Religious Group Gains Wetlands Protection Permit

By Andrew Gorosko

The town has issued a wetlands/watercourses protection permit for work near a stream on a property at 115 Mt Pleasant Road (Route 6) in Hawleyville.

The permit issued on August 9 by Wetlands Enforcement Officer Steve Maguire allows the property’s owner, The Muslim Society of Greater Danbury, Inc, to conduct regulated activities in an area affected by the town’s wetlands/watercourses protection regulations.

Specifically, the permit allows the removal of a pile of rotting tree trunks from an area near the edge of a stream, which is an unnamed tributary of Pond Brook. The 2.38-acre site is on the south side of Mt Pleasant Road, near the intersection of Mt Pleasant Road and Hawleyville Road. The property is located in a business zone.

Mr Maguire said that some of the regulated work had occurred on the property before the society had applied for a permit.

The issuance of a permit for such a project, in effect, allows the town to exercise regulatory control over the work. The town inspects such projects to ensure that they comply with applicable environmental protection rules. The town placed nine conditions on performing the work listed on the permit.

The reason listed by the applicant for the tree trunk removal is to eliminate dangers to people posed by the presence of wasps, insects, fungus, and ants, which are present amid the rotting tree trunks. The building lying on the eastern section of the site is about 50 to 75 feet away from the tree trunks.

The society is represented by its director Azeez Bhavnagarwala. It submitted its permit application on July 8.

Mr Bhavnagarwala said August 22 that the tree trunk removal project is intended to eliminate health and safety hazards posed by the rotting tree trunks at the site. The project is not yet completed, but should be done soon, he said. The wetlands permit expires in five years.

According to its website, the Al Hedaya Islamic Center at 115 Mt Pleasant Road welcomes neighbors, local/regional ethnic, religious, secular communities and town/region/state officials to participate in its community events and develop a better understanding of Muslims and Islam.

Donald T. Evans, MD, a retired medical doctor, formerly had offices at the 115 Mt Pleasant Road site, which holds two buildings. The society purchased the property last September.