Inland Wetland and Watercourse Commission
40 Old Farms Road, Willington, CT ~06279
September 21, 2015
Meeting Minutes
Members Present:
Dave Schreiber – Co-Chairman
Tess Gutowski – Co-Chairman
Mark Drobney
Members Absent:
Patrick Lord - excused
Evan Brand
Greg Blessing – Alternate - excused
Also Present:
Susan Yorgensen
Attorney Caleb Hamel
Show Cause Hearing
D. Schreiber called the Hearing to order at 7:32.
Violation/Order for 8 Burt Latham Road
Kim Ridzon was present. She said she had cut trees that had fallen from the storm; one had fallen on her daughter’s horse barn. She said she cleaned out the stream and reseeded and did not change anything.
A discussion was held on the mailings sent 6/24/15, 8/28/15 and 9/16/15. Mrs. Ridzon said she only received the last mailing and if she had received the earlier mailings, she would have contacted P & Z sooner. D. Schreiber showed the receipts for mailings as well as certified notices. Mrs. Ridzon said that sometimes her kids get the mail but that she did not see the previous letters.
Mrs. Ridzon said she did not cut any trees within 100 feet of the wetlands and she cleaned out the wetlands by hand. She added that there is never any water in the wetlands. S. Yorgensen said it is an intermittent watercourse and falls under the jurisdiction of the IWWC.
A discussion was held on the complaints and pictures that were submitted to the department of her activity. A discussion was held on the barn. Mrs. Ridzon said the barn was there in 1979 and was moved to the other side of the property 10 to 15 years ago.
A discussion was held on the violations. Mrs. Ridzon said she mowed the area and then seeded and hayed it so the erosion would be handled.
The Commission said they would like to conduct a site walk. Mrs. Rizdon asked if she could deny them access. S. Yorgensen said that she could. Mrs. Rizdon asked what would happen if she just says no. Atty. Hamel said if the property owner does not give the Commission permission to look at the property, they can get an Administrative Search Warrant. T. Gutowski said they conduct site walks for fact finding. Mrs. Ridzon said she would let the Commission know by Monday whether they could look at her property or not.
Earl Bancroft asked the ramifications if the Commission does find activity in the wetlands. Atty. Hamel said the Commission would look for remediation plans and the property owner could potentially be fined $1000 a day if they do not comply. John Ianni asked for the definition of maintenance under the regulations. Atty. Hamel said there is none.
Mrs. Ridzon said she wanted to see her entire file and would contact S. Yorgensen by Monday, September 27th regarding the site walk.
The Hearing was continued to the next meeting.
New Business:
W2015-33 Application to repair bridge over Daleville School Road Owner/Applicant: Town of Willington (Received September 21, 2015 Public Hearing or decision by November 23, 2015)
Karl Acimovic presented plans and said the bridge is at the intersection of Daleville and Daleville School Road. He said they need to address the scour issue at the base of the abutments underneath the bridge. He said there is no danger of the bridge collapsing but it needs to be addressed. K. Acimovic said they could build a cofferdam on the upstream and downstream side but would like to go on the contractor’s recommendations.
T. Gutowski asked the length of time to do the work and K. Acimovic said 2 months. T. Gutowski would like to schedule a site walk and the Commission agreed.
A discussion was held on the disturbance that might occur between the cofferdams and K. Acimovic said it would be for a short period of time.
W2015-26 Subdivide property for building lot to construct a single family dwelling at 65 Kucko Road (Map 42 Lot 40 Zone R80) Owner/Applicant: Vilma Kucko c/o Linda Wagner- daughter (Received July 13, 2015)
Ed Pelletier was present for the applicant and presented plans. He said a small portion of the driveway would be in the wetlands. The Commission looked at the plans and a discussion was held on the placement of the house. Mr. Pelletier added that they are going to dedicate an easement to the town.
The Commission would like to conduct a site walk and address the application at the next meeting.
W2015-34 Application for single family dwelling located in upland review area and driveway filling displacing wetland soils Lot # 20 Meadow Lane (Map 16 Lot 41 Zone R80) Owner/Applicant: Willford Farms, LLC (Received September 21, 2015 Public Hearing or decision by November 23, 2015)
Ed Pelletier was present for the applicant. He said the reason they are back before the Commission is due to a timing issue. He said the wetlands have been re-flagged by Rick Zulick and due to recent work done by the town; the amount of wetlands has decreased.
The Commission looked at the plans and a discussion was held on the placement of the house. The Commission would like the plans signed by a soil scientist. The application was tabled until the next meeting.
W2015-28 Application to construct drive within the upland review area and cut brush within wetland at the north side of Boston Turnpike west of property at 59 Boston Turnpike (Map 6 Lot 5 Zone R80) Owner/Applicant: Gloria Coles (Received September 21, 2015 Public Hearing or decision by November 23, 2015
Gloria Coles and John Ianni, a soil scientist, presented plans. Ms. Coles said the existing driveway has been there for 10 years and they are looking for guidance to construct a new driveway. She presented an aerial photo and said the proposed driveway will be next to the adjacent property line.
S. Yorgensen asked if they were asking for an agricultural exemption and Ms. Coles said not at this time.
Mr. Ianni said there is significant encroachment from the neighbors and believes they do not have permits. A discussion was held on maintaining the property and the regulations. Ms. Coles said she is concerned about invasive species and would like to remove them from the property. She said she would like to bring the property back to farmland and would like to trailer horses in and out. She added that she would like to use a brush hog to get rid of weeds.
Mr. Ianni said they will come back with a driveway plan. The application was tabled.
W2015-27 Select pruning and removal of canopies/tree 500’ from both direction of signage to increase visibility. West of 327 Ruby Road east side I-84 in state right-of-way (Maps 42 Lot 45 & 46 Lot 26 state right-of-way along property) Owner: State of Connecticut Applicant: Eric’s Tree Service LLC (Received September 21, 2015)
Barry Clark of Gardner & Peterson was present for the applicant. He said they would like to increase visibility of the Truck Stop and the Sign and after the work is completed, they would install landscaping. The Commission looked at the plans and T. Gutowski said she is concerned about erosion; a discussion was held.
The applicant would like to completely clear one area of trees and north of that take most of the big trees, this would include the 120 foot pines and Eric’s Trees Service would do the work, to improve the visibility of his sign. Joette Garry said it would be a selective thinning in one section and they would identify the size of the trees. She said the existing Mountain Laurel will stay in one area and some existing trees and Mountain Laurel in another area.
Further discussion was held on stabilizing the slope. T. Gutowski would like to see an outline on the scope of the work. A discussion was held on the equipment to be used and the landing and staging area as well as the location of access. Mr. Clark said the State will determine where that will be. D. Schreiber said he would like to see the areas depicted on the plan.
T. Gutowski will take a look at the area. S. Yorgensen clarified they are looking for a plan for the landing/staging area, the access area to be used on the site, types of planting and the estimated dates of activity. Application was received.
W2015-36 Application to remove trees and brush on West side of Ruby Road between I-84 exit ramp and TA Owner/Applicant: Ralph Tulis (Received September 21, 2015 Public Hearing or decision by November 23, 2015)
Ralph Tulis presented plans. He said he would like to clean out all the woody brush and do a selective cut. M. Drobney asked if they would remove the wood and Mr. Tulis said they are not harvesting; any sizable tree cut will be pine or oak. He added that the area would regenerate in a season or two.
Application was tabled to the next meeting.
W2015-35 Application for indoor riding arena in upland review area at 1 Potter School Road Owner/Applicant: Earl O & Michelle A Bancroft (Received September 21, 2015 Public Hearing or decision by November 23, 2015)
Earl Bancroft was present and the Commission looked at the application. A discussion was held on roof run-off and infiltrating water into the ground and eventually to the pond. A discussion was held on the building design. S. Yorgensen said the remaining outstanding item is where the run-off will go.
T. Gutowski motioned to remand application W2015-35 to Staff. M. Drobney seconded the motion. All in favor.
W2015-37 Application for in ground swimming pool in upland review area at 46 Fisher Hill Road Applicant: Jamie Herrick (Juliano’s Pools) Owner: Jason Deskus (Received September 21, 2015 Public Hearing or decision by November 23, 2015)
W2015-38 Application for addition and garage in upland review area at 46 Fisher Hill Road (Map 19 Lot 21-2 Zone R80) Owner/Applicant: Jason Deskus (Received September 21, 2015 Public Hearing or decision by November 23, 2015)
S. Yorgensen said applications W2015-37 and W2015-38 are for the same property. They just bought the property and want to put on an in-law apartment, garage and pool. She said there were wetlands on the site at one time but someone filled them in. S. Yorgensen said the applicant had a soil scientist delineate the wetland. The Commission looked at the plans.
T. Gutowski motioned to remand W2015-37 and W2015-38 to Staff. M. Drobney seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.
Correspondence
- Summer 2015 Edition of The Habitat
- Emergency Incident Report for a spill at 74 Tolland Turnpike on 6/16/15
- Emergency Incident Report for a spill at 63 Fisher Hill Road on 6/19/15
- Emergency Incident Report for a spill at 350 Ruby Road on 6/25/15
- Emergency Incident Report for a spill at 327 Ruby Road on 6/30/15
- Emergency Incident Report for a spill at 350 Ruby Road on 7/17/18
Minutes
D. Schreiber motioned to approve the minutes of April 27, 2015 as amended; page 2 should read high-end flow. M. Drobney seconded the motion. All in favor.
Meeting adjourned at 10:30.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michele Manas
Recording Clerk
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