Chairman Koehler called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
Approval of Minutes: Chairman Koehler read aloud the Unapproved Minutes of the October 28, 2002 meeting (The November 25, 2002 meeting was cancelled). Motion by D. Holley, seconded by B. Doody to approve the minutes of the November 25, 2002 meeting as amended. Unanimous. Chairman Koehler than read aloud the Unapproved Minutes of the December 2, 2002 Special Meeting. Motion by B. Doody, seconded by D. Holley to approve the minutes of the December 2, 2002 Special Meeting as presented. Unanimous.
Communications:
Old Business:
a.) Application # 04-02; Eagle Auto Body, Inc., 128 Union City Road. Wetlands restoration. There was no representation of this application. Chairman Koehler mentioned the board at the last meeting had requested copies of prior soils and ground water tests taken at Eagle Auto Body by the DEP. Jason Sarojak of ASW Consulting as agent for the applicant did say he will make available to the Commission results of environmental testing done at Eagle Auto Body.
b.) Application # 05-02; John & Susan Blondis, 41 Sherwood Drive. Proposed house addition and septic within regulated area. Mrs. Blondis was in attendance. Chairman Koehler stated he would like to schedule a site walk prior to voting on this application, and scheduled a site walk for Saturday, January 4, 2003 at 9:00 a.m. with a weather cancellation date for Saturday, January 11, 2003 at 9:00 a.m.
c.) Application # 06-02; Dean Clement, 2 Timber Court. Proposed house and driveway and septic within regulated area. Mr. Clement was in attendance. Chairman Koehler stated he would like to schedule a site walk prior to voting on this application, and scheduled a site walk for Saturday, January 4, 2003 at 9:15 a.m. with a weather cancellation date of Saturday, January 11, 2003 at 9:15 a.m.
d.) Application # 07-02; Marie Kluge, 15 Kluge Road. Timber harvesting activities within regulated area.
Chairman Koehler indicated he and Bill Donovan made a site walk today (December 9th) with Robert Hart who represented the applicant at the last meeting. Mr. Hart explained that tree harvesting within the wetland regulated area would be minimal with minimal disturbance. Any trees cut down will be cable winched out of the wetlands eliminating any traffic or skidding operations from impacting the wetlands. Trees can also be removed off site without crossing through a wetland. Chairman Koehler read into the record a copy of a letter from the Connecticut Water Company expressing their interest in this project as 15 Kluge Road is within the public water supply watershed and stating logging within this area should only occur when the ground is frozen. Noting that the cold weather of the past several days has resulted in ground frost conditions, Chairman Koehler directed Bill Donovan to coordinate with Mr. Hart to ensure any work done takes into account those items referenced in the December 2, 2002 letter from Cnnecticut Water. The Commission will further discuss this application at the next scheduled meeting.
Public Hearings: None
New Business:
Chairman Koehler asked for a motion to add Shannon Development Company, LLC under "New Business". Motion by B. Doody, seconded by D. Holley to add Shannon Development Company, LLC under New Business for a proposed 5-lot Subdivision at 80 Straitsville Road. Unanimous. Scott Poryanda of Connecticut Consulting Engineers represented the applicant. Mr. Poryanda presented copies of a subdivision plan showing four new homes and one existing house within this 10-acre parcel. There are two driveway wetlands crossings whereby Lots 2 and 3 share a common driveway and Lots 4 and 5 also share a common driveway. Mr. Poryanda stated each common driveway will consist of a 15-foot wide stone travel way with grass borders. Each will have a stone base or seepage envelope and piping to allow water movement to pass through. Four septic systems are also within the regulated area. There will be approximately 8,000 S.F. of wetlands disturbance. Motion by D. Holley, seconded by B. Doody to accept Application # 08-02 of Shannon Development Company, LLC for regulated activities associated with a proposed 5-lot subdivision at 80 Straitsville Road. Unanimous. Bill Donovan asked if there should be a public hearing because of the extensive wetlands disturbance. Chairman Koehler stated he would like to wait until the next meeting and after a site walk takes place to decide. A site walk was set for Saturday, January 4, 2003 at 9:30 a.m. with a weather cancellation date of Saturday, January 11, 2003 at 9:30 a.m.
Meeting Dates for 2003. Chairman Koehler presented to the commission a proposed meeting date schedule for 2003. It was agreed that additional meetings may be scheduled as "Special Meetings" to help with the application process should there be unusually lengthy or a larger volume of applications than expected. Motion by D. Holley, seconded by B. Doody to approve the meeting date schedule for 2003 as presented. Unanimous.
Enforcement Hearings: none
Land Use Inspector's Report: Bill Donovan distributed copies of an article from the Connecticut Law Tribune regarding recent court decisions that support an Inland Wetlands Commission's role of regulating upland areas surrounding a vernal pool by denying an application to develop or imposing extensive buffers to help protect wetlands biodiversity and the breeding grounds of rare and endangered amphibian species associated with a vernal pool. Under discussion, B. Doody mentioned that Paulmar Associates has not installed the catch basin as required under conditions of approval at 36-40 Union City Road. He queried whether the commission should consider asking for a bond to ensure compliance.
Public Participation: none
Motion by B Doody seconded by D. Holley to adjourn at 8:30 p.m. Unanimous