Inland Wetlands 9/18
The NHR ran an article today on last night's meeting:
An attorney for mall operator Westfield Properties said plans by a Newton, Mass., developer before the town's Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission Tuesday for a sprawling retail and residential complex near Interstate 691 "are tremendously premature" and urged that they be withdrawn....The environmental concerns here are real. So in an effort to address those concerns, I hope W/S considers the theory espoused by Cheshire's own Dan Esty in his book Green to Gold. (I just bought it btw. So haven't read it yet, but...) Here's an excerpt from the Amazon review:
Anthony Fazzone, attorney for W/S Development, downplayed (the attorney's) concerns. "We do not believe this application is premature," Fazzone said.
The hearing will continue in two weeks, said Robert DeJongh, chairman of the commission. The commission has until Nov. 7 to decide whether to grant W/S Development the permit. (by Luther Turmelle)
Following the evolution of business attitudes toward environmental concerns, Esty and Winston offer a series of fascinating plays by corporations such as WalMart, GE and Chiquita (Banana), the bad guys who made good, and the good guys-watchdogs and industry associations, mostly-working behind the scenes. A vast number of topics huddle beneath the umbrella of threats to the earth, and many get a thorough analysis here: from global warming to electronic waste "take-back" legislation to subsidizing sustainable seafood. For the responsible business leader, this volume provides plenty of (organic) food for thought. (Reed Business Information)If this project does move forward, I'm a believer that being environmentally friendly (including to the turtles) could really help with the bottom line. Heck... look no further than Whole Foods... they certainly seem to profit from an environmentally-friendly image.
Tim White
9 comments:
"If this project does move forward, I'm a believer that being environmentally friendly (including to the turtles) could really help with the bottom line."
There's a lot more to this than the turtles, but I have to say that if the project moves forward, there's no turtle-friendly mitigation. Wood turtles require too much territory and, as a long-lived reptile, are slow to recover from population loss.
from the ct dep
Wood turtles have extensive landscape-scale habitat requirements, requiring clean rivers and large streams with deeply undercut banks for hibernation, as well as extensive areas of floodplain, forest, and fields for summer foraging. Because of their extensive overland movements, they are very susceptible to road mortality.
We'll probably see a few dead box turtles for several years and maybe a wood turtle or two crushed in the parking lot. That will probably be the end of them on the site. And, what will we have gained? We don't know if there is a net financial benefit and we're already surrounded by shopping centers.
-csh
The local boys, Anthony Fazzone and Milone of Milone and McBroom made their pitch to the Inland Wetland. It lacks the real detail needed for the commission to make any approval. This is a massive project, the likes of which Cheshire has never seen, and the fact that so much of the land will be covered by impervious surfaces, at least 37 acres, it requires exceptionally detailed plans that show the exact sizes of building, their locations accompanied by detailed engineering plans, with backup studies, that show how the runoff will be handled for each part of the complex. This is beyond the commission's ability to thoroughly understand the massive amount of material that is required. It is impossible to review all this in a few 2-3 hour meetings.
Attorney Knuff is right when he says the applicants application lacks the needed detail to be seeking the Inland Wetlands review at this time.
Ten Stop & Shops. Picture that in the NE development. That is huge. The commission doesn't have the time or the expertise to make this call. They need help fast before they can make a wise decision. I hope they will realize this and not act before they have all the facts...
Why does the commission have to act by Nov 7. This is trully ridiculous considering the applicant appears before the commission with totally incomplete plans. I don't think it is possible for the applicant to present complete and detailed plans before Nov 7 and if they could, the commission would not have enough time to review the plans.
The applicant should be asked to withdraw and reapply when they have the required information in the acceptable detail.
This is such a huge development in such an environmentally fragile area.
It would be a good idea for the commission to not accept the application until the third party, that is being hired, reports to the Inland Commission.
It would be a good idea for the town planner to not be involved with any of this as he has demonstrated his full support for the applicants.
Stop you all don't give a damm about turtles, you just don't want this project. None of you complained at Watkins, you all thought that Marta and the rest of them were nuts, now who is the nut.
Hmmmmmmm.
I wonder if these great restaurants will be serving Justin's Wood Turtle soup. I'm sure he has a great recipe.
How is it that our town Democrat council people, who overwhelmingly supported the local deveopers and W/S, never took the time to attend any of the P&Z or Inland Wetland meetings. Looks like they just don't care about what these developers will really do or how much this will cost the taxpayers.
They certainly helped a great deal in destroying our zoning.
The Watkins request is much different than this. They followed the laws and did not write their own like W/S. The Town boards did their jobs and reviewed everything. They are not doing that now that is why more people are questioning their actions.
If it wasn't for Marta Farb the republicans would have built a truck repair center over the north end well fields.
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