MADISON, CT — The Madison Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency postponed decisions on two development proposals, including a driveway project on Long Shore Lane and a seven-lot subdivision on Race Hill Road, during its Monday, Oct. 5, meeting.
The agency also approved the removal of diseased trees on Durham Road and modifications to a residential expansion on Liberty Street. The latter passed on a 3-1 vote after one member raised concerns about the project's footprint near wetlands.
The agency unanimously voted to postpone further consideration of a proposed driveway, culvert and utility installation on Long Shore Lane until its November meeting.
The application, submitted by LSL LLC, involves construction within the 100-foot upland review area of inland wetlands on a 22.43-acre property. The proposed driveway would provide access to a planned single-family residence.
The project has drawn an environmental intervention from Stephen Carrabba, acting individually and as trustee of the Kristin Lyons Revocable Trust. Town Planner Erin Mannix said staff reviewed Carrabba's verified pleading, requested additional information and determined that the petition was valid.
Carrabba's intervention makes him a party to the proceedings but does not change the agency's process for determining whether the proposed work constitutes a significant activity, Mannix said.
Agency members unanimously determined that the project did not qualify as a significant activity under wetlands regulations, allowing the application to proceed without a public hearing triggered by that designation.
Vice Chair Joseph Budrow said the existing watercourse and culvert were relatively small and that the proposed replacement did not appear substantial enough to warrant a hearing.
Member Steve Lowrey similarly said the project would not significantly change stream flow and would affect a relatively narrow wetland area.
Michael Ott, a professional engineer and land surveyor with Summer Hill Civil Engineers and Land Surveyors, said the project would disturb approximately 370 square feet of wetlands.
The proposal calls for replacing an existing 6-foot-long, 12-inch clay pipe with a 24-foot-long, 12-inch reinforced concrete pipe. Moving the culvert west would avoid disturbing adjacent tidal wetlands, Ott said.
The project also includes a permanent sediment basin at the end of Maplewood Lane to capture and treat stormwater runoff from the municipal road before it enters the wetlands.
Landscape architect and wetland scientist Bill Kenny said the basin would improve water quality and that the driveway's design would minimize environmental impacts. The proposal includes native plantings along the driveway and around the basin.
Agency member Anna Loss identified the proposed sediment basin as an important component because of its potential to reduce turbidity in adjacent wetlands.
Before taking further action, Chair Kealoha Freidenburg requested updated plans showing the proposed stormwater easement to the town and a planting plan.
The applicant agreed to provide those revisions, along with Kenny's wetland delineation report and impact assessment.
The agency unanimously approved postponing the application until November after the applicant agreed to an extension of the review period.
A proposal by Race Hill Properties LLC to divide an 18-acre parcel on Race Hill Road into seven residential lots also remains under review.
The project includes construction of a new private road and work within the inland wetlands upland review area.
Mannix told the agency that the subdivision referral was incomplete because the applicant had not provided several required items, including health department septic feasibility approvals, comprehensive wetland functions and values evaluations, and complete engineering calculations for excavation and fill.
She also said the submitted plans had not demonstrated compliance with zoning requirements.
Mannix said she and Land Use Official Maria Pettola had met with the applicant's engineer approximately three weeks earlier, but significant deficiencies remained.
Nicholas McLay of Nafis & Young, representing the applicant, said adjustments had been made to lot boundaries to address zoning requirements. He also reported changes involving an open-space maintenance easement for a homeowners association and said a report by soil scientist Rich Snarski would be uploaded.
Freidenburg questioned the accuracy of the property's survey information, asking whether a T-2 survey had been conducted or whether the plans relied primarily on LiDAR data.
McLay said some spot elevations had been measured, but most of the plan relied on LiDAR.
Town staff also raised the possibility of requiring independent engineering and wetlands consultants to review the regulated activity application because of the proposed grading and stream crossings.
The agency unanimously voted to table the subdivision referral until November to allow the applicant to submit complete information.
A separate regulated activity permit application for the same property, identified as Application 26-34, was also received. Staff recommended waiting until November to determine whether the submission was complete, whether the work should be classified as significant activity and whether independent technical review would be necessary.
The agency unanimously approved an application from Lars and Deborah Helgeson to remove seven diseased beech trees at 1093 Durham Road.
The trees are located within inland wetlands and the surrounding 100-foot upland review area.
Although the applicants did not attend the meeting, Pettola said the submission was complete and that she had prepared a detailed staff report.
Freidenburg said the application included photographs and an arborist's explanation of the proposed work.
Under the approved plan, the trees will be topped, leaving their trunks standing to provide wildlife habitat. The stumps will remain in place to avoid additional ground disturbance.
The approval includes several conditions. The applicants must notify the inland wetlands agent at least 48 hours before beginning work, keep machinery and trucks on upland areas, follow state erosion and sediment control guidelines, and reseed or plant disturbed areas with a native New England wildlife mix.
The agency voted 3-1 to approve modifications to a previously authorized residential project at 21 Liberty St., despite concerns about development density within the wetlands upland review area.
The property is owned by trustees Robert W. van Sice and Marie Josephe Cecile van Sice.
Ott, representing the applicants, presented revisions to a project originally approved in September 2024.
The revised proposal eliminates a previously approved in-ground swimming pool, patio and retaining wall, replacing those features with a larger L-shaped building addition, deck, steps and roof stormwater infiltration system.
Ott said the modifications would reduce both the overall area of site disturbance and the amount of impervious surface compared with the original approval.
Existing arborvitae trees along the property boundary would be preserved behind sediment-control fencing, and the plans identify wetland boundary markers required under the earlier permit.
Freidenburg, Lowrey and Loss supported the application. Budrow opposed it, citing concerns about the overall density and building footprint within the upland review area.
The approval requires notification of the wetlands agent at least 48 hours before construction, maintenance of sediment controls, inspections within 24 hours after storms producing more than 1 inch of rain, and replacement of any damaged arborvitae serving as a vegetative buffer.
The agency also received a subdivision referral from Alan and Cheryl Campbell for 537 Summer Hill Road.
The proposal would divide a 16.99-acre parcel into two lots measuring 1.93 acres and 15.06 acres, with activity proposed within the wetlands upland review area.
Staff reported that the application lacked health department B100 documentation and a wetlands report.
The proposal is expected to undergo formal review at the agency's November meeting.
The agency's next regular meeting is expected to include further consideration of the Long Shore Lane driveway proposal, the Race Hill Road subdivision and regulated activity application, and the Summer Hill Road subdivision referral.
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Madison Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.