 Stepney Road, Easton, CT., presented the application. The site is 159 acres, bounded on the north by Sugarloaf Road, east by Berkshire and Sherman Roads, on the south by Still Hill Road and the west by Toddy Hill Road. The proposal is for a 38 lot subdivision, with 36 new homes; a home exists on Lot 32 and on Lot 34. Two new roads are proposed, Hanlon Pond Road and Deacons Way. Thirty of the new homes will be accessed by the proposed new road system and six will be accessed off the existing roads. Forty-five acres of open space are proposed, incorporating the existing wetlands corridor and including the pond. There are also a number of conservation easements proposed totaling 17.6 acres, so that 62.5 acres of the 159 acres would be dedicated open space or preserved in conservation areas, or
32% of the site. Soil testing was done which indicated that there is adequate areas for septic and wells for new homes. There is proposed 5.6 acres of new impervious area, which is 3.5% of the site. A total of 24 acres will be developed. There will be eleven storm water basins to control runoff which will recharge into the ground water system. The basins will hold the runoff from the impervious area. Erosion controls are in place.
There will be three phases of construction: Phase I will be Hanlon Pond Road to Deacons Way; Phase II will be Deacons Way; Phase III will be the remainder of Hanlon Pond Road to the turn around.
Regulated activities include: 1) a wetlands crossing on Deacons Way which will be an arch span bridge that is 42 feet wide by 6 feet with no significant impact to the wetland corridor. Also considered but eliminated was crossing the major wetland corridor or a thirty-six inch pipe in lieu of the bridge; 2) installing drainage along Sugarloaf Road to discharge to the existing pipe with outlets on Sugarloaf (100 square feet of rip rap); and 3) on Still Hill Road and Deacons Way to install catch basins to discharge to an existing culvert on Still Hill Road. Mr. Edwards discussed eight proposed disturbances to the upland review areas. He said that there is no significant impact to the wetlands with this application.
George Logan, of REMA Ecological Services, LLC, 164 East Center Street, Manchester, CT., is the principal environment scientist, discussed the Wetlands Assessment for the Proposed Sherman Woods dated June 2, 2009. He noted that significant resources are the Pootatuck River corridor, Warner Pond and Town of Newtown open space. He said that there is a central farm pasture of 15-16 acres and ponds wetlands of 32 acres, including Keating Pond Brook and Warner Pond Brook. He reviewed the geology and upland soils. He noted that regulated areas include: lower Keating Pond Brook corridor on the north, the pond surrounding wetlands in the central site, immature wooded swamp in the south, headwater wooded seeps in the west, isolated wetlands in the west and Warner Pond Brook corridor in the east. He noted that beavers had raised
the water level by 18 inches. He noted that included in the report are baseline water quality monitoring reports which line up with the DEP’s classification of Class A. He said that the proposal is a low density residential subdivision. He noted that the direct wetland impact is .005 acres, not .05 as listed in the application; he noted that most of this is for the access roadways. He said that potential indirect impact includes construction in the short term and post construction in the long term. The potential indirect impact would be on 1.2 acres or 0.73% of the site and is in the upland review area. He said that there is no significant adverse physical impact to the wetlands or watercourses. He said that the proposed wetland crossing is the prudent and feasible alternative.
Commissioner Pieragostini asked where the watershed area is. Mr. Edwards said that all of the drainage goes into Curtis Pond and then into the Pootatuck River. Commissioner Kotch asked if there are severe slopes above the pond; Mr. Edwards noted that there are severe slopes up to the plateau and that only one home is proposed on the top with no disturbance in the rear. Mr. Edwards noted that the other sloping area is along Sherman Road which has one home proposed on the top and no other disturbance. This is over 200 feet from the pond edge. Chairman Peters asked Mr. Edwards to explain the phasing of the erosion and sedimentation plan. Mr. Edwards said that there will be probably eight lots developed in Phase I, eight to ten in Phase II and about ten in Phase III. He said that Phase III would have the activity closest to
the pond. Commissioner Kotch asked if cluster housing had been considered. Mr. Edwards said that the regulations as written do not work; there are no city water and sewers. He said that in order to build a house that is about 3,000 square feet, you would need one plus acres which is not part of cluster housing. He said that there would not be any more protection with these regulations. He noted that this proposal has almost the same amount of open space as in a conservation subdivision. Mr. Sibley asked how many square feet of wetlands would be lost, to which Mr. Edwards replied 400; he also asked how many linear feet would the stream crossing consist of; Mr. Edwards said 60. Mr. Sibley asked what the mitigation would be to restore wetlands; Mr. Edwards said not less than 400 feet. Mr. Sibley said that one and one-half the amount of disturbance is normal for this Commission. Mr. Sibley asked that the applicant present in writing the other alternatives that were considered and
why they were not chosen. He noted that on the soil maps, the numeric and named types cannot be correlated. He asked if the lines of the drainage easement could be colored as they are difficult to make out. He asked for a report as to whether the horseshoe septic on Lot 21 could be concentrated to lessen the impact. He asked if there is any potential disturbance for future use; Mr. Logan said possibly pedestrian, because there is not a road or a trail. He also asked what regulations each criteria follows concerning potential impact and where were the 2004 guidelines used for storm water devices.
At 9:15 p.m. Chairman Peters announced that the hearing would be continued to the June 24 meeting and asked that the public come back to that meeting. Commissioner Kotch moved that the hearing be continued to the June 24 meeting. Second by Commissioner Salling and unanimously carried.
Pending Applications
#09-03 Simm Lane, LLC, 3-6 Simm Lane. Application related to the removal of a violation. (Vio #06-20)
Gaylan Semprebon, P.E., VP of Design Professionals, said that he is working with CL&P to come to an agreement. He said that the construction company has removed most of the equipment from the site. He said that CL&P requested on December 5, 2008 that the applicant apply for a permit, which they did. Now CL&P is completing a license agreement rather than a permit. The Commission will continue the application and will revisit it in 90 days. Chairman Peters noted that her firm does business with CL&P. Ms. Astarita will contact CL&P to try to expedite the approval of the license.
#09-10 Lewis & Maria Gotch, 18 Bridge End Farm Lane. Application related to the removal of a violation. Attorney John Fraccacini, representing the applicant, presented maps showing a planting plan for vegetation. Ms. Astarita noted that a concrete deck has been constructed on the property along the Housatonic River. Mr. Fraccacini was not aware of this activity. Mr. Sibley noted that an assessment of the ecological values prior to the disturbance and the present activity is needed from the applicant. He noted that there are no erosion and sedimentation controls. Ms. Astarita will visit the site tomorrow with Mr.
Fraccacini; he may request an extension after conferring with his client.
#09-14 Town of Newtown, Cold Spring Road Bridge. Application for the replacement of a Town bridge. Town Engineer Ronald Bolmer presented plans for a possible diversion. After discussion, Commissioner Pieragostini moved to approve the application of the Town of Newtown, Cold Spring Road, for replacement of a Town bridge with standard conditions A, B, and C and on the first day of each quarter the applicant will submit a completed quarterly report to the Commission, on a form provided by the Town office, containing the status of the permit; until the permit activity is completed. Completion of the permit will be approved by the wetlands agent. This approval is as noted on three certain maps prepared by Anchor Engineering Services, Inc., Town of Newtown, Cold Spring Road Bridge, Plan & Profile,
Bridge Plan and Elevation, and Cross Sections, all dated 4/1/09. Second by Commissioner Kotch and unanimously carried.
#09-17 Jeremy Frommer, 63 Taunton Lake Road. Application related to the removal of a violation. Alan Shepard, P.E., principal of Nowakowski, O’Bymachow and Kane, 415 Howe Avenue, Shelton, CT., presented and discussed an environmental assessment in three phases: 1) Mitigation of a notice of violation (clearing of underbrush); 2) Mitigation of existing drain outlets and 3) Stone walk, patios and stone headwall. He noted that the patios would be of impervious materials. He said that applicant would like a wall along the lake. Mr. Sibley presented photos that he had taken of the property in 2006 in which that parcel looked like the adjacent property. He requested a report by an expert on the changing functionality of the existing conditions vs. what is being proposed. He said that this is
clearing of vegetation in a regulated area. Chairman Peters wants to insure that the application restores the functionality.
At this time (10:20 p.m.) Commissioner Pieragostini left the meeting.
The Commission thanked Mr. Shepard for his information. The Commission requested a report by an expert as noted by Mr. Sibley on the changing functionality of the existing conditions vs. what is being proposed. The application was tabled.
#09-18 Alan Laurenco, 56 Schoolhouse Hill Road. Application related to the removal of a violation. Ms. Astarita reported that the application has not completed his mitigation plan. The application was tabled.
#09-19 Nazzaro, Inc., 310 Hammertown Road. Application to excavate pond in Monroe near Newtown border. Jean Nazzaro, representing Fairfield County Fish and Game Protective Association, said that the application is to remove sand and sediment and to dredge the pond. He said that the majority of the activity will be in Newtown, the remainder in Monroe. The Commissioners were unable to access the site. Mr. Nazzaro will ensure that the gate is unlocked the morning of June 22 and the afternoon of June 23 so that the Commissioners can walk the site. The application is tabled.
#09-20 James Palmer, 18 Butternut Ridge. Application for the construction of a garage and driveway. Tabled.
#09-21 Janice Roman, 10 Taunton Lake Road. Application related to a wetlands warning. John Mack, Stu Somers Company, Southbury, CT., represented the applicant. He presented drainage calculations and revised planting plans for the area around the pond. Commissioner Salling moved to approve application #09-21, Janice Roman, 10 Taunton Lake Road with standard conditions A, B and C and 1) The approved plans for the development are “Mitigation Plan Roman Residence, Mr. & Mrs. Roman, 10 Taunton Lake Road, Newtown, CT.,” dated 5/12/09, revised 6/9/09. Second by Commissioner Curran and unanimously carried.
#09-22 Norman Nagy, 12, 38, 40 Cold Spring Road. Application for the dredging of a pond. Set for public hearing on June 24, 2009
Other Business
Acceptance of New Applications
#09-23, David & Wendy Clarke, 9 Taunton Lake Road, Newtown, CT. Application for removal of trees. (Peters)
Approval of Minutes – The minutes of May 27, 2009 will be deferred to the next meeting.
Commissioner Kotch motioned to adjourn at 10:40 p.m., second by Commissioner Salling and unanimously carried.
| |
