Board Members Present: Stephen Sackter, John Kaufman, Charles Wentworth & Stephen Mulhall (7:05)
Alternate Members Present: David Michaud
Absent Members: Arnold Koehler (Alt.) & Charles Dorman (Alt.)
Others Present: Diane Lauber – Clerk
Chairman S. Sackter called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. The meeting was taped. D. Michaud was seated for S. Mulhall and then seated for the vacant seat after S. Mulhall arrived.
Approval of Minutes: Motion by D. Michaud, seconded by S. Mulhall to approve the minutes of the June 9, 2008 meeting as amended. Unanimous.
Communications:
1. Town of Prospect, Building Inspector’s Report – May 2008.
2. Letter dated June 16, 2008 from Carl Graveline, 4 Peter Gilkey Road, re: Dorso, 30A Scott Road.
S. Sackter stated that the clerk had inadvertently left two names off of the agenda filed with the Town Clerk which should have been carried from the previous meeting. Motion by C. Wentworth, seconded by S. Mulhall to add Clover Development, LLC, to the agenda under “Old Business” for a revision to Application#10-06 to adjust the location of the house on Lot 4, Woodmont Estates. C. Wentworth, J. Kaufman, S. Sackter, D. Michaud and S. Mulhall voted in favor. The vote was Unanimous. Motion by D. Michaud, seconded by S. Mulhall to add Anthony & Shawna Dorso to the agenda under “Old Business” for a revision to Application #06-07 to change the location of the house and septic system. C. Wentworth, J. Kaufman, S. Sackter, D. Michaud and S. Mulhall voted in favor. The vote was Unanimous.
Old Business:
a. Application #07-08 –Gerald & Joanna Mays, 18 Lee Road. Garage, deck & shed within a regulated area. Commissioners C. Wentworth, J. Kaufman and S. Sackter attended the site walk held on June 19, 2008. S. Sackter stated that the commissioners agreed that the proposed activities are outside of the regulated area and therefore, an Inland Wetlands permit is not required. J. Kaufman stated that the decision was based on a wetlands marker that was found on a tree and the commissioners’ observations. J. Kaufman further stated that the commissioners observed an intermittent drainage area along the eastern side of the property that heads south and appears to carry a fair volume of storm water during certain storm events. The commissioners also observed a lot of scouring; however this appeared to be woodland type soils and was not measured as wetlands. S. Sackter stated that the applicant was asked to move the shed to the western side of the property where the elevation of the land is higher and also drier. Mr. Mays had no objections to changing the location of the shed. J. Kaufman stated that Mr. Mays was instructed to inform Chesprocott of the commission’s decision. Mr. Mays will be asked to submit a letter withdrawing this application.
b. Clover Development, LLC, Lot 4 Woodmont Estates. Revision to adjust location of house. A motion was unanimously approved at the previous meeting to accept the proposed revision. J. Kaufman stated that the prospective purchaser of Lot 4 had requested that the house be turned so that the front of the house would be parallel to the street. C. Wentworth and J. Kaufman had no concerns with the reconfiguration of the lot. D. Michaud was not in favor of taking action on the revision as it had not been posted on the agenda filed with the Town Clerk. D. Michaud felt that in an effort to treat each application equally, the public is entitled to proper notification. J. Kaufman stated he had to excuse himself at 7:30 p.m. in order to attend another meeting. S. Sackter called for a motion regarding the proposed revision. S. Mulhall made a motion to approve the revision on Lot 4 of Woodmont Estates. There was no second to the motion and no further discussion. This item will be placed on the next meeting agenda.
c. Anthony & Shawna Dorso, 30A Scott Road. Revision to change location of house and septic system. A motion was unanimously approved at the previous meeting to accept the change in location of the proposed house and septic system. The commissioners were each given a copy of the letter sent by Carl Graveline. D. Michaud asked Mr. Dorso if he had any additional comments to add regarding the revision. Mr. Dorso stated he had no additional comments. D. Michaud felt that the commission should address Mr. Graveline’s comments regarding inland wetlands issues. Mr. Dorso stated that the oversized garage referred to in the letter was denied by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The attached garage has been redesigned to be 1,l00 square feet. The commissioners again reviewed the proposed revisions. C. Wentworth questioned Mr. Dorso regarding his lawn care business and storage of pesticides at this location. Mr. Dorso stated his business is currently at 34 Scott Road and all chemicals are kept in metal containers in a locked cabinet. Mr. Dorso has no plans at this time to move his business. C. Wentworth requested that if Mr. Dorso decided to move his business in the future that he notify the IWC so the commission could take a look at how and where pesticides would be stored. D. Michaud noted that the proposed house is not within a regulated area. Mr. Dorso stated that the commission could verify with W. Donovan that all of the issues in Mr. Graveline’s letter have been addressed with the appropriate boards. D. Michaud asked Mr. Dorso what the impact would be if the commission waited until the next regular meeting to approve the revision. Mr. Dorso stated it would have a huge impact on the construction of his house as the house is being designed and engineered as a post and beam structure and the delay in making a decision would mean the house would not be weather-tight by December. D. Michaud again stated that because Mr. Dorso was not on the posted agenda filed with the Town Clerk, he would not vote in favor of approving the revision. D. Michaud excused himself from the meeting at 7:50 p.m. for a personal commitment. J. Kaufman rejoined the meeting at 7:50 p.m. J. Kaufman, referring to Item 3 in Mr. Graveline’s letter, stated that the filling of the wetlands previously approved was for access to the property and in his opinion there are no inland wetland violations. There was no further discussion. Motion by S. Mulhall, seconded by J. Kaufman to approve the revision to Application #06-07 of Anthony & Shawna Dorso to change the location of the house and septic system for property located at 30A Scott Road. C. Wentworth opposed, J. Kaufman, S. Sackter and S. Mulhall were in favor. Motion Carried.
New Business:
a. Kyle & Julie Alexander, 119 Scott Road. Filling lawn area within a regulated area. The applicant was not in attendance and no application was submitted. W. Donovan, J. Kaufman and S. Sackter visited the site. J. Kaufman stated that the area being proposed for filling is now a steep slope with rip-rap that seems to be holding the bank rather well. Placing fill over this area may cause problems with erosion. The homeowner was advised to come up with a plan and submit an application.
D. Michaud rejoined the meeting at 7:55 p.m.
Connwood Foresters, Inc., Straitsville Road. Forest harvesting within a regulated area on Connecticut Water Company Property. The commissioners conducted a site walk on May 19, 2008 and determined that under Section 4 of the Regulations an application would not be required as the activity would be “permitted-as-of-right”.
Enforcements:
a. Jeremy August, 181 Union City Road. Filling/Grading within a Regulated Area/Working within a Regulated Area without a Permit. A site walk was held on June 19th. Commissioners in attendance at the site walk were S. Sackter, C. Wentworth and J. Kaufman. Also in attendance was the Town Attorney, Jennifer Yoxall, Attorney Don Brown, representing Jeremy August, soils scientist Thomas Pietra of Soil Science and Environmental Services, Inc., Jim Warren, the contractor who will do the required wetlands restoration work and William Donovan, Land Use Inspector. J. Kaufman stated that discussion was held on restoring the original natural slope and it was agreed that deposited soils all the way from down in the brook, close to the Prospect town line and up, as well as east of that area where there is a very rocky pool and then beyond from the western part east that goes up towards the berm must be restored by removing the fill materials off of the wetlands. J. Kaufman also noted that the soils scientist could not determine exactly where the wetlands were because there was at least eight feet or more of very rocky fill that had been deposited that was difficult to dig through. For that reason there was discussion on exactly how far back this area of wetlands goes. The commissioners determined that a new application is required as well as a detailed site plan and complete soils report by the soils scientist. S. Sackter noted that the contractor stated a site plan could not be made available for about a month and a half. J. Kaufman stated that the commission could give the applicant until mid-August to provide a new application and site plan in order to resolve this matter. S. Sackter noted that the town attorney should continue to proceed with the enforcement process.
Public Hearings: None
Public Participation: None
Land Use Inspector’s Report: W. Donovan was not in attendance.
Motion by D. Michaud, seconded by J. Kaufman to adjourn at 8:06 p.m. Unanimous.
Stephen Sackter
Chairman