Massive Warehouse Proposal Passes Enfield Inland Wetlands Agency

ENFIELD, CT — Despite considerable opposition from many residents of the Shaker Pines and Crescent Lake neighborhoods, including some who picketed in front of town hall Tuesday evening, the Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Agency unanimously approved an application from Winstanley Enterprises for a wetlands permit to construct a large distribution center on property it owns on Bacon Road.

Plans call for an 819,000 square foot distribution center with accompanying parking, loading docks and trailer parking at the rear of the existing Winstanley Logistics Center at 25 Bacon Road. It will be built on farmland nestled between the lakes, extending to the Massachusetts border. Two tenant spaces are planned, one consisting of 318,000 square feet and the other occupying the remaining 501,000 square feet.

At a Jan. 18 public hearing which lasted three and a half hours, more than two dozen residents, mainly from the abutting lake communities, expressed concerns about stormwater flow, disturbance of area wildlife and the essential role of a farmer's pond in the center of the property, known for decades as "The Oasis."

A grassroots group called Save the Lakes was formed in an attempt to prevent approval of the monstrous building. Several members of the organization gathered at town hall about 90 minutes prior to Tuesday's meeting, carrying signs including "Keep Enfield Green," "Ducks Not Trucks" and "Save Our Lakes" with a photo of principal Adam Winstanley encircled with a red slash.

"They don't seem to care about animals, quality of life, the lakes, pollution, our homes," group member Stephanie Quail Wawrzaszek said in the parking lot prior to the meeting.

In making a motion to approve the application, agency member Kevin Zorda said based on data gathered on behalf of Winstanley, "there is no direct impact to the adjacent lake communities." Chair Donna Corbin-Sobinski, noting the 182-acre parcel contains just 0.33 acres of wetlands impact, said, "To me, that's minimal. I'm happy they did not touch the trees and vegetation around the edges," citing their use as a buffer with the surrounding neighborhoods.

Zorda, Corbin-Sobinski, Virginia Higley and Robert Hendrickson voted in favor of approval. Immediately after the decision, one man rhetorically yelled at the agency members, "You going to buy my house when I can't sell it?" Corbin-Sobinski immediately called for a brief recess.

Video of the meeting from E-TV may be viewed here.

Following the meeting, Save the Lakes member Shari Jackson told Patch, "I am very disappointed that the Inlands and Wetlands Commission did not do their own studies and used those provided by the landowner to make their decision. There was no environmental impact statement done despite multiple requests from the community. Using the landowner's data is like asking the fox to mind the hen house. There is a lot to lose if there are any miscalculations or errors in judgement. Once this project takes hold, there will be no safeguards and no undoing the damage to the animals, lakes, wetlands, homes and community. This is a big risk with very little benefit to the community and there will be no going back."

The next step in the process is a public hearing on a site plan review by the Planning & Zoning Commission, which is slated for Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at town hall.

"We will continue to advocate for the lakes and we are hopeful that Mr. Winstanley and Planning and Zoning will make decisions that will protect the most incredible features in the town of Enfield, our lakes and the animals and nature that depend upon clean water," Jackson said. "His advocates, attorneys and the Inlands and Wetlands Commission talked about minimal impact on the wetlands, according to their information. The residents in Enfield want no impact on the wetlands. We should not settle for less."