Button Shop Road—

P&Z Approves Earth Materials Processing Yard

By Andrew Gorosko

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has granted a firm a special permit for earth materials processing, including the handling of mulch, topsoil, and compost, on a site off Button Shop Road in Botsford.

Following a July 19 public hearing, the P&Z approved an application from Ceres Earth Materials, LLC, to conduct operations at a 4.7-acre leased site off Button Shop Road. The property has a street address of 253 South Main Street, but vehicle access to the site is on the north side of Button Shop Road, between that road’s intersections with South Main Street and Little Brook Lane.

Engineer Bill Carboni of Spath-Bjorklund Associates, Inc, of Monroe, representing Ceres, explained the earth materials processing would occur in the vicinity of an asphalt manufacturing plant there. The general area has been extensively mined for sand and gravel. The land is in a M-1 (Industrial) zone.

 Mr Carboni noted that the Ceres site is within the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD) and thus a special permit from the P&Z is needed for its activities.

Ceres had an aquifer impact assessment performed for it which gained endorsement by the town’s Aquifer Protection Agency (APA) on June 27. Leggette, Brashears & Graham, Inc, of Shelton prepared the hydrogeological report on aquifer protection.

Activities at the Ceres site would include topsoil production, mulching, and the stockpiling of wood products, Mr Carboni said. Mechanical grinding and screening machines would be used at the site, as needed, for the materials processing, he said.

The site would not create any stormwater runoff, Mr Carboni said, noting that the soil there has high permeability.

The southernmost section of the Ceres site would be used for topsoil production, he said. Piles of earthen materials on the property would expand and contract as work proceeds, he said.

 Mr Carboni said that some of the ground-up wood processed at the site would be dyed and sold as colored mulch. Also, some ground wood would be converted into compost, he added.

Christopher Genduso of Ceres said that the firm would need to obtain state permits for mulching and for leaf composting.

Questions

P&Z member Jane Brymer asked whether the Ceres operations at the site would produce foul odors in the area.

Fred Ruggio of Shelton, the executor for the estate of Richard Ruggio at 29 Button Shop Road, asked about the noise that would be produced by the earth materials operation. He also asked about the truck traffic that would be generated by the business. Also, he asked what effect the business would have on nearby property values.

Vince Cuocci of 30 Little Brook Lane similarly asked about the prospect of noise and odors generated by an earth materials processing operation.

Violations of applicable zoning regulations are subject to fines, said P&Z Chairman Lilla Dean.

Also, zoning enforcement may issue cease-and-desist orders for zoning violations, said P&Z member Robert Mulholland.

Mr Carboni said the materials processing operation would not affect nearby property values.

The terrain at the site would function to provide noise protection, he said. Also, no activities would occur in the nighttime, he said.

The operation of grinding and screening equipment would occur intermittently in the daytime, he said.

Truck traffic for the site would use the section of Button Shop Road nearest South Main Street, he said. The roads have adequate sight lines for truck traffic, he said.

Mr Carboni said Ceres will not accept grass clippings at its earth materials operation, thus avoiding a source of foul odors there.

The materials to be handled would be woodchips, leaves, and soil, he said.

In unanimously approving the application, P&Z members decided that it is consistent with the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development and also meets to criteria required for special permits. The permit takes effect on July 30.