Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Meeting
INLAND WETLANDS AND WATERCOURSES AGENCY
MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING
TUESDAY, January 5, 2010
A Regular Meeting of the Enfield Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency was held on Tuesday, January 5, 2010 in the Council Chambers, Enfield Town Hall, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Douglas Maxellon, Chairman
Karen Camidge
Robert Lemay
Jo-Marie Nelson
Brian Peruta
Patrick Szczesiul, Alternate (seated)
MEMBERS ABSENT: Joseph Albert, Alternate
Robie Staples
Katie Bednaz, Wetlands Agent
ALSO PRESENT: Susan Berube, Recording Secretary
REGULAR MEETING
1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Chairman Douglas Maxellon at 7:00 p.m.
2. Roll Call: Present were: Chairman Maxellon and Agents Camidge, Lemay, Nelson, Peruta and Szczesiul. Also present was Susan Berube, Recording Secretary.
Agent Szczesiul was seated as a full voting member for this evening’s meeting by Chairman Maxellon.
3. Pledge of Allegiance: The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
4. Executive Session
(Matters regarding specific employees, pending litigation, acquisition of real estate and / or matters exempt from disclosure requirements): NONE.
5. Public Hearing
a. Cont. to 1/19/10 IW-533 - Town of Enfield - is requesting a permit to reconstruct Post Office Road and Town Farm Road beginning on Post Office Road, 175-feet east of Raffia Road and ending on Town Farm Road, 150-feet east of Abbe Road within the regulated area (Map 86 Lots:169, 155, 293, 291, 158, 150, 167; Map 71, Lots: 1, 25, 27; Map 68, Lots: 161, 164, 153, 151, 152, 197). Submitted 11/23/09, received 12/01/09, PPE 12/15/09, MAD 2/4/10. The Public Hearing has been continued to the meeting of January 19, 2010 in the Enfield Room at 7:30 p.m.
6. Public Participation - Issues of concern not on the agenda: NONE.
7. Correspondence: There were 2 items of correspondence included in the Agency members’ packets:
a. IW-444.03 - Hampton Inn & Restaurant Complex - Wetland Enhancement & Wetland Replacement Sites, Progress Report End of 2009 Growing Season Year 1
b. Bank Stability for Structures Built Near Streams handout.
8. Commissioner's Correspondence
a. Site Visit Updates: Agent Peruta reported that no work has begun on Simon Road to date.
Agent Lemay reported that the Enfield Medical Building on Middle Road is moving along. The stone wall is being erected and the silt fence and hay bales are still up.
Chairman Maxellon reported that members of the Town Council are reluctant to see IWWA fees raised at this time. This will be discussed later in this evening’s agenda.
9. Approval of Minutes -December 15, 2009: A motion was made by Agent Camidge and seconded by Agent Lemay to approve the minutes of the meeting of December 15, 2009 as presented. Vote was 4-0-2(Nelson & Peruta).
10. Wetlands Agent Report: The Wetland Agent’s written report was received.
Agent Nelson asked for an update on the electronic packets option. Agent Peruta explained that it could be part of a lager process; it is a data and storage issue. There are a lot of steps that need to be taken to make the electronic packets feasible. Many questions still need to be answered, such as who will input and where the information will be scanned.
This subject will be brought up at a future Council of Chairs meeting.
He added that electronic packets are not likely for some time but hopes that it will be part of a plan within four or five years.
Agent Nelson also asked about the subcommittee organized by the Planning & Zoning Commission to look at their policies and procedures.
Chairman Maxellon stated that he has not had an update from the Planning & Zoning Commission.
Agent Peruta asked several questions about the erosion project at Meadowlark Road. Now that the erosion controls have been put in place, will the area be checked more frequently? Will the grass swale keep erosion away? He hopes that Ms. Bednaz will be able to provide answers to these questions at the Agency’s next regular meeting.
11. Old Business: NONE.
12. New Business
a. IW-534- Enfield Properties - is requesting a permit to construct two office buildings and five residential apartment buildings on vacant lots and 153 South Road (Map 55, Lots 80, 93 & 99), within the regulated area. Submitted 12/15/09, received 12/15/09, PPE 12/29/09, MAD 2/18/10:
Mr. David Ziaks, P.E. of F.A. Hesketh & Associates and Mr. Frank Troiano, Jr. represented the applicant.
Mr. Ziaks explained that the proposed project is located on the South side of South Road, at the intersection with Freshwater Blvd. It is a 25.99 acre parcel, 60% zoned Industrial1 and 40% zoned Residential 44.
Barrett Street, located next to the property, has a paper street going through the site but it was never developed.
The site is former farmland and has an intermittent watercourse in the south east to northwest portion of the site.
The southern portion of the property, zoned R44, is moderately wooded and contains flagged wetlands.
The wetlands were flagged by a soil scientist who walked the site with Ms. Bednaz.
Mr. Ziaks went on to state that it is complicated to determine some areas of wetlands because of past farming activities. As a result, there are small pockets of wetlands which meet the State’s criteria for wetlands only by soil type.
There will be age-restricted apartments constructed in the R44 area and up to two office buildings of 20,000 square feet, along with associated parking in the I1 zone area.
There will be a total of 4,900 square feet of wetland disturbance associated with driveways needed to access the property and filling in 2 small isolated wetlands. There will be no disturbance to the wooded wetland and intermittent stream.
The site will be services by public sewer and by both the Connecticut Water Company and Hazardville Water Company.
Because of the shape of the land, there is a total of 5 ½ acres of upland review area disturbance.
The applicant anticipates that this will be a significant project, requiring a public hearing.
Agent Peruta stated that he notices a stockpile at the end of Barrett Road. He asked if there will be any stockpiles on site associated with the project and if so, how will they be protected.
Mr. Ziaks explained that the existing stockpile is from past road work. There will be some small stockpiles and these will be included in the erosion and sediment silt fence plan.
He added that all edges of wetlands will need to be cleaned up and replanted.
Agent Camidge asked if the 2 small wetlands that will be filled will be replicated or replaced.
Mr. Ziaks replied that he has spoken to Ms. Bednaz and will be working with staff on some mitigation. The project will include several water quality retention basins that will have wetland features. More information will be provided at the public hearing.
Agency members requested a full-size set of plans for each member.
Agent Nelson asked if the unused portion of the property would be put into some sort of conservation restriction.
Mr. Ziaks replied that the applicant would like to leave a little flexibility in the southwest portion of the site that could eventually be developed but definitely some property in each zone would be set aside for conservation.
Chairman Maxellon noted the memo from the Fire Department regarding their request for an additional access road. He asked if Barrett Road would be used.
Mr. Ziaks stated that Barrett Road would be used as an emergency access only. The applicant will be meeting with the Fire Department to discuss alternatives, such as a separate fire lane out to South Road.
Mr. Ziaks also stated that the applicant will be petitioning the Town Council to abandon the paper road portion of Barrett Road and deed 25’ width each to the property owner and abutter.
Chairman Maxellon asked if there are any structures currently existing on the site.
Mr. Ziaks replied that there are no existing structures, only bits of asphalt from the previous driveway.
A motion was made by Agent Camidge and seconded by Agent Lemay to hold a public hearing on IW 534 at the meeting of January 19, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in the Enfield Room. The hearing is necessary due to the size of the wetlands being impacted. Vote was 6-0-0.
13. New Applications to be Received: None.
14. Other Business: Chairman Maxellon noted that Agents Peruta and Nelson had previously expressed a willingness to work with Commissioners Ballard and Longhi of the P & Z Commission to review procedures. Chairman Maxellon stated that he would like to integrate the same procedures into the IWWA regulations.
Agents Peruta and Nelson will report back to the IWWA when some progress is made.
a. IWWA Fines Ordinance
b. IWWA Fee Schedule
c. IWWA Regulation Revisions: It was the consensus of the Agency members to hold a special meeting on Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss regulation revisions. Ms. Bednaz will publish the notice of special meeting as required.
Chairman Maxellon also noted that he would like to hold discussion at a future meeting regarding the possibility of leaving the IWWA fee schedule as is.
A motion was made by Agent Peruta and seconded by Agent Nelson to table further discussion on agenda items a and b to the Agency’s next regular meeting, January 19, 2010. Vote was 6-0-0.
d. Next regular meeting is Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 7:30PM in the Enfield Room.
15. Adjourn: A motion was made by Agent Nelson and seconded by Agent Camidge to adjourn the meeting at 7:30 p.m. Vote was 6-0-0.
Respectfully Submitted,
______________________________
Jo-Marie Nelson, Secretary
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