New IWC Regs Out; Old Ones In; Talks Begin

The Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) voted unanimously Thursday to put the new 2016 regulations on hold for six months and operate under the previous ones.

This would also put a six-month stay on court proceedings involving four appeals filed in Superior Court by developers after the IWC adopted new regulations in May. However, the hold or ​“stay” would allow the parties to continue to confer on the 2016 regulations with the idea going forward of resolving the developers’ appeals. 

It has been speculated that developers of the 44-acre Costco commercial complex at Exit 56 will re-file their applications. After months of hearings, they withdrew their applications in April, shortly before the IWC was scheduled to vote on the projects.

Two of the developers — Charles Weber and Al Secondino, were among those filing appeals of the new regulations. They were proposing to build six commercial buildings on the Costco complex, and they also have an option to purchase the land where Costco would be built.

A Time-Out

The commission held a one-hour closed executive session Thursday at the Canoe Brook Senioir Center to discuss strategy and negotiations in the pending litigation. A previous session was held during last month’s meeting.  Carolyn W. Kone, a land use attorney with Brenner, Salzmann & Wallman LLP in New Haven, attended both executive sessions. The law firm, along with attorney Bill Aniskovich, represents the town. Aniskovich was absent Thursday night. 

After the IWC returned to the public session, commissioner Richard Greenalch said they were trying to “come up with a solution where we have clear regulations for the next six months.”  He suggested temporarily returning to the old regulations. “To leave it up in the air is going to be unfair to all applicants,” he said.

Greenalch made a motion to ask the court to approve a temporary restraining order on the new regulations for six months, and to allow the 2007 regulations to be in effect during that time.

Commissioner Merle Berke-Schlessel then made a motion that would allow people with pending applications to choose whether they want to use the 2007 or the 2016 regulations. That motion also passed unanimously without discussion.

All parties, the town and those appealing, have consented to the action, which is subject to approval by Superior Court Judge Marshall K. Berger, Jr. He oversees the Land Use Litigation Docket in Hartford Superior Court. Attorney Janet Brooks, one of the state’s leading environmental attorneys and an expert in the field, now represents 595 Corporate Circle, the overseer of Wayne Cooke’s property where Costco plans to build its warehouse store. She moved to transfer the cases from the New Haven Superior Court to Judge Berger’s court in Hartford.

The request by the IWC for a temporary restraining order was filed with the land use court yesterday. Both sides have also agreed to continue discussions about the new regulations during the six-month period.

The IWC court filing states that “all parties have agreed that during the (six-month) stay they shall confer to determine if there are amendments to the 2016 regulations which “are mutually acceptable to all parties and which, if adopted by the defendant (the IWC), would resolve these matters.” Adoption of new or revised IWC regulations also requires public input.

Peter Bassermann, who chairs the IWC, told the Eagle after the meeting that the commission hopes this will be a workable solution and resolve questions about which set of regulations an applicant should use. 

That would only affect three pending applications that were received Thursday night. One involves a homeowner who wants to build a garage; another is the redevelopment of Parkside Village I on South Montowese Street; and the third is a request by the South Central CT Regional Water Authority to install new waterlines. These projects will all be discussed at next month’s IWC meeting.

In addition to Bassermann, Greenalch and Berke-Schlessel, the commissioners at Thursday’s meeting were: John Rusatsky, James Sette, Sandra Kraus and Suzanne Botta.

New Regs Met Firestorm

A firestorm of dissent erupted after the IWC voted 4-3 to adopt new regulations May 12.  First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove issued a press release calling the action on “an unprecedented abuse of power.” The developers filed the four lawsuits a short time later.

The IWC had deliberated on new regulations for more than a year, and held several public hearings, beginning last summer. Cosgrove decided not to re-appoint three long-time commissioners last August, despite their wish to remain. When the IWC approved the new regs in May, three additional commissioners were up for re-appointment later in the month. Cosgrove opted to retain Bassermann, but removed long-time chair Danny Shapiro, James Killelea and alternate Stephen Gangi.

Prior to the IWC vote in May, Shapiro said he didn’t think the regulations were any tighter than the existing ones. “I think there’s a lot of clarifications in there….Anybody can appeal anything, but that’s never a good reason not to do what you think is the right thing,” he said.

The developers who are appealing the IWC regulations revisions include Charles Weber, Al Secondino, Michael Belfonti, Rita Ann Sachs and Alex Vigliotti of Vigliotti Construction Co.

Weber and Secondino, through their 595 Corporate Circle corporation, own a 16.5 acre parcel, which is part of the 44-acre Planned Development District (PDD) at Exit 56 that was approved by the Planning and Zoning P&Z) Commission in July 2015. Plans called for six commercial buildings on the Weber-Secondino site.

Wayne Cooke and the Cooke family corporations own a 22.36-acre site where Costco proposed to build; however, Weber and Secondino have an option to purchase that land.

One of the largest tracts of undeveloped land in Branford is owned by Al Secondino and Michael Belfonti through their corporations, Bittersweet Partners and Alterra Holdings. That includes 71 acres of the former Bittersweet Farm property off Route 1 and an adjacent 50 acres to the south, off Sycamore Way.  The Bittersweet Partners filed one of the appeals now pending.

Marcia Chambers contributed reporting for this story.

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