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Van Wie Pond
The Branford Land Trust has officially requested intervener status as the Costco commercial complex heads for a public hearing next Thursday before the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC).
In addition, Costco’s development team responded Thursday to initial questions and comments by the peer review consultants who were commissioned by the IWC to review Costco’s proposals.
The Master Plan for Costco and seven other commercial buildings on 44 acres of land at Exit 56 was approved by the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission in July by a 3-2 vote. Now the detailed site plans have to be examined by the town’s regulatory boards. The IWC public hearing is scheduled to begin Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Branford Fire Headquarters. If the site plans are approved by the IWC, they must then be submitted to P&Z for additional public hearings.
Land Trust’s Intervention
The Land Trust announced in September that is was concerned about the environmental impacts of the Costco commercial project. It seeks intervener status under the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act of 1971. Click here to read that article.
The petitions requesting intervention, which were submitted Wednesday by Attorney Timothy B. Yolen, of Yolen & Perzin law firm in New Haven, allege the Costco commercial complex will impact the off-site wetlands and watercourses.
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The Branford Land Trust owns 22 properties that are downstream from the proposed development site, including the 104-acre Van Wie Woods and Van Wie Pond, pictured at top. In total, the Land Trust owns and manages about 900 acres of wetlands, salt marshes, ponds, farmland and woodlands throughout town. The Land Trust, with a membership of about 950, is a non-profit entity whose mission is to preserve and protect open space.
The petitions cite a report from Dr. Peter Raymond, professor of Ecosystem Ecology at Yale, which outlined potential impacts to the wetlands and watercourses. He expressed concerns about the amount of wetland buffers that will be paved, and the potential increase in stormwater runoff from the property.
The petitions also include information from LANDTECH, an environmental engineering firm from Westport, which was hired as consultants by the Land Trust. Among other concerns mentioned in the petitions, the report states “A large proportion of the existing vegetated wetland buffer around the site’s wetlands will be replaced with paved parking areas and access ways. In some areas, there will be no remaining wetland buffer. In many areas, remaining buffers will be less than 20 feet in width.” Buffers help filter runoff.
The LANDTECH report also addresses concerns that some of the proposed stormwater basins are too shallow and could result in erosion to downstream off-site wetlands and watercourses.
The petitions listed four possible alternatives that could alleviate potential problems: reducing the amount of paved surfaces, increasing stormwater detention times and reducing volumes; insuring stormwater is properly treated before being released; and increasing wetland buffers.
The eight-page petitions were signed by Amos Barnes, president of the Branford Land Trust.
In a statement posted on its web site in September, the Land Trust said: “While some of our members may be in favor of Costco’s coming to Branford, and others opposed, the Branford Land Trust neither opposes nor supports Costco and the other proposed retail businesses. The Land Trust’s only objective is to protect the properties entrusted to us by the property donors and the thousands of people in Branford who have supported the Land Trust for almost 50 years.”
The Land Trust is the second group to request intervener status in the Costco proceedings. If approved, the practical aspect of the petitions means that the Land Trust and its attorney will be given written notice of all mailings and hearings and any negotiations pertaining to the application.
In December, the IWC granted status to the Branford Citizens for Responsible Development (BCRD). Click here to read the story. The group is represented by Attorney Keith Ainsworth, an environmental attorney with Evans, Feldman & Ainsworth legal firm in New Haven. The BCRD is a grassroots group concerned about the environment, who also acted as interveners in the P&Z public hearings last summer.
Peer Review and Response
Milone & MacBroom, a Cheshire-based engineering and environmental firm hired by the IWC to compile a peer review of Costco’s plans, submitted an initial review in December. The 11-page review is a series of questions, comments and suggestions regarding the developers’ plans for the three properties where Costco and the other seven commercial buildings would be located.
The initial peer review by Milone & MacBroom addressed issues involving wetlands; stormwater; erosion and sediment control, and phasing. The lengthy series of questions was addressed by Costco’s development team including BL Companies of Meriden; Environmental Planning Services of West Hartford; and Terracon engineering of Rocky Hill. Their responses were submitted Thursday, accompanied by drawings and reports that were revised in response to Milone and MacBroom’s questions and comments.
For example, one question from the peer review addressed the proposal to cross wetland #1 by using retaining walls and a box culvert, and asked if a bridge could be used that would have less direct wetland impact. The response said a bridge was not chosen because it would require deeper excavations and foundations; and that installation of a pre-cast box culvert would minimize potential for soil erosion.
Another comment in the peer review involved the impact on the drainage system at the intersection of East Main Street and Leetes Island Road when East Main Street is widened and new curbing is added. The response said stormwater runoff would be captured by proposed stormwater basins and a swale, and that drainage areas were revised to incorporate any changes.
It is anticipated that additional peer review comments will be filed now that responses have been received. The issues raised in the peer review and the development team’s responses will be presented and discussed during the public hearings. Peer review consultants are typically hired by the town’s regulatory boards to conduct independent reviews, and their fees are billed to the developers.
Costco Reacts
Costco attorney Thomas Cody, of the Robinson & Cole law firm in Hartford, has twice asked to meet directly with the peer review consultants. In December, the commission denied a request made in a Nov. 16 letter to meet with the peer consultants prior to the start of the independent review. At the December meeting, it was stated that both IWC chairman Daniel Shapiro and Diana Ross, the Inland Wetlands Environmental Director, said all conversations should be done at public hearings.
A second letter from Cody dated Dec. 21 again asked to meet with staff and the peer review consultants to discuss responses to the questions raised. “We fear that if a meeting is not held, the ability to adequately and completely respond to questions will be compromised,” Cody wrote.
However, Ross told the Eagle that no such meetings will be held, as stipulated by the commission last month. “Any kind of discussion will take place at the public hearing,” Ross said. “That’s always been our procedure.”
Attorneys for the both interveners sent letters to the IWC objecting to a meeting as suggested by Cody’s letter.
Ainsworth said in his letter that “such requests have no basis in law and are not required to be honored. The Town sensibly created a laudably independent review by separating the review from the party being reviewed to avoid attempts to unduly influence the review. ”
Yolen stated that such a meeting: “takes away the ears (and the voice) of the public to understand the complexity of these Applications.”
The Costco applications and many of the documents and letters regarding the project are posted on the web site for the Inland Wetland and Natural Resources Department. The documents can be accessed through the “Applications with Public Hearings”.
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