PLANNING COMMISSION
P.O. BOX 308
Thursday, November 15, 2007
7:00 p.m. Town
Hall
Chairman Karl Walton called the regular meeting
to order at 7:02 p.m. Members Cliff
Bordeaux, Greg Genlot, Brad Pellissier, Karl Walton and Alternate member Joe
Iadarola (seated for Michelle Hayward) were present and constituted a
quorum. Town Planner Patrice Carson was
also present.
a.
DISCUSSION/POSSIBLE
ACTION: CLEAR–CUTTING ON TOWN PROPERTY,
FOREST VIEW NORTH TRAIL (MILLER DRIVE)
The logger and individual responsible for the
clear-cutting, Mr. Quirk, wished to informally speak to the Commission and
present the history of the above mentioned.
The summary of events started with his contracting with the Langone
property owners to provide some land clearing.
This property was to be cleared for horse pasture and there was no
buffer left per request of the landowner.
The D’mour and Talcott properties were cleared as well with either
contracts drawn or permission granted (the contracts were NOT commercial). Mr. Quirk noted that he researched the
subdivision map and noted it read as conveyed – meaning to be owned; adding
that he spotted a right-of-way on the maps as well.
Ms. Carson stated that the property in
discussion was conveyed to the Town of Somers in 2004 by Mr. Gingras. Mr. Quirk added it was a mistake on his part
not to research further. There was some
discussion about placement of pins/property markers and whether Mr. Quirk noted
where they were located. He responded
that there were some that he did find and others that were absent on the
property. Mr. Walton stated that when
the subdivision was developed, he himself walked the property and confirmed
their existence showing their location on the map provided by Ms. Carson which
outlined the property in question.
Mr. Quirk stated that the Town’s property was
not stumped, pulled, or grubbed and that the locus trees are growing back. He said that the affected area is small and
he has been in contact with a private forester, Mr. Dan Reynolds, who works for
the state in another capacity to clarify the extent of the damaged area and how
to restore it. He has also walked the
property with First Selectman David Pinney in an effort to explain further his
situation and arrive at a mutual agreement to resolve the issue without legal
action.
There have been discussions with the Town Staff
including the Town Attorney, but there needs to be more discussion,
professional opinions, and further research done in order to come to a clear
resolution. Mr. Quirk appreciated the
opportunity to have an open dialogue with the Commission and mentioned he would
keep in contact with the Town Planner to see if there was any further development
in regards to rectifying this issue.
A motion was made by Mr.
Pellissier, seconded by Mr. Iadarola and unanimously voted to take the agenda
out of order and proceed to NEW BUSINESS.
a.
ZONING REFERRAL: SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR HORSES
FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES, SECTION 214-89.A, 20 PINNEY ROAD, LINDY FARMS
Similar
to the Hurlburt Road layout, this application is a referral from the Zoning
Commission and is listed as Commercial due to the amount of horses that will be
located on the property. There will be
an accessory caretakers three-room unit on the property with a kitchen,
bathroom, and bedroom which current regulations allow.
A motion was made by Mr.
Genlot; seconded by Mr. Iadarola and unanimously voted to recommend to the Zoning Commission
approval of Lindy Farms Special Use Permit application noting that it is in
keeping with the POCD and it’s open space objectives in the preservation of managed open space.
b.
ZONING REFERRAL: PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE ZONING REGULATIONS
FOR OUTDOOR WOOD BURNING FURNACES
Ms.
Carson distributed a packet of information to the Commission with a summary of
the issues, one being environmental air quality. Anyone who is currently utilizing an outdoor wood-burning furnace
would be able to continue to do so by the regulations which are presently
enforced. But there is a need to add
verbiage which outlines specific regulations for their future use.
Commission
members thought it would be best to review the information presented and
discuss at a later date.
c.
RECONFIGURATION OF LOTS,
118 & 120 WATCHAUG ROAD (MAP 10, BLOCK 21, LOTS A-2 & A-1), LAFOUNTAIN
& SUNSET PARTNERS OF ELLINGTON LLC
The
applicant has requested that this item be deferred.
d.
OTHER –
There was no other New Business.
IV. DISCUSSION: PLAN OF CONSERVATION & DEVELOPMENT –
No report.
V. STAFF/COMMISSIONER REPORTS – There
was no report.
VI. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION – There was none.
VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND BILLS
There were no Bills.
Ms. Carson presented
the Commission with a handout entitled High
Ridge Estates Route 186, Somers. It explained that “A public street
will connect Hall Hill Road with McCulloch Drive. The roadway will be served by storm drainage systems that will
convey runoff from the subdivision to storm drainage systems located in George
Woods Road, Hall Hill Road, and McCulloch Drive. Following completion of construction, and acceptance by Town of
Somers, the systems will be maintained by the Town of Somers.” Ms. Carson mentioned to the Commission that
this was the first time that this request had been made in writing requesting a
sign-off from the both the contractor and First Selectman.
Adding that both she
and Mr. Strauss had no concerns with the request as a whole, but the specifics
outlined in the Post- construction
Maintenance Schedule may raise some concern. The initial sweeping of the streets is not an issue, but the
cleaning of the catch basins sumps on a yearly basis could be. Currently neither the state nor the Town
does this cleaning yearly. What is the
complication if the town does not perform the four functions outlined in this
area? Is the Town fined? Are funds withheld?
The Commission
expressed that they would like to review the source of the language
presented. Ms. Carson mentioned that
she would like to verify with other towns how they handle state roads within
their town with drainage that runs through them.
VIII. MINUTES APPROVAL: October 25, 2007
A
motion was made by Mr. Pellissier; seconded by Mr. Iadarola and unanimously
voted to approve the meeting minutes for October 25, 2007 as written.
II. OLD BUSINESS (cont.):
b. OTHER
A
motion was made by Mr. Pellissier; seconded by Mr. Iadarola and unanimously
voted to add to the AGENDA under OLD BUSINESS: OTHER - EXECUTIVE SESSION, to discuss legal strategy.
At
8:00 p.m., a motion was made by Mr. Pellissier; seconded by Mr. Iadarola and
unanimously voted to go into Executive Session to discuss legal strategy and
invite both the Town Planner, Patrice Carson, and First Selectman, David Pinney
into the Executive Session.
At
8:17 p.m., the Commission came out of Executive Session.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
A
motion was made by Mr. Bordeaux; seconded by Mr. Pellissier and unanimously
voted to adjourn the November 15, 2007 Planning Commission meeting at 8:22 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Boudreau Bradley
Pellissier
Recording Secretary Secretary
MINUTES
ARE NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVAL AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.