Log In


Reset Password
Archive

Glass Fabricator Proposes Factory At Curtis Corporate Park

Print

Tweet

Text Size


Glass Fabricator Proposes Factory At Curtis Corporate Park

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members are reviewing a Norwalk firm’s proposal for the construction of a glass products fabrication factory at Curtis Corporate Park, off Toddy Hill Road in Sandy Hook.

Glass Contractors, LLC, also known as Architectural Glass Industries, on September 21 presented plans for its proposed 7,800-square-foot factory/office building to P&Z members at a public hearing. The firm manufactures and distributes commercial glass products.

The firm proposes construction of the structure on a one-acre lot at 9 Turnberry Lane in the industrial park. The site is near the turnaround circle on that dead-end street, which extends from Toddy Hill Road.

Artel Engineering Group, LLC, of Brookfield represents the firm in its P&Z application.

GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc, of Fairfield, an environmental consulting firm representing the glass company, performed an aquifer impact assessment of the project. The site is in the town’s Aquifer Protection District (APD), an overlay zone above the Pootatuck Aquifer where land uses are strictly regulated by the P&Z to prevent degradation of the aquifer, which is the source of two public water supplies.

In its review, GZA found that the activities to be conducted by the glass company would have no adverse effects on the quality or the quantity of water in the aquifer. Water quality protection measures would be taken to prevent damage to the aquifer, according to GZA.

The glass firm fabricates glass products such as shower doors. Its work involves manipulating glass to create specific products. The company cuts and grinds glass as needed, using electric ovens to make glass stronger through tempering. The firm uses water as a coolant in its industrial processes.

About 6,800 square feet of the proposed structure would be factory/warehouse space, with the remainder serving as an office. Seventeen people would work there.

The site is in a M-4 (Industrial) zone. The facility would be supplied with water from a well. Waste generated by industrial processes would be trucked away for disposal.

Engineer Dainius L. Virbickas of Artel described the project to P&Z members.

The proposed factory would be 28 feet tall. It would have a mirror-glass façade. A 26-space parking lot would be constructed nearby. Commercial vehicles would be parked inside the building.

The firm’s normal working hours would be 7:30 am to 5:30 pm on Mondays through Fridays, with some workers staying at the factory later, as needed, Mr Virbickas said.

Vegetation would be planted near the factory as a landscaping feature of the project, he said.

Public Comment

During the public comment section of the hearing, resident Robin Rush-Hanson of 8 Quarry Ridge Road expressed concerns that the heated air that would be exhausted from the factory during industrial processes would carry pollutants. The Quarry Ridge Estates neighborhood contains more than 40 children, she noted.

Ms Rush-Hanson asked how much noise would be created by the factory.

Both the industrial park and the adjacent residential subdivision are located on an expanse of land that was formerly mined by Newtown Sand & Gravel. The P&Z approved the industrial park in January 2001, and then approved the adjacent Quarry Ridge Estates in March 2002.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil amplified Ms Rush-Hanson’s concerns, asking Mr Virbickas what substances would be released into the atmosphere with the hot air exhausted from industrial processes.

Only hot air would be released, the engineer responded.

David Tofinchio of Shelton, president of the glass firm, told P&Z members that the company has run out of space for its work at its Norwalk factory, so it wants to build an additional facility in Sandy Hook. The Norwalk factory is less than half the size of the proposed 7,800-sqaure-foot factory, he said.

All factory work would be performed indoors, Mr Tofinchio said. The firm has several vehicles that would travel to and from the site.

Mr O’Neil urged that the glass firm submit its architectural and landscaping plans to the town’s Design Advisory Board for review.

P&Z action on Glass Contractors, LLC’s, factory construction proposal is expected at an upcoming P&Z session.

At a September 19 Economic Development Commission (EDC) session, the glass firm received an EDC endorsement in its bid to receive a property tax break from the town as part of the town’s Business Incentive Program, which encourages expansion of the municipal property tax base.

Comments
Comments are open. Be civil.
0 comments

Leave a Reply