Inland Wetlands, Water Courses & Conservation Commission

Regular Meeting Minutes June 7, 2018 CITY OF NORWICH INLAND WETLANDS, WATERCOURSES AND CONSERVATION COMMISSION Lower-level Conference Room 23 Union Street, Norwich, Connecticut A. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Richard Morell called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. B. ROLL CALL and SEATING of ALTERNATES: Present: Richard Morell, Chairman Douglas Lee, Vice Chairman David Poore Peter Chalecki Robert McCoy, Alternate Absent: Michael Lahan, Alternate Art Sharron Brandon Hyde Also Present: Deanna Rhodes, IWWCC Agent, and Linda Lee Smith, Recording Secretary Richard Morell stated there were five members in attendance and all were to be seated. Robert McCoy arrived at 7:04 p.m. C. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES: A motion was made by Douglas Lee to APPROVE the minutes of the May 3, 2018 regular meeting. Peter Chalecki second. The motion passed unanimously. D. COMMUNICATIONS: 1. Memo from Docko, Inc. re: Thayer’s Marina, Wetlands Project Yantic River Deanna Rhodes said she sent the memo to the board to keep them informed on the project. 2. Thames River Basin Partnership Floating Workshop Deanna Rhodes said that she and Richard Morell will be attending. 3. Dept. of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Violation at 445 New London Turnpike E. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None F. OLD BUSINESS: None G. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Receipt of New Applications  • IWWCC18-05: Proposed repairs to Sunnyside Bridge (#04746) located on Sunnyside Street crossing the Yantic River. Proposed improvements include temporary mats and fill within wetlands. The applicant is the City of Norwich. • IWWCC18-06 for Chasey Lane (97 Weber Farm). There are changes to the layout of the interior roadway and the original approval has expired. The application was just received yesterday and Deanna Rhodes and other Staff have not even had the opportunity to review the proposal yet. Motion was made by David Poore to TABLE IWWCC18-05 and IWWCC18-06 until the next meeting scheduled for July 5th. Motion was seconded by Douglas Lee. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Request for 5 year Extension - IW-URA-08-12: 29 Coit Lane Deanna Rhodes gave an overview of the request and indicated that the file showed that this is the fourth (4th) extension of approval being requested. She stated it was her understanding that Mr. Furlong was doing this to protect his original approval. A discussion then ensued about why the septic system was crossed out on the plan. It was determined based on a memo in the file, dated June 26, 2008 from the Uncas Health District, that the property would be connected to public water and sewer. Richard Morell said that this would cause less disturbance to the site. A discussion then ensued about the likelihood that the wetlands flags would still be on site after 20 years, since the original approval was in 1998. A motion was then made by Douglas Lee to approve the 5 year Extension IW-URA-08-12 with the condition that the property be reflagged by a soils scientist before any site disturbance and if it was different would have to come back to the Commission. Robert McCoy seconded the motion. A discussion then ensued with David Poore questioning the logic to extending an approval of an application that is so outdated. It was also noted that the plan in the file shows a portion of the proposed the driveway located within the conservation easement area. Furthermore, should Mr. Furlong sell the lot and not develop it himself, the permit is not transferrable unless approved by the Commission. Based on these factors, Douglas Lee then withdrew his motion. Douglas Lee then made a motion to DENY the 5 year extension and noted that submission of a new application would be required and that the commission would like to see that the driveway located outside the conservation easement. David Poore seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. H. OTHER BUSINESS: 1. Staff Report: Deanna Rhodes reported that she issued the following permits for upland review activities: a. IWWCC Permits Issued by Agent for Disturbance within the Upland Review Area: 1. IWWCC18-03A: Proposal for test wells within 100 ft. Upland Review Area of a wetland or watercourse located at 685 New London Tpke. Application and Property of City of Norwich – Norwich Golf Course Authority. 2  2. IWWCC18-04A: Proposal for 160 ft. of fencing and a 20 ft. round above ground pool within the 100 ft. Upland Review Area on property located at 7 Balawender Drive. Application and Property of Lisa A. Pescatello. 3. IWWCC17-05A: Proposal to install a yard drain within the 100 ft. Upland Review Area on a previously approved project located at 15 Connecticut Avenue. Application of Comcast Western New England Region. Property of Cable Holdco Exchange III, LLC. b. Complaints Received and Being Investigated: Deanna Rhodes stated there were no new complaints to report. She also brought the board up-to-date on the forestry operation located at 300 Canterbury Turnpike. She explained that the tree harvester proposed to use the entrance off Canterbury Tpke instead of Lawler Lane as it was further away from the wetlands and would eliminate one wetlands crossing. She stated that she had walked the property with Mr. Mark Tremblay and that the anti-tracking pad would be installed in the next few days. She also stated the he will be sending in the required weekly reports as he monitors the progress of the harvest. I. VIOLATIONS: None J. ADJOURNMENT: A motion was made by Douglas Lee to adjourn the meeting at 7:26 p.m. Seconded by Peter Chalecki. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Linda Lee-Smith Recording Secretary 3