CONNECTICUT RIVER GATEWAY COMMISSION

 

REGULAR MEETING MINUTES

 

June 26, 2008

 

Present/Absent:

Chester:                    Margaret Wilson, Martha Wallace

Deep River:             Amy Petrone, Nancy Fishbach

East Haddam:         Logan Clarke, Robert Boulware

Essex:                       Ed Marlowe, Fred Vollono

Fenwick:                  Chuck Chadwick

Haddam:                   Scott Thompson, Susan Bement

Lyme:                      Kevin Mazer, J. Melvin Woody

Old Lyme:                 Rudy Besier, Ted Crosby

Old Saybrook:         Madge Fish, David Lemay

CRERPA:                  Steve Williams

Midstate RPA:        Raoul  De Brigard, Stacia DeMichele

DEP:                          David Blatt

Staff:                          J.H. Torrance Downes

Tidewater:              Judy Preston

 

Call to Order

            Chairman Fred Vollono called the regular meeting of the Gateway Commission to order at 7:34 pm in the CRERPA meeting room. 

 

Approval of Minutes

Nancy Fischbach moved to accept the minutes from May 22, 2008.  David Blatt seconded with a change to page 2, line 5 to add “some of” after “moved.”  All were in favor of minutes as amended.

 

Guests

            Charlie Vanover made a presentation regarding erecting a wind turbine as a shared project with his neighbor, Art Schaller, in the Gateway area of Chester.  There are currently no zoning regulations regarding wind turbines in the town so the two residents are asking the Gateway Commission to establish some parameters for their use along the river.  After considerable discussion, the Commission asked for specific numbers on the proposed base elevation, total height of the turbine, distance turbine must be from trees, a visual simulation from the river surface and Gillette Castle, as well as noise levels at a variety of wind conditions.  Nancy Fischbach pointed out that the Commission needs to make a philosophical decision on wind turbines and then address the merits of this particular situation once more information is provided.  Torrance explained the relationship among the towns’ zoning commissions, boards of appeal and the Gateway Regulations.  Mr. Vanover will provide the information requested and encouraged the Commission to proceed with their philosophical discussion and self-education process in a timely manner.  The Commission will begin an email discussion of the topic and solicit input from Gateway towns’ land use commissions based on information that Torrance will gather.

 

            Attorney Dave Royston presented a plan for a property in Old Lyme regarding the measurement of height from existing grade.  Atty. Royston pointed out the topography of the site including placement of the existing barn, gazebo and house.  The applicant would like to determine if he will be able to use the property according to his desires within a contingency period of sale.  There was a previous proposal to subdivide the property into 8 lots and substantial tree cutting has occurred in the past.  This applicant plans to demolish the existing house, leaving its site in a natural state; remove the existing garage and replace it with a principal dwelling as well as replace the existing residentially used barn with a garage/guest house; an existing cottage on an adjacent and separate lot will be replaced with a modest single family dwelling.  Though the proposed house will be smaller than the existing one, it will still be over 4000 square feet and will require a special permit and in all likelihood, the Gateway Commission will be consulted for input.  One dilemma is determining the existing natural grade according to the Gateway Regulations, which measures from the ground under the existing old walls.  At the very southerly point of the plan, the natural grade falls off significantly to produce an approximate 38 foot total structure height, three feet in excess of the 35 foot maximum allowable height.  The regulations do permit a different measurement of the grade if it is determined that such measurement is consistent with the standards.  This plan proposes to fill back to the wall so that what is visible from the river will not appear to exceed 35 feet.  The first floor elevation of the house would be the same as the first floor of the existing barn.  Construction of a house on the flat area of the site would result in a higher visibility from the river than this location.  Frontage view along the river would be less than the current configuration as a result of a slight topographic rise between the proposed house location and the river and the fact that the new structure is intended to be one-story.  Melvin Woody made a motion not to object to the plan if it is applied for as proposed.  Peggy Wilson seconded.  All were in favor.  Attorney Royston indicated that he will provide copies of the drawings presented at the meeting for Gateway Commission files.

               

Staff Report & Correspondence

·         A letter of support on behalf of the Gateway Commission was sent regarding buying the Otfinosky property for open space.

·         Received a letter from Pat Hartman regarding the transfer station speculation in Haddam officially requesting Gateway support against siting the station on that property.

·         Torrance participated in the Resource Conservation and Development annual meeting River trip, representing the Gateway Commission.

·         Distributed article on wind turbines from Peggy Wilson.

 

Raul reiterated a request for a tour of CT Yankee.  All agreed. Torrance will contact Elaine Richardson of Vita Nuova to coordinate a time and date.         

 

Treasurer’s Report

            Peggy Wilson handed out investment performance graphs from Merrill Lynch for the managed and total investment funds since 2002.

Nancy Fischbach moved to pay the month’s bills for $790 to CRERPA, $325 for Land Trust Alliance dues and $1120.00 to Tidewater.  Susan Bement seconded.  All were in favor.

            Raul brought up the possibility of the Commission getting reinvolved in the purchase of open space.  Judy Preston noted that the Groudtruthing maps could help identify priority parcels.  Melvin Woody wondered if the Commission should be more active in property solicitation and/or communications with specific property owners.

           

Referrals

There were no variance referrals, nor special exception reviews to report this month.

 

Tidewater

·         Judy Preston will start providing a monthly report to file with the minutes. 

·         She presented a map of the watercourses that might conceivably benefit from riparian buffer regulations. 

·         Judy is visiting the state library to view the original transcripts involved in the creation of the Gateway Commission.

·         The cost of a River Quest trip has gone up to $25/person with a 58 person capacity.  Nancy Fischbach moved to spend no more than $1000 for a Commission cruise.  Melvin Woody seconded.  All were in favor.  Judy will organize a date and invite each town’s zeo and land trust representative to participate.

 

Adoption Status of 2004 Standards

No update.

 

Status of Gateway Owned Properties

            Torrance reported on an email exchange concerning the Balleck property. 

 

New Business

·         Amy Petrone suggested that Judy be moved forward on the agenda when there are other time consuming discussions involved.

·         Rudy Bessier’s term is up next month and he will not seek reappointment.  He has served on the Gateway Commission for nearly 35 years and has not seen a group more pro-active than the current Commission in that time.  Nancy Fischbach moved to include Rudi on the river trip even if it is after his term expires.  All were in favor.  

 

Adjournment

There being no further business, Nancy Fischbach moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:12 pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Dorothy Papp

 

The next meeting of the Gateway Commission is Thursday, July 24, 2008.  

There are FIVE Thursdays in July; the Gateway meeting is on the 4th Thursday!

 

 

Gateway Items of Interest

June 26, 2008

 

FOR AGENDA:

Guests:         

(1)  Charlie Vanover and Art Schaller;  Preliminary Discussion RE: Wind Turbine at 49 – 51 Ferry Road, Chester.

(2)  David Royston, on behalf of a Mr. Hack, riverfront property owner, Old Lyme – Preliminary Discussion regarding riverfront development proposal (no details presented to staff).

 

 

Staff Report/Correspondence/Updates

Connecticut Yankee, Expression of Interest – the final Expression of Interest document, forwarded to Commission members on Friday, June 13, 2008, was confirmed received by Vita Nuova on behalf of Connecticut Yankee.  On Monday, June 16th, in a telephone conversation, Elaine Richardson reported that she’ll be in touch regarding the next step.  It could be “days, weeks or months” depending upon what CY decides.  As for a tour, although CY representatives will be at the site on a less frequent basis, a site tour can still be conducted with schedule coordination.

 

Purchase of Otfinoski by Town of Chester – a Letter of Support from the Gateway Commission for the purchase of the 4.6 acre David and Marie Otfinoski property, coordinated by Trust for Public Land, was written by staff and submitted to DEP-Land Acquisition on Monday, June 16th, 2008 (copy attached).  A similar letter was prepared by staff of the RPA and submitted last week.  The Letter of Support indicated that purchase for open space was seen as consistent with the Gateway’s mission of preserving the “natural and traditional riverway scene”.  The letter further indicated that the Commission would “greatly appreciate” being consulted on plans for improvement of the property, especially with respect to the consideration of vegetation, both trees and riparian buffer.  Copies can be electronically provided upon request.

 

Haddam Transfer Station – Letter of Concern

Resident Pat Hartmann has written a letter (6/18/08) “officially” requesting the Gateway Commission’s support in fighting the siting of Haddam’s Transfer Station at a sand pit location in their neighborhood.  Pat, in an email, was informed that there is no application before the Gateway Commission at this time.  She was informed that if a Special Permit application were to be required (its assumed that Haddam is not exempt from their own regulations) and variances were required, only then would the Gateway Commission be officially involved. If the application met the zoning regulations, she was informed, then the application is presumed to meet the standards of the Gateway Commission. From an environmental standpoint, she was told that the DEP is likely the lead agency on that front.

 

RC&D Annual Meeting River Tour, Monday June 23, 2008

Staff of the Gateway Commission rode along with approximately 30 RC&D members and supporters for a several hour tour from Essex to Gillette’s Castle and back.  As a speaker, Gateway staff pointed out examples of development that was inconsistent with the Gateway’s mission to protect the “natural and traditional riverway scene”.  Spoke of tree-clearing (Deep River examples), platforming sites (Deep River example), height, the use of muted colors (Essex), pointing out examples of consistent and inconsistent development.  Pointed out lawns extending to the riverfront as well as vegetated riverfronts and spoke of the ecological importance of maintaining vegetated buffers.  Spoke of the new standards and the statutory authorities of the Gateway Commission and the upcoming discussion of wind turbines in the lower river and the challenges that may create in terms of supporting alternative energy while preserving the traditional look of the Gateway Conservation Zone.  Saw a perched bald eagle!  Handed out materials including brochures and mission booklet. Left what wasn’t taken on the boat for River Quest people to hand out to future riders.

 

 Variance Referrals  

None.

 

Reports on Staff Reviews of Special Permit Applications

None.

 

Status of 2004 Gateway Standards

No update.

 

Status of Dock Standards Effort in Old Lyme

Scheduling meeting to review the comments/revisions of portions of the draft Addendum that impact the DEP Permitting Section’s authority.  The meeting will hopefully occur prior to the OLHMC’s July 8th monthly meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


                                                                                   

 

 

T I D E W A T E R    I N S T I T U T E

 

Update of progress on CT River Riparian Regulations Project

6/26/08

 

 

Informational interviews to seek input/feedback from academic, municipal stakeholders (M. Guiliano – state representative; C. Costa – OS enforcement officer; R. Fish – chair OS Cons Cmsn.; L. Kane, Env. Planner; A. Irving – Eight-Mile River/EECOS; C. Johnson – CT Fund Env.

 

Outreach: Updates to Environmental Exchange, Rivers Alliance Watershed Network workshop

 

Scheduled meetings stakeholders: (G. Dreyer – CT College arboretum; B. Askins CT College zoology department; W. Smith (retired NRCS); J. Spallone – state representative

 

Draft Map: Regional GIS analysis to quantify project area.  Identify town, names of watercourses, basin, number and percent of watershed contained within Gateway Conservation zone, stream order.  Overlay EPA riparian study to identify existing and potential riparian conditions.  This map will allow us to understand what the regulation will be affecting on the ground and where the greatest need is.  Additional fieldwork will provide more specific existing conditions and photographs for outreach purposes.

 

Educational materials: fact sheets contracted through the Rockfall Foundation are being drafted using former EPA riparian report data to identify regional hotspots along the river.