The Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, March 11, to review the wetlands/watercourses protection aspects of a proposal to construct a 14,000-square-foot retail center at 32 Berkshire Road (Route 34), near the Exit 11 interchange of Interstate 84.

The IWC public hearing on applicant James F. Walsh’s proposal, which is known as Coach’s Corner, is slated to start at 7:30 pm at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street.

Mapping submitted with the development application indicates that Curtis Pond Brook, a brook that flows from Curtis Pond, crosses a section of the 3.07-acre site. The development site is adjacent to the heavily traveled intersection of Berkshire Road and Toddy Hill Road.

At their February 26 session, IWC members discussed at length whether they should hold a public hearing on the wetlands/watercourses protection aspects of the project, when considering that the proposed construction work likely would have “no significant impact” on wetlands/watercourses. However, when considering that the project may have an “indirect impact,” IWC members decided that a public hearing should be held in view of public interest.

IWC members stressed that their jurisdiction over such development is quite limited in scope, being restricted to surface water quality protection issues involving the presence of wetlands and watercourses.

In 2019, the town completed a $2.9 million roadway widening project on the northern end of Toddy Hill Road which upgraded its intersection with Berkshire Road and replaced a small culvert, which formerly carried Curtis Pond Brook beneath Toddy Hill Road, with a modern arch-style bridge. After Curtis Pond Brook flows eastward beneath Toddy Hill Road, it enters the development site.

The proposed development would include a 2,800-square-foot restaurant situated at the southeast end of a 14,000-square-foot building. A primary driveway would connect to Toddy Hill Road. Secondary limited access would be provided at Berkshire Road.

The project is being proposed in conjunction with the state Department of Transportation’s (DOT) long-planned $17.7 million Exit 11 roadway improvement project, which is scheduled to commence during the 2021 construction season.

Aquifer Protection

IWC members also serve as the separate Aquifer Protection Agency (APA) for the town. Following the IWC’s March 11 public hearing, the APA will immediately convene a meeting which is open to the public, but is not a public hearing. As such, members of the public are allowed to watch and listen, but not comment.

At the meeting, APA members are expected to discuss the contents of an aquifer protection report on the environmentally sensitive area that was prepared for the applicant. Such reports, formally known as aquifer protection assessments, describe the hydrogeological features of the site and the measures that would be taken to prevent spills of toxic substances from occurring and the remedial steps that would occur in the event that a spill occurs. The APA makes recommendations on aquifer protection to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z).

The site, which currently is used by a mulching operation, lies next to an area whose surface has been extensively mined for sand and gravel. The site is in the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD), which is an overlay zone where certain uses, such as gas stations, are prohibited in order to protect the water quality in the underlying Pootatuck Aquifer.

The Pootatuck Aquifer is the town’s sole source aquifer. It is a subterranean source for two public water supplies and widespread individual domestic water wells.

Notably, the applicant would need state approvals for an individual water well to serve the site and for a septic system for wastewater disposal; the property does not have access to a public water supply or to the central municipal sanitary sewer system.

Rescheduling

In response to a request from the applicant, the P&Z has postponed its public hearing on the development proposal. The P&Z hearing, which initially was scheduled for March 5, has been postponed to 7:30 pm on Thursday, March 19, at Newtown Senior Center, 8 Simpson Street.

The applicant is seeking a site development plan approval and a special zoning permit from the P&Z.

In a March 2 letter to the P&Z, the applicant’s civil engineer requested the postponement because all of the development project’s technical staff could not attend a March 5 session.