Group Again Seeks Wetlands Permit For New Church

By Andrew Gorosko

Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members are reviewing 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.

Grace Christian Fellowship of wants to construct a 29,500-square-foot church containing seating for 500, plus parking areas for about 200 vehicles.

The congregation now 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 to meet the needs of its expanding congregation.

It is 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.

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 then agreed to reduce the amount of asphalt on the site, replacing some asphalt with gravel surfaces.

After the initial rejection, IWC members encouraged the church to reapply for a wetlands permit, explaining what design changes would be needed to obtain a permit.

Following the IWC’s rejection of the first church proposal, the church appealed that decision in Danbury Superior Court. Legal issues in that case include the type and extent of vehicle parking areas that would be provided for church use. That civil action is still pending.

In the current version of the application, the church group proposes that about one-quarter of the 200 proposed 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, said Conservation Official Rob Sibley.

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

IWC members concluded a public hearing on the church’s wetlands permit application on May 9. The agency may act on the church proposal on May 23.

Besides IWC approval, the church would require approvals from the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) to construct the project.