CONNECTICUT RIVER GATEWAY COMMISSION
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
March 26, 2009
Deep River: Amy Petrone, Nancy Fischbach
East Haddam: Harvey Thomas, Robert Boulware
Essex: Ellen Wexler, Fred Vollono
Fenwick: Chuck Chadwick
Haddam: Scott Thompson, Susan
Bement
Lyme: Kevin Mazer, J. Melvin
Woody
Old Lyme:
Vacancy, Ted
Crosby
Old Saybrook:
Madge Fish, David Lemay
CRERPA: Steve Williams
Midstate RPA: Raoul De Brigard, Stacia DeMichele
DEP:
David Blatt (arrived at 8:15p)
Staff:
J.H. Torrance Downes
Tidewater:
Judy
Preston
Guests: None
Call to Order
Chairman Melvin Woody called the
regular meeting of the Gateway Commission to order at 7:32 pm in the CRERPA
meeting room.
Approval of Minutes
Ted Crosby moved to accept the minutes from February
26, 2009. Madge Fish seconded. Approved unanimously. Brief discussion regarding the length of the
minutes (six pages) was held. Members
confirmed that more information in minutes is better than less.
Correspondence and Staff Report
Staff reported DEP/OLISP comments on
8-lot subdivision in Old Lyme fronting on the Black Hall River. Gateway staff reported that OLISP staff
researched the local access considered by the Planning Commission as adequate
nearby public access. That site at the
Black Hall River, with parking spaces off Buttonball Road south of the railroad
tracks, was found to be an informal
access site that is not a “legal” access site, i.e., there is no legal
agreement in place for the public to cross a piece of private property in order
to gain access. The Gateway Commission
requested their staff prepare an additional letter for consideration at the
still-open public hearing restating support for the DEP/OLISP position that
public access other than that
informal access should be provided.
Staff reported that an application
for a copy of the Connecticut River Land Trust’s original 1986 application for
tax exempt status has been submitted. In
that those documents have been “archived” by the IRS, the application copy, as
well as the IRS determination letter, will take approximately 60 days to be
received.
Staff reported that a variance
application for a property at 44 Grandview Terrace in Essex was reviewed with
the property owner’s architect and found to have insignificant impact on the “natural and traditional riverway scene”
of the CT River. Essex ZEO Marian Staye
was informed as such. This staff item was discussed to be sure that this
procedure – staff review of a variance application and direct reporting to a
municipality where no significant visual impact is found – continues to be a
satisfactory to the Commission. After
some discussion, members of the Commission requested that staff develop a
checklist to use in such cases to insure a level of consistency of review when
such variances are reviewed.
A copy of Correspondence and Staff Report notes (Gateway
Notes) are filed with these minutes.
Treasurer’s Report
Liz David of Merrill Lynch did not
appear as indicated on the agenda as she was informed that there was little
interest expressed by Commission members in discussing the investment portfolio
at this time. Ted Crosby indicated that
his understanding was the Ms. David would return for discussion when a market
“bottom” was formed, which most informally agree had not occurred as of yet.
The Commission discussed the
Treasurer’s Report and voted to approve expenditures of $956.27 for CRERPA
expenses and $1680.00 for Tidewater expenses.
The motion was made by Ted Crosby
with seconded by Susan Bement. The vote was unanimously approved.
It was noted that Harvey Thomas has
agreed to join the Finance Committee with Nancy Fischbach and Peggy Wilson.
Resolved that officers Melvin Woody,
Nancy Fischbach, Peggy Wilson, Madge Fish and CRERPA Executive Director Linda
B. Krause were made signatories for the Merrill Lynch account.
Referrals
None presented.
Discussion
of Coordinator Position for CY Haddam Neck
Nancy
Fischbach explained the status of the Connecticut Yankee sponsorship initiative
after members acknowledged receipt of Raul DiBrigard’s four-page CY process
summary. Fischbach indicated that the
board of the Middlesex County Community Foundation had voted to act as the
“sponsor” for the effort to hire a coordinator/facilitator to further
conservation discussions between CY and a consortium of conservation partners,
an arrangement that is satisfactory to those Gateway Commission members in
attendance. As such, it will be up to
the MCCF to hire the coordinator/facilitator with input from an Advisory
Committee which will likely include a member of the Gateway Commission. Such hiring, it is thought, can be done quickly in that the MCCF is a
private organization that doesn’t operate under the notice requirements of a
public agency.
A
motion to donate $3,000 to the CY sponsorship effort was made by Susan Bement, seconded by Harvey
Thomas. Fischbach and Blatt
abstained from the vote. The $3,000
donation is equal to that voted for appropriation last month for potentially
contracting for legal services to investigate the legal status of the CT River
Land Trust’s tax exempt status. Such
appropriation will not be necessary in that MCCF has voted to act as sponsor.
Tidewater
Judy Preston presented a final draft of the
Riparian Buffer Zone standards with revisions recommended at a 3/17/09 Gateway
Standards Committee meeting attended by Preston, Fischbach, Petrone, Blatt and
Downes.
Questions were raised with respect
to the difficulty of the measurement procedure, changing the measurement of the
area from 20 by 30 feet to 25 by 25 feet, the required cooperation of property
owners and the necessity of confirmation by local authorities. Discussion confirmed that the new standards
would be presented to local Commissions for review and comment prior to
adoption by the Gateway Commission in order to insure maximum support. Educational materials which will be produced
in support of the new riparian buffer standards were discussed including what
constituted “good buffer materials” and the consideration of invasive
species. The Gateway Commission will be
interested in the local reactions when the standards are presented to local authorities
and Commissions. Preston commented that
she can begin those presentations as early as the week of April 6, 2009 and
reminded Commission members of the desire for Gateway member presence at local
discussions. Preston indicated that
there is a limited number of the “first run” of color educational cards printed
within the past. It was decided that
more cards will be printed at the expense of an organization other than the towns. Educational materials will be produced to
explain the methodology for riparian buffer measurement with diagrams,
including production in “PDF” format for uploading to various town, CRERPA and
Gateway websites.
Motion to proceed with the riparian
buffer standard effort was made by Harvey
Thomas, seconded by Ted Crosby,
this with the buffer standards identified as “3/09”.
Status of
2004 Standards
No update. Ellen Wexler previously offered to begin
thinking about how to approach Commissions in Essex after first reviewing the
history of the 2004 efforts to have the standards adopted in local
regulations. Staff to follow up with
Wexler.
Status of
Gateway Owned Properties
A report from
Matt Starr of the DEP Land Acquisition office on March 26, 2009 indicated that review
of the Balleck documentation has been completed by the Attorney General’s
office. A minor change is required to
the Certificate of Title. Once completed, the documentation will be resubmitted
to the AG for a quick final confirmation and then forwarded to the Gateway
Commission for approval, thence back to the DEP for “required” Department signatures. When finalized, staff of the Land Acquisition
Office will file the documents on the land records in the Town of East Haddam.
Other
Business
Ted Crosby
brought up the issue of wind turbines in Old Lyme. Siting Council involvement was discussed as
was the presumed authority of the DEP and, potentially, the Old Lyme zoning
authorities and the Gateway Commission. Downes
indicated that a call has been placed to Bob Mercier of the Siting Council to
determine what the various authorities are for such structures. Crosby
indicated that there is support for the effort, but there is a desire by some
to see if moving the turbines to the eastern area of Old Lyme in an industrial
zone and out of the Gateway Conservation Zone.
In that the potential applicant owns the property in question, question
is raised with respect to whether consideration of another location is
practical.
Adjournment
There being
no further business, Madge Fish moved
to adjourn the meeting at approximately 9:10pm, seconded by Harvey Thomas.
The next regular meeting of the
Gateway Commission is
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
Gateway
Items of Interest
March 26, 2009
Correspondence
(1)
Land Vest
sales letter. Services: appraisals for IRS, managing approval process for
conservation restrictions, negotiation assistance, strategic and generational
estate planning for land owners.
(2)
Middlesex Land Trust. Invitation to Kruger Farm Preserve dedication
and Annual Meeting. April, 25, 2009 at
10am. Haddam Neck.
Staff
Report
Review
of Eight (8) Lot Subdivision, Black Hall River, Old Lyme – Public Hearing
Continued
– At issue was the DEP/OLISP comment regarding the requirement for meaningful
public access on this part of the Black Hall River, an issue the Gateway
Commission supported through a letter written by staff. In a recent hearing, the Old Lyme Planning
Commission referred to a nearby “existing state car-top public access launch with parking spaces off Button Ball Road south of the rail
road tracks” and apparently considered it
adequate public access for the parcel in question, contrary to the
recommendations of Ms. Marcy Balint of DEP/OLISP. After the meeting, Ms. Balint researched the
public access and found that, although there is a nearby 5 acre DEP-owned site,
there is no legal access over the intervening private property located off
Buttonball Road (informal access has apparently been allowed in the past). As such, that location cannot be considered
a “formal” car-top public access launch and therefore can’t be used as
satisfying the requirement for public access.
CT River Land Trust - 501(c)3
Application for Exempt Status –
Form 4506-A, Request for Public Inspection or Copy of Exempt or Political
Organization IRS Form has been submitted to the IRS in order to obtain a
copy of the Gateway Commission’s 1986 application for exempt status as well as
the IRS Letter of Determination which was received in September of 1986. The documents will be added to the Connecticut
River Land Trust files. The Commission
will recall that, when debating the CY sponsorship issue, the question of just
what the application materials stated arose.
Concern was raised regarding whether or not Gateway sponsorship for a CY
negotiation could be inconsistent with the Commission’s activities as stated in
the exemption application.
Staff Variance Review: Essex, 44 Grandview Terrace – Reviewed with Point One architect variance application
for residence reconstruction at a site where a “walk-out” basement will produce
height over 35 feet in an area well back from the river in a treed
neighborhood. Based upon structure orientation (walk-out basement not facing
the river), distance from river and surrounding tree cover, the structure won’t
be seen. Reported as such to ZEO Marian Staye on behalf of the Gateway
Commission.
Variance Referrals/Regulation Proposals/Special
Exception Reviews
None
to report.
Status
of Standards
No update.
Transfer
of Gateway Property – Balleck
DEP received a reply from the AG’s office
on 3/26/09. The AG’s office wants to have one very minor revision made to
the Certificate of Title that DEP had updated last June. The attorney
that did the Certificate will make the change within the next day or so.
Once the Certificate is received, it will go to the AG’s office again to get
their final approval to have the deed executed. It should go relatively
quickly.
Once the AG’s office says the deed can be
executed, it will be forwarded to the Gateway COmmission so Melvin Woody can
sign it and get it notarized, then it can be sent back to the DEP so the
remaining signatures can be acquired. Since it’s a donation, by statute
it needs to be signed by both Governor Rell and Attorney General Richard
Blumenthal before it gets the final approval and signature by Associate
Attorney General William Gundling.
When all of the signatures are acquired,
it’s considered closed and staff of the DEP will go and record the deed in the
East Haddam town hall.