Conservation Commission

City of Torrington CONSERVATION COMMISSION Meeting Minutes May 28, 2024 Regular Meeting 1. Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 6:32 pm Members present in person in Room 215 of Torrington City Hall unless otherwise noted. Roll Call & Announcements: Members Present in Person: Dan McGuinness (Vice-Chair), Jeremy Spitz , and George Craig (6:40pm), Members Present Via Teams: Karen Svetz, Members Absent: Christine Altman (Chair), Michael Kanab, and Erin Stelma (Secretary) Staff: Nate Nardi-Cyrus – Assistant City Planner Members from the Public: George Logan and Ken Hrica 2. Minutes: a. April 30, 2024 Regular Meeting MOTION to approve the minutes was made by Ms. Svetz, seconded by Mr. Spitz. All commissioners voted aye. 3. New Business: a. Torrington Fair Plaza Easement Discussion MOTION to add a new item to the agenda was made by Mr. Spitz, seconded by Ms. Svetz. All commissioners voted aye. Mr. Hrica, P.E., and Mr. Logan, professional wetland scientist, are representing the Torrington Fair (Walmart) Plaza owner, who has a proposal for activities within an area of the property encumbered by a conservation easement held by the City of Torrington. Mr. Hrica gave a site history and described a proposal, within the conservation easement, to remove several pine trees along the East Main Street sidewalk to increase visibility to the new bank to be built in the plaza. The owner has contracted with Mr. Hrica and Mr. Logan to develop a restoration plan, which would increase biodiversity on the site, while increasing visibility to the bank. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus indicated that that the easement does not allow for the cutting of vegetation, except to maintain sightlines for safety purposes. If they were to approve this plan, or something similar, they should make an interpretation of the easement which considers the work to be necessary to maintain the sightlines. The Commissioners agreed that this does not appear to be a sightline issue and expressed concern over the recolonization of the site by non-native invasive plants. Mr. Spitz  expressed possible interest in some sort of more limited alternative that meets everyone’s goals and objectives. The Commissioners’ agreed to defer their decision until the next meeting, when the Commission chair, Christine Altman, might be present. MOTION to table this discussion until the June meeting was made by Ms. Svetz, seconded by Mr. Craig. All commissioners voted aye. 4. Old Business a. Beers for Conservation – Debrief The Commission agreed that Sawyer’s Bar was too loud to hold this type of gathering. Mr. Nardi- Cyrus indicated that Bad Dog Brewing Company, the Commission’s first choice, was closed the day the wanted to hold the event. The Commission’s goal is to coordinate one or two of these social get- togethers per year, and to schedule the next one at Bad Dog Brewing Company or a similar more low key location. b. HVA Crossing Assessment – Schedule Visits Mr. Nardi-Cyrus will follow-up with HVA to find the locations to be evaluated and we can set the site visits during the June meeting. c. Staff updates: i. Food Forest Planning – Mr. Nardi-Cyrus drafted a letter to nearby residents. He will circulate to Commissioners for comment. Mr. Spitz asked to remove rhubarb from the list of plantings, since the foliage is considered poisonous and we are encouraging folks to eat the plants. The Commission agreed and Mr. Nardi-Cyrus will ask the NWCD to remove this from their inventory for this project. ii. Red Mountain Trail grant – Mr. Nardi-Cyrus updated the Commission on the progress here. iii. Urban Forest Management Plan - Mr. Nardi-Cyrus updated the Commission on the status of the grant. iv. Open Space Inventory – Next site visit will be the Open Space in the Greenbriar subdivision. Mr. Nardi-Cyrus will follow-up to schedule an inspection. v. Reschedule June Meeting – Mr. Nardi-Cyrus requested the Commission reschedule the next Conservation Commission meeting because of a conflict in his schedule. Some dates where provided but Mr. Nardi-Cyrus will follow-up to get something set and noticed. 5. Adjournment: A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Spitz, seconded by Mr. Mr. Craig. All commissioners voted aye. Meeting adjourned at 7:41 pm. Nate Nardi-Cyrus Nate Nardi-Cyrus, Assistant City Planner Staff to Conservation Commission