Inland Wetland and Watercourse Commission
40 Old Farms Road, Willington, CT ~06279
July 14 2014
Meeting Minutes
Members Present:
Dave Schreiber – Co-Chairman
Tess Gutowski – Co-chairman
Mark Drobney
Evan Brand
Members Absent:
Heather Dionne – resigned
Greg Blessing – Alternate - excused
Regular Meeting
D. Schreiber called the meeting to order at 7:35.
Pre Application:
Dory Famiglietti to discuss the proposed expansion of the Fed Ex Ground (327 Ruby Road) parking facilities.
Ms. Famiglietti presented plans and said the Conservation Easement that encumbers the undeveloped portion of the site is primarily for wildlife habitat. She added that it came with a 10 year monitoring and maintenance plan. She said it restricts Fed Ex’s ability to make use of the area for further expansion. She said they are proposing an expansion to the existing parking facilities and will have to go south of the site. Ms. Famiglietti said they are hoping to acquire 8 or so acres form Ruby Associates.
Josh Wilson, of Fuss and O’Neill, was present. He is a professional soil scientist and went over the conditions of the site. He said the wetlands have been delineated and gave the characteristics of the wetlands and vernal pools as well as the variety of species found in the area.
Craig Lapinksi, of Fuss & O’Neill, gave a brief overview of the expansion project. He said the purpose is to provide additional truck parking as well as additional snow storage in the winter. The area will be 190 square feet and 187 parking spaces. Mr. Lapinski said they will need to bring in 12,000 cubic feet of fill and construct 22,000 square feet of retaining walls. He said they have not yet designed the storm water system but know they will have to manage the storm water.
Mr. Lapinksi said they are in compliance with Willington Regulations and gave the specifics which are included in the plans. He said there are two wetland areas on the site and there will be y direct impact to the wetlands. Mr. Lapinksi said they have looked at alternatives but they feel the design they are proposing is the most efficient. He said the design will also minimize the amount of disturbance.
Ms. Famiglietti said they would rather do the expansion on Fed Ex’s site rather than acquiring land from Ruby Associates but it is not an alternative because of the Conservation Easement.
T. Gutowski asked the current number of parking spaces and Ms. Famiglietti said between 500 and 600. M. Drobney asked if it was possible to shift the employee parking and Mr. Lapinski said that is a question for Fed Ex. A discussion was held on the employee parking.
Further discussion was held on the Vernal Pool. D. Schreiber said it sounds like they are going to build a significant wall around the area to channel the animals away and push them toward the undeveloped area. Mr. Wilson said that is correct. Discussion was held on the wetlands and recharging the ground water on site.
T. Gutowski asked about the snow management mentioned earlier and discussion regarding whether it is now held on site or trucked off site. S. Yorgensen said that she is pretty convinced that it is trucked off and that is not the approved plan. T. Gutowski asked how they got to the design and Mr. Lapinski said the design is for operational efficiency and meant to help with the current congestion.
T. Gutowski said she thinks storm water is a concern and a discussion was held. T. Gutowski asked the height of the retaining walls and Ms. Famiglietti said 15 to 18 feet. S. Yorgensen asked the height of the existing wall and Mr. Lapinski said he believes 15 feet or less.
S. Yorgensen asked about mitigation and Mr. Lapinski said they are looking at different options. S. Yorgensen said she had met with the applicant and talked about the habitat management area, the ledge and the area of the water for fire suppression.
S. Yorgensen asked if the applicant would keep her posted on any meetings with DEEP and they said that they would.
New Business
W2014-16 Application for Timber Harvest at Willington Hill Road (Map 13 Lot 66 Zone R80) Owner: Stavens Properties LLC Applicant: Riendeau & Sons Logging LLC Received May 12, 2014 Public Hearing or Decision by July 14, 2014)
Scott Person of Riendeau & Sons was present. A discussion was held on the site walk conducted. A discussion was held on the narrative provided. Mr. Person said the work will be done in the winter; December or January. He said they will harvest trees 14 inches and up. T. Gutowski asked if it would be all trees 14 inches and up and Mr. Person said yes. He said the property is approximately 20 acres and the harvest will take 1 to 1 ½ months depending on the weather. T. Gutowski asked how many trucks per day and Mr. Person said 2 to 3 per day.
A discussion was held on working in the snow. T. Gutowski asked if there were any crossings and S. Yorgensen said there are crossings but they are not installing new culverts. T. Gutowski asked if Mr. Person would be on the site and he said he would be there but not every day. T. Gutowski said she is concerned on the fact that the trees are not marked and S. Yorgensen asked how they will know which ones to cut. Scott said they will have tapes to measure them and they also have years of experience with the size of trees.
S. Yorgensen asked if they could mark the limit of the wetland area and Scott said they could do that. T. Gutowski asked if the abutters had been notified as stated on the form and Scott asked the requirement. Scott said he made a mistake in saying that he had. S. Yorgensen said there is not a specific requirement; they could notify the abutters or mark the boundaries. T. Gutowski said she is looking for more verification and D. Schreiber said he would like the narrative clarified. T. Gutowski added that she would like the errors on the form corrected.
T. Gutowski motioned to approve W2014-16 Application for Timber Harvest at Willington Hill Road with the following conditions:
- The Notification of Timber Harvest corrected; all questions answered appropriately including whether or not the wetlands, property boundaries and Timber Harvest areas have been marked.
- Clarification on the Narrative; what and where they will be harvesting including descriptions and how they will determine the trees size of 14 inches and up. Once completed, the narrative is to be reviewed by the Wetland Agent.
- The limits of the wetlands are to be marked.
M. Drobney seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.
W2014-17 Application for Timber Harvest at 61 & 72 Eldredge Road (Map 13 Lot 59 & Map 13 Lot 48 Zone R80) Owner: Judy Marco Applicant: Riendeau & Sons Logging LLC (Received May 12, 2014 Public Hearing or Decision by July 14, 2014)
Scott Person was present and explained the application. He said the same will take place on this parcel as the prior application; 14 inch cut and he has walked the boundaries with the landowner. He said he also talked to the adjacent land owner. T. Gutowski said their concerns are similar to the previous application. She said they want narrative of the work to be done with starting and ending times as well as information on the trees that will be cut. T. Gutowski expressed her concerns on the extension of the property across the road in which they did not walk and questioned the landing. S. Yorgensen said that area is a different access point.
T. Gutowski asked the total acreage and Mr. Person said 30 acres total; 24 acres with 6 across the road. T. Gutowski asked if they would be taking trees down in the fire pond area and Mr. Person said it depends on the landowner; maybe some of the trees that shade the house. T. Gutowski asked if the property lines are marked and Mr. Person said both parcels were walked by the landowner twice and are all marked with slashes on trees.
T. Gutowski asked that he include the markings in the narrative.
T. Gutowski motioned to approve W2014-17 Application for Timber Harvest at 61 & 72 Eldredge Road with the following conditions:
- The Notification of Timber Harvest corrected; all questions answered appropriately including whether or not the wetlands, property boundaries and Timber Harvest areas have been marked.
- Clarification on the Narrative; what and where they will be harvesting including descriptions and how they will determine the trees size of 14 inches and up. Once completed, the narrative is to be reviewed by the Wetland Agent.
M. Drobney seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.
W2014-18 Application for bridge repairs and deck replacement at Polster Road Bridge over Roaring Brook Owner/Applicant: Town of Willington (Received June 23, 2013 Public Hearing or Decision by July 14, 2014)
K. Acimovic was present and said they would like to replace the super structure and will not be working in the stream. He said they have a previous permit for the scour protection. He said they will be replacing the beam, the decking and the guard rails. K. Acimovic said they would use the existing abutments; they are in decent shape with minor cracking. He said it will be a minor repair project.
The Commission looked at the application and K. Acimovic explained the sketches. A discussion was held on the trucks in the area and damage to the bridge. K. Acimovic said the damage is to the guard rail.
K. Acimovic said they are asking for an amendment to the original permit as they are not doing any additional work in the stream. He said the date on the original permit of 2021 is not a problem.
T. Gutowski motioned to approve W2014-18 Application for bridge repairs and deck replacement at Polster Road Bridge over Roaring Brook as an amendment to the previous permit 2011-35. E. Brand seconded the motion. All in favor.
W2014-22 Application to construct driveway to access building site, displace wetlands soil, house site and related activity including grading within upland review area 28 Meadow Lane (Map 16 lot 41 Zone R80) Owner/Applicant: Willford Farms, LLC (Received July 14, 2014 Public Hearing by September 8, 2014 Decision within 65 days after close of P.H.)
Application was received. The Commission looked at the plans. S. Yorgensen said she sent the application to the engineer and briefly explained the application.
W2014-23 Application for single family dwelling and related activity in regulated area 32 Meadow Lane (Map 16 Lot 40 Zone R80) Owner/Applicant: Willford Farms, LLC (Received July 14, 2014 Public Hearing by September 8, 2014 Decision within 65 days after of P.H.)
Application was received.
Old Business
W2014-12 Application for Declaratory Ruling of no impact at Lustig Road (Map 36 Lot 12 Zone R80) Owner: Meredith Fuentes Applicant: Mansour Developers (Received April 28, 2014 Public Hearing or Decision by June 23, 2014)
Doug Ellis, the Site Engineer, and Jim Cowen, of Environmental Planning Services, were present. He said they have not completed all the details of the rain garden but are working off Mr. Cowen’s recommendations. Mr. Ellis said it is a 5 lot subdivision on 40 acres.
Mr. Cowen presented plans and gave the descriptions of the vegetation and habitats on the site as well as the wetlands on the site. He said there are no direct impacts to wetlands but there are always chances for indirect impacts; sedimentation and erosion during construction which could be minimized with a sedimentation and erosion plan. He said the impacts of sedimentation and erosion is slight at best. Mr. Cowen said he has given the application his recommendations and has recommended things be seeded right away. He said to minimize erosion and steep slopes; he recommends biodegradable erosion control mats.
Mr. Cowen said the next area of concern is increase in storm water run-off and decrease in water quality. He said one of recommendations he has, in addition to the grading plan, is the incorporation of rain gardens or some type of infiltration. He said these are all well out of the wetlands but part of a good site plan. Mr. Cowen said, in summary, there are no direct impacts to the wetlands and their recommendations are appropriate best management practices.
D. Schreiber said one of their concerns is that the plan may divert water from one part of the property to another so some areas will be water starved and others may have excess water. Mr. Cowen said they want to promote sheet flow and explained the planned flow. Mr. Ellis said they picked the high spot and want to maintain the drainage pattern toward Fenton River and added that two additional lots will drain into a culvert.
T. Gutowski asked about cutting of the mature trees to make room for the long driveways. Mr. Ellis said there will be some cutting and a discussion was held on the grading and the cutting. T. Gutowski asked about the maintenance of the rain gardens and Mr. Cowen said it is simple maintenance. T. Gutowski asked the proposed areas for rain gardens and Mr. Cowen presented the areas on the plans. He said they could also use grass swales and filter berm.
T. Gutowski referenced the memorandum from Joe Dillon and the applicant said they have not yet responded but intend to. The applicant agreed to an extension and will submit it in writing. The next meeting is September 8th.
W2014-13 Regulated activity including wetlands crossing at Luchon Road (Map18 Lot 8B Zone R80) Owner/Applicant: Pamela J Mallory et al (Received April 28, 2014 Public Hearing or Decision by June 23, 2014) Site walk May 10, 2014
S. Yorgensen said the plan has been revised and the applicant was granted an extension. Discussion was held on the plans and the site walk. The Commission would like feedback from the Engineer.
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.
Application was tabled.
Correspondence
Correspondence is on file in the Land Use office.
Staff Report
S. Yorgensen provided the Commission with DEEP updates from the last training class. She also discussed the Water System Advisory Committee which has been formed; the information was emailed to the Commission as well. S. Yorgensen said Willington will have a representative on the committee and asked the Commission to let her know if they would like to volunteer or email her with any input they may have. T. Gutowski said this will have a huge impact on the town.
Minutes
M. Drobney motioned to approve the minutes of May 12, 2014. T. Gutowski seconded the motion. All in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michele Manas
Recording Clerk
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