CONSERVATION
COMMISSION
P.O. BOX 308
Wednesday, June 1,
2005
7:00 p.m. Town
Hall
I.
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman
Formeister called the regular meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. Members Joan Formeister, Dan Fraro, Todd
Whitford and Lise Wood were present and constituted a quorum. Also in attendance: David Askew, Wetland
Agent.
a.
Discussion/Possible Decision:
Wetlands Application #520, Garage Within Upland Review Area, 233 Ninth
District Road, Albert
Mr.
Askew reviewed the plans with the Commission. He stated that there will be no adverse
impact to wetlands and all work is to be done at least 38 to 40 feet from
them. A motion was made by Lise
Wood, seconded by Dan Fraro and unanimously voted to approve Wetlands
Application #520, for a garage within upland review area at 233 Ninth District
Road, Albert.
b.
Other
There
was no other Old Business.
A
motion was made by Dan Fraro, seconded by Lise Wood and unanimously voted to
take the Agenda out of order because some of the individuals expected to attend
had not yet arrived.
IV.
AUDIENCE
PARTICIPATION
Marion
Richard, 372 Mountain Road,
spoke regarding New Business Item b., Roulier. She stated that this was another blatant
attempt for Mr. Roulier to disregard the rules of the town. Because of Mr. Roulier’s numerous
violations in the past, dating back to 2002, he is well aware of the
regulations. In her opinion, Mr.
Roulier needs guidance in adhering to the rules of the various commissions and
he should be continually watched because of his constant disregard for
them.
VI.
STAFF/COMMISSIONER
REPORTS
Dave
Askew presented his Wetland Agent Report, noting that he worked quite a bit on
violations during the past month.
He received an anonymous complaint about activity on Lloyd’s Egypt Road
property. The work taking place will allow mowing access to a flat lawn area and
is reasonable. He determined that
no permit was necessary in order for the Lloyds to continue with the
project.
The
owner at 100 Wrights Brook requested guidance regarding removal of dead debris
and Mr. Askew provided instructions on how to complete this
work.
He
met with the builder on Parker Road to determine a way of controlling erosion
during construction. He added that
this will be a permitted activity and the builder will be meeting with the
Commission in the near future.
The
Root Road parcel owner will need to appear before the Commission in the next few
months as well. Mr. Askew has met
with the soil scientist and helped flag the property.
A
motion was made by Lise Wood, seconded by Dan Fraro and unanimously voted to
accept Dave Askew’s report as presented.
III.
NEW
BUSINESS
a.
Wetlands Application #521, Garage in Upland Review Area, 45 Hall Hill
Road, Urbon
The
Commission reviewed the plans for a garage at 45 Hall Hill Road. The parcel is located on the southern
end of Hall Hill Road. Mr. Askew showed where the plan designated a small stream
running behind the house. The
garage is between 75 and 80 feet from the stream and the accompanying fill is 50
feet, more or less, from the stream.
The applicant will need to stabilize the fill before building the
garage. Dave Askew noted that he
had no other issues with the application.
c.
Discussion of Violation at 164 Hampden Road, Unauthorized Excavation and
Discharge into a Pond, Grower Direct
Mr.
Askew explained that approximately 5 to 10 acres has been excavated and a
portion of the activity is within the upland review area. In the process of excavating within 100
feet of the pond, groundwater areas were disturbed resulting in muddy water
flowing across the excavated property, into a pipe and then discharging sediment
into a pond. The affected pond has
been used as mitigation for previous violations by Grower Direct of Somers
Inland Wetland Regulations.
In
response to the situation, Mr. Askew has sent a letter to Mr. Van Wingerden
instructing him to remove the sediment.
A temporary sediment basin is to be constructed under the supervision of
a qualified professional. An Inland
Wetlands and Watercourses application is to be submitted for pond
restoration. He is to contact the
Zoning Enforcement Officer by May 19, 2005 in order to be certain that his
activities meet Somers Zoning Regulations.
Also a plan for stabilizing the haul road near the wetlands must be
submitted for approval.
Environmental
Consultant Mike Mocko spoke on behalf of Mr. Van Wingerden, who was also
available to answer any questions.
It is Mr. Van Wingerden’s intent to add about 10 acres to his green house
operation by clearing this area. A
survey is being done in order to present a complete application. Temporary erosion controls have been
installed and emergency measures are in place. They have contacted Jim Taylor and will
be submitting site plans for outdoor growing beds which will meet the
qualifications of the Zoning Commission and the Conservation Commission. To be certain that there will be no
further sediment going into the pond, they will install stone along the edge of
the road.
Mr.
Mocko reaffirmed that the pond was previously offered as a mitigation. It was originally a man made detention
basin used as the sediment pond for a gravel bed and proved to be an excellent
location for the creation of a pond.
Mr.
Van Wingerden explained that the bulk of the sediment currently in the pond came
directly from the driveway and very little came from the present activities on
the site.
Mrs.
Formeister stated that she appreciated their response to David Askew’s
requests. However, since the pond
was a mitigation for past violations and because of the history of their
interactions with the town, she would have expected that Mr. Van Wingerden would
have come to the Commission with an application prior to beginning work in the
area.
Mr.
Whitford asked that since the pond was offered as a mitigation for past
violations, what is specifically being offered as mitigation for this
violation? Mr. Mocko responded that
the creation of the pond and restoration to its original condition serves as a
storm water detention and has other positive features as
well.
Mr.
Mocko noted that the survey is nearly completed and by the next meeting they
will have a detailed plan available for review.
b.
Discussion of Violation at 65 Scully Road, Unauthorized Clearing,
Grubbing and Filling in a Wetland, Roulier
Mr.
Askew presented a copy of the certified letter he had sent to Mr. and Mrs.
Roulier explaining their violations and requesting their presence at this
meeting. They were not in
attendance, but Environmental Consultant Mike Mocko spoke on their behalf and
presented plans of the area showing where the wetland disturbances have
occurred. The area is a 4-acre
parcel on Scully Road which Mr. Roulier has cleared and the violations are
located at 2 specific areas. In
addition, he has also built a wood chip roadway which lies directly across the
wetlands. The work completed
impacting the wetlands involves approximately 700 to 800 square feet, according
to a quick on-the-spot guess by Mr. Mocko.
He added that the native wetland vegetation is currently popping up
through the graded areas and re-sprouting from root stock.
When
asked why the area was being cleared, Mr. Mocko responded that it was Mr.
Roulier’s plan to create an orchard in the area and it is his desire to continue
with this intention once the pending issues are resolved. Mr. Mocko explained that his purpose for
being at the meeting was to entertain thoughts on restoration of the
area.
It
was noted that the area would be a difficult location for creating and
maintaining an orchard. Several
comments were made that it looked as if Mr. Roulier was creating a building
lot. Mr. Mocko responded that there
was not enough frontage for a building lot.
It
was stated that if Mr. Roulier did intend to do any sort of agricultural
activity on the site, he needed to present his planting plans to the
Commission. Mr. Roulier must
demonstrate that he has an actual agricultural operation if he is claiming that
exemption under the regulations.
Mrs.
Formeister noted that the work was done during the wet time, which is the worst
possible time. When she examined
the property she noted that the road was put right through the wetland and there
were large piles of logs, stumps and brush. She also expressed concern that he did
not attend the meeting and added that he is well aware of the regulations and
what the Town requirements are prior to beginning such
activity.
Mr.
Mocko explained that a soil scientist has located the wetlands and the property
has been surveyed.
A
letter was presented from Kenneth Prior stating that Mr. Roulier has been in
violation of the Commission’s rules in the past. It was requested that a copy of the
letter be included in the file.
David
Askew requested that Mr. Roulier submit a completed application for permit and
pay the required fee. In addition
he directed that buffer plantings be made, the restoration of the wetlands be
done and the cart path be removed.
Mrs.
Formeister requested that Mr. Askew send a letter to Mr. Roulier requesting his
attendance at the next meeting. She
asked that the letter include comments discussed at the meeting
tonight.
Since
Somers High School students were in the audience observing the meeting, Mrs.
Formeister explained to them that the Conservation Commission does not often
have 2 violations at one meeting.
Also, there is a new regulation which puts a fine ordinance in
place. She asked the students to
understand that Commission members follow the regulations and therefore expect
others to do the same.
Marion
Richard inquired about the fine structure, and it was explained to
her.
d.
Other
No
other New Business was presented.
Lise Wood
reported that the Planning and Zoning Commissions met Monday evening, May 23,
2005, and the Granby Town Planner made a presentation. The flexible zoning system used in
Granby was explained and its successes shared. They also learned how open space is
acquired in Granby. Mrs. Wood
explained that when cul-de-sacs are created the end parcel is often designated
as open space. Neighborhood
associations are formed to pay taxes on the land and maintain it. The Town Planner also explained that
Granby is now looking into changing regulations so that at least two homes are
built in each subdivision that meet the requirements of affordable housing for
the state.
Mr. Whitford
stated that the Town needs to be careful that it does not become entirely up to
the builder to determine which parcels of land will be used as open space. The Town needs to maintain an active
choice in the selection of open space acquisitions.
Mr. Askew noted
that a similar system of zoning is in place in Coventry and is resulting in very
large homes on very small lots.
Such a zoning style does not necessarily ensure that subdivisions will be
nicely laid out and down sides to the issue need to be explored as
well.
No correspondence or bills were
presented. Mrs. Formeister noted
that we do not have another meeting before the end of the fiscal year and
requested the Commission’s approval to pay any remaining bills that may come
up.
A motion was made by Todd Whitford,
seconded by Lise Wood and unanimously voted to empower Chairman Joan Formeister
to pay out any expenses that require payment within this budget
year.
A motion was made by Dan Fraro, seconded
by Lise Wood and unanimously voted that the balance of the Conservation projects
money from this year be used for plantings in the new courtyard area of the high
school.
VIII.
MINUTES APPROVAL
The following
change was made to the May 4, 2005 Conservation Commission Meeting Minutes: Page 2, Paragraph 6, last line: “they” was changed to
“the”.
A motion was
made by Dan Fraro, seconded by Todd Whitford and unanimously voted to approve
the minutes of the May 4, 2005 meeting as amended.
A motion was
made by Lise Wood, seconded by Dan Fraro and unanimously voted to adjourn the
June 1, 2005 Conservation Commission meeting at 8:20 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Lise Wood,
Secretary
Robin Timmons, Recording Secretary
MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVAL
AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.