Planning and Zoning Commission
40 Old Farms Road Willington, CT 06279
January 5, 2010 – 7:30 PM
Meeting Minutes
Roll Call
Members Present:
Matt Ellis – Chairman
Andy Marco – Vice-Chairman
Tom Murphy, Secretary
John Sullivan
Phil Nevers
Walter Parsell
James Poole seated for E. Standish
Member Absent:
Edward Standish
Also Present:
Susan Yorgensen – Planner/Zoning Agent
Chairman M. Ellis called the meeting to order at 7:30.
Regular Meeting
Pre Application: Leonard Jacobs for Love Travel Center
J. Poole recused himself from all deliberations in relations to this application. He is on the Economic Development Committee and has been working with the applicant for a year and a half. J. Poole offers his support for this application.
Attorney Leonard Jacobs, Richard Pettinelli of Fuss & O’Neill, and Rick Shuffield of Love Travel Stops and Country Stores all were present.
Atty. Jacobs said, in the near future, they will file an application for a zone change asking to change into the Design Commercial Zone but this is an informal visit.
Mr. Pettinelli and Mr. Shuffield presented the preliminary site plan which will be on a 40 acre site on Mihaliak and Polster Rd.
Mr. Shuffield said they want to put a Loves Travel Center at the front of the site to protect the remaining areas of the site. There will be parking for cars, RV’s and trucks, 2 restaurants, a convenience store and gas service. They also hope to have a tire shed.
Mr. Shuffield said the middle driveway will be an exit only to avoid conflicts. He said they do not have the plans for the building as of yet but did meet with staff for design ideas.
M. Ellis asked about the one-way exit and the truck traffic always passing car traffic. A discussion was held on the entering and exiting of cars and trucks. Mr. Shuffield said they will have a tremendous amount of stack space and showed this on the plans. Mr. Shuffield said the distance between the driveways will be a little over 100 feet and the long drive for the truck entrance will be approx. 700 feet but they do not yet have the specifics. P. Nevers commented on the long length of the entrance for the trucks. A discussion was held. Mr. Shuffield said the trucks will come out on the one-way and there will not be much traffic for the cars.
Mr. Shuffield said they will want the largest radius allowed and will want a cutover apron. A discussion was held on the traffic and the crossovers. The applicant said they will come back with a traffic engineer.
Mr. Pettinelli said there will be 57 parking spots for trucks and 53 for cars.
Mr. Shuffield said they will have basic amenities, therefore, they will not offer large parking. He said they anticipate a Subway and a Chester Fried Chicken with approximate seating for 30 on each side.
T. Murphy asked about the plans for fencing in the wetlands. Mr. Pettinelli said they are in the process of sizing them now and will be going to the Inland Wetland Commission on Monday.
J. Sullivan asked if the applicant was a Franchise and they said they are privately owned with the next closest location in the Scranton / Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania area.
M. Ellis asked about lighting. Mr. Shuffield said they have worked with staff and will comply with the commission’s standards. A discussion was held. Mr. Shuffield said, in regards to fire suppression, they will comply with all regulations required. He said staff had told them of many issues they would need to deal with in the application, another being trash.
Atty. Jacobs said the only regulation that may be an issue is in the proposed 5 space parking in front of the building and they may have to go to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
J. Sullivan asked about the daily traffic. Mr. Shuffield said they anticipate 1200 cars and 300 trucks. The restaurant, convenience store and gas station will be open 24 hours a day.
M. Ellis asked the placement of the garbage. Mr. Shuffield said they met with staff and were told they could not utilize the town landfill so they will find a service. The garbage will be in a larger compactor and fenced in.
W. Parsell asked the number of employees. Mr. Shuffield said 30 to 35.
A discussion was held on the tire operation. Mr. Shuffield said they found if they have 24 hour staffing for the tire operation, the staff can also monitor the site, change bulbs, etc.
A discussion was held on the noise from the tire operation. A discussion was held on improving Rte 320 to handle the traffic. S. Yorgensen said the applicant will have to go to the state regarding this once approved by the town but that the state would likely review it if the Town requested it prior to that approval.
A discussion was held on the aesthetic architecture of the proposed building.
J. Sullivan asked the annual revenue. Mr. Shuffield said an estimated 2.6 to 3 million for the restaurants and convenience store and annual gas sales estimated at 10 to 11 million gallons.
A discussion was held on the lots filling up and the directional signs.
J. Poole of the Economic Development Committee said he visited 3 sites. He said they were clean in and out and very well received.
Mr. Shuffield said he is sure they will encounter problems but they have a great system for addressing them. He explained this system. He also said the security / camera system is state of the art and they are on a continual live feed.
Ralph Tulis asked about the elevation of the site. Mr. Shuffield showed this on the plans and said it will be 650 feet as you get to Polster. A discussion was held.
Mr. Tulis mentioned the West Bound history and said they are known for approximately one run-away truck a month. A discussion was held regarding this and turning movements.
A discussion was held on the existing flow of the wetlands and on the applications needed.
New Business: Sand and Gravel Renewals
A discussion was held on conducting site walks. The consensus of the commission was to conduct the site walks in the spring.
A discussion was held on the town’s site on Rte 320 and a reclamation plan. The commission discussed the town cleaning up the site and the storing of materials. The commission directed staff to send the town a notice to stop storing materials on the site. A discussion was held.
Minutes
M. Ellis motioned to approve the minutes of 12/1/09. P. Nevers seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.
Discussion: Subdivision Regulations
A special meeting has been set for 7:00 on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, to discuss the comments from Attorney Mark Branse.
A special meeting has been set for 7:00 on Tuesday, January 26, 2010, to meet with the consultant.
A discussion was held on geothermal wells and wind turbines. S. Yorgensen said details would go under the zoning regulations, something more general could be put in subdivision. A discussion was held on the wording. J. Sullivan suggested “encouraging alternative energy sources” as the wording.
Correspondence
1. Letter from Aspen Square regarding the Notice of Violation and a proposed timeline.
2. Christmas card from Attorneys Branse, Willis & Knapp.
3. Emergency Incident Report on a petroleum spill on 1-84 East.
4. Connecticut Water Community Letter.
5. Notice of Violation to R & D Kempo.
6. Notice of Violation to C & S Willington.
7. Letter to Board of Selectman, from Planning and Zoning, recommending the acceptance of Wilderness Way.
Staff Report and Discussion
A discussion was held on wood burning stoves in regards to the zoning regulations.
S. Yorgensen informed the commission on the status of the sign violation for Hidden Dragon. The commission advised staff to take the next step.
S. Yorgensen said G. Jones had contacted Specialty Steel regarding two tenants and expects them to be coming in before the board.
S. Yorgensen gave the status of the violation of Aspen Management Group. She said they changed the 2 bedroom units into 3 bedroom units. A discussion was held on the septic system. She explained the May timetable that was sent by Aspen Management and asked the commission if this was acceptable. The commission agreed that this was not acceptable. Attorney Mark Branse will be notified on taking the next step.
A discussion was held on the town engineer position. The commission’s consensus was the current town engineer has too much work and felt it was a conflict in many ways as he works for the town and the commissions. The Commissions engineer should be reviewing the towns applications. S. Yorgensen told the commission that the Inland Wetlands Commission said they very much like the town engineer and talked with the Chair about getting someone new to do the work for the commissions but they, too, feel it is a conflict at times. A discussion was held on doing this per bid.
The commission asked staff to draft a letter for February 16th or prior. Selectman Christina Mailhos said she exploring the option of regionalizing the use of engineers with surrounding towns. A discussion was held. J. Poole suggested they do this with towns that do not border Willington.
J. Poole said TA is storing trailers again. A discussion was held.
J. Poole asked about the public hearing notice signs and having them taken down in a timely manner. A discussion was held.
A. Marco said he feels the commission should work closely with the town in efforts to save the town money in regards to the stock piling of material. S. Yorgensen said every entity needs to be treated fairly and the same, it is everyone or no-one. Staff cannot pick and choose. A discussion was held. A discussion was held on various violations.
Meeting adjourned at 9:25.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michele Manas
Recording Clerk
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