Inland Wetland and Watercourse Commission
40 Old Farms Road, Willington, CT 06279
November 24, 2008 – 7:30 PM
Meeting Minutes
Members Present:
Ken Metzler arrived at 8:35
Dave Schreiber arrived at 8:01
Greg Blessing
Frank Dirrigl
Roger Peloquin
Leon Kouyoumjian
Tess Gutowski
Also present:
Susan Yorgensen, Wetlands Agent
G. Blessing called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM.
L. Kouyoumjian motioned to seat T. Gutowski and R. Peloquin. F. Dirrigl seconded the motion. All in favor.
New Business
W2008-22 Application to demolish dilapidated garage at 96 Tinkerville Road (Map 40 Lot 40 Zone R80) Owner/Applicant Charles Wilson & Carolyn Johnston (Received November 24, 2008 Public Hearing or decision by January 26, 2009).
Charles Wilson and Carolyn Johnston were present and submitted packets of information to the commission. Mr. Wilson said the wetlands were flagged. He said they cannot get insurance due to the dilapidated garage. G. Blessing asked where the material will go. Mr. Wilson said Willimantic Waste. G. Blessing asked how they will stabilize the area after disturbing it. Mr. Wilson said they will hay bail it and in late spring, they should be ready to do something. F. Dirrigl and R. Peloquin said they can throw seed down now and in the late spring, it will come up. G. Blessing wanted to be certain the applicant applied proper erosion and sedimentation controls.
F. Dirrigl motioned to remand the application to staff. L. Kouyoumjian seconded the motion. All in favor.
Old Business
W2008-16 Application for construction of single family home, driveway, septic, well, footing drain outlet, beach area and detached garage at 265 Turnpike Road (Map 40 Lot 14 Zone R80) Owner/Applicant: Maureen R Feinberg Revocable Trust, Thomas F Owens Trustee (Received September 8, 2008 decision by October 27, 2008, extension granted to 11/24/2008).
Raymond Nelson was present and submitted a letter of approval from Eastern Highland Health District, dated November 17, 2008, for a 5 bedroom house. He also submitted a letter from CL&P approving their request. Mr. Nelson said Ms. Feinberg has been before the association and they do not have an issue. Mr. Nelson submitted revised plans and pointed out a couple of adjustments made on the plans.
G. Blessing expressed his concern on the relatively small size of the lot and the size of the house. Ms. Feinberg explained her reasons for the house size. She said she would like to accommodate an elderly grandmother that currently lives with her, and possibly her parents in the future. She said the plan is no longer for 3 bedrooms upstairs; it’s now for 2 bedrooms with a loft.
A discussion was held on the association and the common areas. A discussion was held on the clear cutting and selective cutting. T. Gutowski commented on cutting to the lake and the fact that it will affect the water quality. Mr. Nelson suggested, prior to cutting trees, they could flag the area to be cleared and have a wetlands agent come out to approve. A discussion was held on the selective thinning and the vegetation that may be taken out.
F. Dirrigl motioned to approve application W2008-16, revised plans dated 11/24/2008, with the following modification:
The commission is not approving the selective clearing at this time. Plan to show the 45 foot wide area that will be selectively cleared to provide view of the pond from the rear of the house. Applicant to come back before Commission for approval of any clearing in the 75 foot common area.
R. Peloquin seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.
W2008-11 Application for activity related to multi-family development (60 units) (Winterberry Hill) east side of River Road 1000 ft north of Baxter Road (Map 10 Lot 21) Owner/Applicant: Willington River Corp (Received 6/9.08 ~Public Hearing on 7/28/08 continued to 9/8/08 ( 8 day extension granted), continued to 9/22/08 (further extension granted – 14 days, total of 22 day extension), continued until 10/27/08 (further extension granted 35 days, total of 57 day extension, Decision within 35 days after close of Public Hearing)
R. Peloquin and T. Gutowski said they have listened to the meeting recordings and read the minutes on any meetings they have missed.
D. Schreiber arrived. F. Dirrigl motioned to unseat R. Peloquin. L. Kouyoumjian seconded the motion. All in favor.
L. Kouyoumjian motioned to accept the motion draft as written. D. Schreiber seconded the motion.
T. Gutowski asked about modification #1 and if this pertained to our experts. S. Yorgensen said it is a “catch all”, the last set of plans, everything Gary Robbins wanted and everything Joe Polulech wanted. A discussion was held on the letter from Mr. Robbins dated 11/20/08.
R. Peloquin commented that modification #2 addressed his concern and asked, if the Clerk of the Works approves it, is it okay? S. Yorgensen said if the Clerk of the Works is not around, then the commission approves it.
A discussion was held on the motion as written and minor changes were made.
The motion stands as follows:
- All technical changes required by the Commissions consultants and/or staff shall be incorporated into the plans.
- Construction Staging Plan be submitted showing Phases I, II and III, clearly delineated, stock pile areas, equipment/truck parking, roadway access way etc. Each stage shall be completed and stabilized and approved by the clerk-of-works and the Commission or its staff prior to going on to the following stage.
- Best management plan be submitted and approved by the commission and to be referred to in the homeowner’s documents and deeds.
- A bond shall be posted, prior to any activity on site, for Sedimentation and erosions controls, estimate to be submitted by the applicants and approved by the commissioner’s engineer.
- Clerk of works hired by the commission and reporting to the commission to oversee site activity and erosion controls (inspections shall be done at a minimum on a weekly basis and after all storm events, and reporting to the Commission on a bi-weekly basis) to be reimbursed by the applicant.
- Two monitoring plans (wetland and groundwater) shall be submitted by the applicant and approved by the commission. All monitoring reports (including a copy of those submitted to DEP) shall be copied to the commission.
- The wetland monitoring plan (developed and implemented by a wetland scientist) shall include several locations that are established on the slope and at the base of the slope as well as a control away from the expected affected area, baseline plant vegetation data collected, and the percent survivability measured through a combination of plant counts and stem diameters for a minimum of 5 years. A baseline shall be done prior to construction, 1st year after the completion of construction and 75% occupancy, 3 yr, and 5 years. If after 5 years of 75% or greater occupancy, the results show no impact, the applicant can request to discontinue the monitoring. If the commission interprets the results to show an impact and indicate wetland loss or harm, that the applicant shall mitigate for any impacts using a plan acceptable by the commission
including the requirement to monitor more frequently.
- The groundwater monitoring plan shall be as submitted by the applicants last revised plan and best management practices and as outlined in the Commission’s Consultant, Gary Robbins, November 20, 2008 letter.
7. Maintenance bond shall be submitted prior to CO to ensure the monitoring plan is carried out. Estimate to be submitted by the applicants and approved by the commission’s engineer.
All in favor of the motion as stated above. Motion carried.
W2003-49 Notice of violation: TravelCenters of America (the Lessee) and George Giguere of Royce Properties (the Owner) of property located at 327 Ruby Road.
S. Yorgensen said Rylan Farr from the Environmental Firm will be at the next meeting.
K. Metzler arrived.
Correspondence
1. Letter from Robinson & Cole on withdrawing the proposed telecommunications facility at 343 Daleville Rd.
2. State of Connecticut Siting letter stating the above facility has been withdrawn.
3. Letter for State of CT DEP regarding the Stream Crossing Guidelines which was also included.
4. State of CT Emergency Incident Report of a diesel fuel spill at Fed Ex Ground.
S. Yorgensen said Fed Ex updated their monitoring plan and have asked for their bond back. She said it will be on the next agenda. S. Yorgensen said she spoke to Fed Ex and asked why the increase in spills since they updated. Fed Ex is sending out an updated Best Management Plan.
Minutes
D. Schreiber motioned to approve the minutes of 10/27/08. F. Dirrigl seconded the motion. All in favor.
Staff Report
S. Yorgensen said she is working on the logging and aquifer protection and T. Gutowski is working on the regulations. S. Yorgensen said she had a discussion with the state and they said they did adopt guidelines but they are not ones that will not help the Town. She said she has their draft and they can take a look at it in January. T. Gutowski said she will get the draft regulations to S. Yorgensen to send out to the commission.
A discussion has held on fees for reimbursement.
S. Yorgensen asked to go on the Board of Finance’s agenda for December but will probably have to go on for January. A discussion was held.
S. Yorgensen said she received a call from Matt Ellis asking if he needed a wetlands permit to take 12 to 15 trees down. He said there’s no crossing and the logger will be accessing from his property.
D. Schreiber motioned to remand to staff. L. Kouyoumjian seconded the motion. All in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 8:50.
Respectfully submitted,
Michele Manas
Recording Clerk
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