Grace Christian Fellowship Gains

Wetlands Permit For Church Project

By Andrew Gorosko

The Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) has approved a revised version of a church group’s proposal to build a new church, plus related facilities, on a 13.7-acre site in a R-2 zone at 4 Covered Bridge Road in Hawleyville, near Exit 9 of Interstate 84.

In a 5-to-0 vote on May 23, IWC members approved Grace Christian Fellowship’s request for a wetlands permit for regulated construction activities at the site. The group wants to construct a 29,500-square-foot church containing seating for 500, plus parking areas for about 200 vehicles.

The group will now seek approval for its site development plans from the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z).

The congregation currently occupies a 13,500-square-foot church about one mile away at 174 Mt Pleasant Road (Route 6). The group wants to build a new larger church at Covered Bridge Road to meet the needs of its expanding congregation.

It was the church’s second attempt to obtain a wetlands permit from the IWC for the project.

In a unanimous vote last September, the IWC rejected the church’s application for a wetlands permit, determining that the site’s design posed environmental hazards to nearby wetlands and a watercourse. The site contains about 2.4 acres of wetlands. Pond Brook flows through the area.

During its review of the church’s first application, IWC had sought to have the church significantly reduce the amount of paved parking area that would be located on the site, replacing some of it with specialized paving stones known as “pervious pavers.” Instead, the church had agreed to reduce the amount of asphalt on the site, replacing some asphalt with gravel surfaces.

Following the IWC’s rejection of the first church proposal, the church appealed that decision in Danbury Superior Court.

In wetlands application approved on May 23, the church group plans to have about one-quarter of the 200 parking spaces for the church be situated atop a plastic gridwork system that would allow stormwater to drain down into the ground through the grid, thus promoting environmental quality.

Also, the revised version of the project would replace some traffic islands on the site with specialized swales that would allow stormwater to drain down into the ground, creating a “bio-infiltration” system.

The church proposes extending a two-lane bridge to the site from Hawleyville Road to provide access to the property. That bridge would span a wetland.

Conditions

In endorsing the wetlands permit for the site development work, the IWC listed 12 conditions of approval.

Those conditions include that: various erosion and sedimentation controls must be installed on the site before construction starts and must be maintained while construction is underway; the conservation official must inspect and approved the marked limits of physical disturbance on the site before construction starts; and site plan modifications are not allowed unless IWC approvals are received for such changes.

Also, an environmental consultant must be hired by the applicant to monitor and record measures taken to prevent erosion and sedimentation problems; the applicant must create an invasive plant eradication program for the site, and the applicant must install permanent stormwater drain markers for the site. Such markers typically state that substances entering the storm drains eventually reach Long Island Sound.