After three months of Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission hearings on a permit application for a 48-apartment complex at 37 Hartford Avenue, Vessel RE Holdings, LLC, abruptly withdrew its application just prior to a scheduled Nov. 1 meeting.
By State law, the IWWC must evaluate the potential environmental impact of a proposed development, house or outbuilding to adjacent wetlands or waterways. If it finds that the project would be damaging, it can deny the application. An IWWC permit was required for Vessel to proceed to the Planning and Zoning Commission for building approval.
Vessel’s storm runoff and septic system seepage estimates and the nitrate impact to adjoining wetlands prepared by Professional Engineer Seamus Moran and Soil Scientist James Sipperly were at odds with those projected by Granby’s Town Engineer Kevin Clark on Oct. 11.
In response, Vessel’s attorney, Timothy Hollister, requested the town hire a third-party consultant to review potential “impacts, functions and values of the wetlands resource areas at the base of the slope as it relates to the design of the septic system and potential nitrogen loading.” The commission agreed. Hollister also requested a special meeting for Nov. 1 to maintain the project calendar and no further public comment.
In late October, an agenda and meeting packet for the Nov. 1 meeting, including the consultant’s report, was published on the town website. A few days later a notice on the site stated that the special meeting had been cancelled and the packet was removed.
The packet contained a four-page report from Steven Danzer PhD, a Professional Wetland Scientist and Soil Scientist hired by the town to review all pertinent data for the permit. His report detailed several concerns that focused on nitrate pollution caused by septic system seepage and rainwater runoff, and this wetland’s ability to act as a filter.
He classified the adjacent wetland as a woodland environment with a limited seasonal ability to filter nitrates. Wetland plants mitigate nitrogen when plants are metabolically active, and temperatures range from 80-92 degrees—about half the year. When temperatures drop to 32-40 degrees, the dormant plants do not perform that function. Accumulating nitrates damage the wetland, and can leach into nearby watercourses, in this case, one that flows to Salmon Brook and the Farmington River. His findings and comments were consistent with those published by CT DEEP in 2004, and those presented by Clark and IWWC Agent Kate Bednaz at the Oct.11 meeting.
The packet also contained extensive data submitted by North Granby resident Maureen Eberly confirming that the dwarf wedgemussel, an endangered species, inhabits the federally designated Wild and Scenic River Farmington River. Salmon Brook feeds to the river approximately two miles southeast of the building site. Eberly copied DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes, Senator Murphy, Senator Kissel and Planning and Zoning Chairman Mark Lockwood in her cover letter.
IWWC Chairman David Tolli confirmed that Vessel RE, LLC withdrew its application 24 hours before the Nov. 1 meeting. Community Development Director Abbey Kenyon stated that she received the letter from Atty. Hollister, representing Vessel RE Holdings, withdrawing the application before IWWC. Hollister also wrote that Vessel RE intends to reevaluate its application and may reapply in the future.
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