Dear Ned:
Well, you did it. Congratulations on your election. And my condolences. The easy part of politics — getting elected — is over. Now comes the hard part: being governor.
I hope you and your transition team are already working on that budget that’s due in three months. There’s a lot of red ink ($4 billion) that needs to be mopped up. And don’t forget those $80 billion in unfunded pensions. But I’m sure you’ve got the solutions, right? That’s what you promised voters, anyhow. So have at it.
But as you are cutting and slashing, may I make a few suggestions on the transportation front? Your campaign assured us you’d fix our roads and rails, so I’m sure you have your ideas. But let’s see if these can help.
Keep your commissioner: Jim Redeker has been commissioner of the state Department of Transportation since 2011 and nobody knows better what’s working and what isn’t. He’s clearly the smartest guy in the room and you need his experience and talents. Let’s not lose him to another state.
Fix the trains first: You can’t keep high wage earners (and taxpayers) living in Connecticut if Metro-North continues its downward slide. Getting trains back up to speed and on time is crucial to the state’s economy.
Improve bus service: I hope you realize the CTFastrak bus rapid-transit system is hugely important and not the “waste of money” your opponent claimed. Not everyone in this state owns a car. For the 15 million riders who have used the system since it launched, those buses mean being able to get to their jobs. That is what we want, right — people working?
Ride mass transit: You campaigned at train and bus stations, now why not get on board? Set an example by taking the train from Greenwich to Hartford and riding the bus with your constituents. See the conditions first hand.
Get going with tolls: We both know they’re inevitable, despite your opponents’ “tolls are a tax” lie during the campaign. Let’s stop losing revenue to out-of-staters and truckers and make them pay for driving on our roads. Start with tolling trucks, though I doubt that’s legal.
Honor the lockbox: Voters have spoken loudly. The Special Transportation Fund is now padlocked. Don’t you dare think about picking that lock or letting the Legislature touch those funds for anything but transportation.
Please be honest: You and your opponents glossed over the tough issues in the campaign, making vague, general comments about improving our lives. You got the job, so now don’t give us any BS. Tell us about the hard choices to come. Embrace the FOI act. Be open and transparent— and honest. We’re adults. We can take it.
Don’t abuse the majority: Once again, the Democrats are in full control in Hartford. That’s a lot of power in a few hands and your party’s record on “reaching across the aisle” isn’t great. Our problems can only be solved with bi-partisan cooperation, so please set the best example.
That’s enough for now. Get some rest, maybe even a vacation, and we’ll talk again in the coming months.
Best wishes,
Jim Cameron, the “train guy”
West Haven sells Bayview Park to The Haven developers for $257,500
By Mark Zaretsky
WEST HAVEN — The city has sold the city-owned Bayview Park to the developers seeking to build The Haven luxury outlet mall for $257,500, moving the mall project one step closer to reality, Mayor Nancy Rossi said Friday.But city officials were unable to say when construction might begin on the long-delayed, $200 million, 261,182-square-foot luxury outlet center along the West River, which obtained its final city development approvals over the summer.
A spokesman for the developer did not immediately return a call for comment.
The outlet mall will cover 26 waterfront acres and will feature dozens of luxury retail shops, restaurants, a waterfront promenade and a 200-seat amphitheater. It is expected to generate between 800 and 1,200 jobs and several million dollars in municipal tax revenue and fees
The project, along New Haven Harbor at the mouth of the West River between Elm and Main streets, began back when John Picard was mayor and was first announced just over four years ago by then-Mayor Ed O’Brien.Rossi presented a check to Finance Director Ronald Cicatelli during a brief ceremony in City Council chambers Friday afternoon. State Reps. Michael DiMassa, D-West Haven, and Charles Ferraro, R-West Haven, and city Treasurer Michael Last attended the announcement.
The price the city got is slightly higher than the appraised value, said Rossi. She thanked the developer for agreeing to the terms.She thanked Commissioner of Planning & Development Fred A. Messore and Corporation Counsel Lee Tiernan for their efforts to “keep pushing” and work with the developer to make it happen.
In order to sell the 0.87-acre parcel at Water and Main streets, which the developer needs for the project, the city needed approval from the National Park Service, which had jurisdiction as a result of federal grants used to develop the park.A development agreement between West Haven and The Haven Group reached more than three years ago by the O’Brien administration included the sale of the waterfront park. But the city had to resolve several issues related to the property’s title before the sale could take place.
Before it gave the OK, the federal agency needed assurances that the developer will fund improvements at another city park, city officials said.
“One of my first actions as mayor was to demand that the corporation counsel do what was necessary, as quickly as possible, to complete the sale of this park because The Haven Group told me it was a necessary component for the development of the upscale waterfront shopping experience,” Rossi said.
“The Haven Group has made clear that the sale of the park by the city of West Haven was necessary before any development would take place,” she said.The city will now make improvements to the city-owned park on Contact Drive, off South Street in West Shore, as part of the approval with the federal agency, Rossi said.
That came as bittersweet news to City Councilman Aaron Charney, D-3, in whose district Bayview Park is located.
“It’s great news that this holdup has been solved, but I’m disappointed the Third District is losing a park and the money from this sale is not being used to improve parks in this part of town,” Charney said in an email.
“Third Ave Park, which is the only other park in this district, could desperately use this money,” Charney said. “Morse Park, which is near by, could have used it as well. For $257,500 we could build a splash pad at Morse.”Rossi and Tiernan, who negotiated along with Messore to have the federal restrictions lifted, said the city was limited in what it could do to satisfy the park service.
“Our park space has to serve a need and there’s a greater need in other parts of the city,” especially considering that there are fewer children in the neighborhood around The Haven as a result of the homes that the developer acquired to assemble the site.But “the concept that’s approved provides for unlimited access to the water” from what essentially will be “a park-like space” that will be much larger than the current Bayview Park, said Tiernan.
According to Messore, the project still needs approval from the Office of the State Traffic Administration, or OSTA, for improvements to Elm Street, which is a state highway, before it go forward The developer currenly has an application pending, which has passed the first step, gaining state Department of Transportation Approval for the traffic volumes it estimates the project would generate, Messore said.
DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick confirmed that information and said the developer’s representatives came in for a “Step 2” meeting two weeks ago and got comments on a preliminary mitigation plan, but still had to submit a formal mitigation plan that the OSTA must consider.That plan arrived on Friday, Nursick said.
Once a formal mitigation is submitted, “there probably would be approval within 60 days,” he said.
The Haven Group received site plan approval from the city Planning and Zoning Commission in July.
Two months later, the state Bond Commission approved $5 million for the reconstruction of Elm Street — the future entrance of the center.
The National Park Service granted the city relief from its Urban Park and Recreation Recovery grant obligations regarding Bayview Park in August.
The Park Service’s approval process required the city to prepare and file an application package earlier this year with its Philadelphia office. It also required compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and approvals from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Haven Group recently agreed to reimburse West Haven for the cost of city attorney fees for the project as part of the negotiated sale, Rossi said.
After a comprehensive review, Bayview Park was found not to have any significant historic value. Only a half-acre of the parcel is land that can be developed, city officials said.State and federal funds for the site included a $200,000 environmental cleanup in 2007, a $2 million bulkhead reconstruction in 2012 and a $2 million brownfield cleanup in 2016, as well as the recent state bond money. In addition, a real estate property tax abatement agreement was negotiated in 2015.
“All of our state delegation, the governor, the federal delegation and other public partners have been helpful and essential, and we are grateful,” Rossi said. “For its part, the developer has spent in excess of $32 million on the project since it was first pitched to then-Mayor John M. Picard in 2012 by Sheldon M. Gordon, who is now deceased.”
The Haven had been in the property acquisition stage for four years as the developers negotiated with 57 property owners. The developers submitted the application for site plan approval to the city in May, nearly four years after first announcing plans to build it.
Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group has joined The Haven Group as a partner in the project. The change was announced several months after the death of The Haven partner Sheldon Gordon in late September 2017.
Simon, owner of the Clinton Crossing outlets in Clinton and the Crystal Mall in Waterford, is one of the largest shopping center developers in the world.
The Haven Group, originally a partnership led by Ty Miller, the Dallas-based president of the Haven Group LLC, and Gordon, is affiliated with the family that owns Highland Park Village in Dallas.
Berlin council to discuss, vote on Kensington Dam repairs
Charles Paullin
BERLIN - The Town Council will be voting Tuesday on a contract with D’Amato Construction, of Bristol, for repairs to Kensington Dam for an amount not to exceed $1.7 million, but will wait to discuss John O’Brien’s appointment as a constable.
The state-mandated dam repairs were ordered after an inspection in 2017 found deficiencies. Estimates obtained put the cost of repairs at no more than $1.3 million. Removal of the dam came in at about $100,000 less.
Because of the dam’s historical significance to the town, as well as the potential $10,000 decrease in values of homes near the dam, the council decided to make the repairs, Mayor Mark Kaczynski said Friday.
Residents living near the dam, as well as the Berlin Historical Society, also expressed interest in not removing the dam, Kaczynksi added.
If the dam were to be removed, soil around it might need to be removed, too, according to previous council meeting minutes.
At a March 2017 meeting, at which the project was discussed, Town Manager Jack Healy said repairs would take about a year. The last repairs were 35 years ago, he added.
Bonding for the project is accounted for in the current year’s budget, according to Board of Finance Chairman Sam Lomaglio.
O’Brien’s appointment as a constable will likely be discussed at the following council meeting, later this month, Kaczynski said. Kaczynski said he would like to discuss with Corporation Counsel Jeff Donofrio what is allowed and not allowed under the Town Charter.
The council was going to discuss with O’Brien confusion over his statement at a recent Board of Finance meeting that he was going to resign.
O’Brien said he meant he wasn’t going to continue as a constable when his term was up in December and that he had not officially resigned through the Town Clerk’s office. He added that he’s reviewed Section 3-11 of the Town Charter on removal of a board or commission member, and he doesn’t meet the criteria for removal: missing three consecutive meetings, missing 30 percent or more of meetings, or finding of just cause after a hearing occurs.
O’Brien has said the issue is a “political hit job” by the mayor for his support of Joe Aresimowicz, a Democrat, for state representative. Kaczynski, a Republican, has denied that allegation.
Tuesday’s council meeting is set for 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at Town Hall.
Amid brick-and-mortar shakeup, Greater Hartford's retail vacancy rate shrinks
Sean Teehan
The times, they are a-shiftin' — in central Connecticut's retail real estate scene, at least.
A new study shows Greater Hartford's retail vacancy rate fell 4.5 percent over the past year to 10.6 percent.
It's a surprising number given recent news of major retail chains like Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Sears and Lowe's closing stores, and other brick-and-mortar retailers reportedly struggling to keep pace with online competitors.
But traditional brick-and-mortar retail isn't dead yet. In fact, department and sporting-goods stores added the most space over the past year and several major retailers — Burlington, Saks Off Fifth, Cost Plus World Market and At Home — have opened new storefronts.
However, shifting dynamics are impacting the market, including an increasing number of developers converting retail properties into mixed-use and residential space, and medical and health-focused businesses moving into storefronts traditionally occupied by retailers. And, of course, internet sales' increasing role will continue to put pressure on the industry.
"It was a relatively good year compared to recent history for Greater Hartford," said Robert F. Sheehan, research vice president of Massachusetts-based KeyPoint Partners Inc., which authored the study. "Developers held the line on new construction while a significant number of vacancies were replaced by growth-oriented retailers or by non-retail conversions. This was enough to lower the vacancy rate in the region, despite contending with the Toys R Us liquidation and a Sam's Club closing."
The amount of unoccupied retail space in Greater Hartford shrunk by 211,000 square feet over the past year, the report found.
Total retail space in the 26 towns and cities surveyed contracted by almost 50,000 square feet. That's a nominal decrease, but it's mostly attributable to retail spaces being converted to non-retail uses. One example is the former Showcase Cinema in East Windsor — more than 59,000 square feet of space — being razed in anticipation of a proposed casino there.
Meantime, the 10.6 percent vacancy rate is considered a significant drop from 2017's 11.1 percent vacancy rate, Sheehan said.
Happy holidays
Michael Gallon, managing broker at Newington-based Reno Properties Group LLC, is a firm believer that traditional brick-and-mortar retail still has a future, even if it's not as robust as it once was.
In fact, he's bullish about the upcoming holiday shopping season — retail's make or break period — and thinks many stores will enjoy healthy revenues as 2018 comes to a close.
Consumer confidence heading into Black Friday remains high, and shoppers are expected to spend 4.1 percent more on average this year compared to last, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.
"At the end of the day, my gut feeling is that brick-and-mortar retail is going to have a spectacular holiday season," Gallon said. "I still believe people want to go out and have the brick-and-mortar experience. I think there will always be a place for it."
However, Gallon has also witnessed some retail areas that have struggled with inactivity.
Demand and development, for example, has been slow along the Berlin Turnpike, a 12-mile corridor connecting Berlin, Meriden, Newington and Wethersfield, Gallon said. Big name national brands have mostly eschewed the area, save ongoing construction of a 7-Eleven in Wethersfield — Gallon thinks that's likely a competitive measure against a nearby Cumberland Farms.
"(As far as) traditional retail, I don't see any national brands or even regional or local retail as it relates to beautiful available spaces that sit empty on the Berlin Turnpike," Gallon said.
Increasingly, Gallon is also seeing health-related businesses (think walk-in clinics, medical labs and fitness centers) set up shop in places formerly occupied by conventional retailers.
As a category, health and fitness businesses added 22,000 square feet over the last year, third most behind department and sporting-good stores, the KeyPoint report found.
Club Fitness led the way, adding 34,000 square feet of space.
Meantime, GoHealth Urgent Care opened its ninth and 10th locations in West Hartford and Windsor, respectively, this year.
"Medical uses — minute clinics, dental offices, dental chains — are growing across the country, and looking toward retail shopping centers as a very viable place to locate," Sheehan said.
It makes sense for landlords to rent to medical businesses, Gallon said. They're usually credit-worthy, willing to sign long-term leases and bring patients to strip malls.
Hobby and toy stores, unsurprisingly, shed the most space over the past year (112,000 square feet), largely a result of the Toys R Us/Babies R Us liquidation.
Drug stores also shed space — Rite Aid closed 10 locations leaving vacant 101,700 square feet; Walgreens, however, absorbed some of that loss by adding seven stores and 74,900 square feet.
Tenant's market
When it comes to renting retail space, it's a tenant's market, said Mark D'Addabbo, a retail space broker and co-founder of New England Retail Properties Inc. in Wethersfield. Rents can be upwards of $30 per square foot in upscale developments like West Hartford's Blue Back Square, but can dip lower than $10 per square foot for an old square box building.
"I would say as a landlord you have to be competitive," D'Addabbo said. "For the most part, the tenants still have the upper hand."
But when it comes to development of retail space, D'Addabbo doesn't see much of an increase in central Connecticut's future. Most of the prime spots for retail are developed, and many of the national retail brands that might build in the area already have a footprint here.
"The retail areas are fairly well developed in this market area, so there's a lack of opportunity for a new development," D'Addabbo said.
Meantime, compared to other spots in the region, downtown Hartford's a different animal, Gallon said. It's one of the few places developers are looking to bring retail — especially in spaces occupied by parking lots near Dunkin' Donuts Park, where the planned $220 million Downtown North mixed-use development is expected to occur.
Aaron Goldenthal, vice president of Camera Bar, which has operated out of the same Asylum Street storefront for 62 years, said the influx of people who have come downtown as a result of new residential development could help reestablish the area as a good place for businesses to move into.
Goldenthal admits, about 30 years ago — before he started officially working for the family business — retail was much stronger in the downtown area. Currently, 13 percent of the city's 2.9 million square feet of retail space is vacant, down from 15.2 percent a year earlier, according to KeyPoint Partners. But he's hopeful about the future.
"I think there are a lot of (businesses) that understand the value of moving to downtown Hartford," said Goldenthal, who is also a member of business advocacy group Business for Downtown Hartford. "I think retail would be nice to bring back."
Glastonbury town council to hold hearing on changes to excavation regulations
The town’s zoning regulations concerning excavation projects haven’t been changed since 1989. On Tuesday, the town council will hold a public hearing on the first tweaks made to the regulations in almost three decades.
“The town plan and zoning commission identified a number of areas where the regulations should be tightened up and adjusted to current times,” Town Manager Richard J. Johnson said.
The new regulations address the potential of traffic issues by noting the excavation operations “shall be arranged and aligned to minimize traffic dangers and nuisance to surrounding property and the general public.” The commission will also require a landscaping plan for the area 50-100 feet away from the property line. The original regulation called a plan for only up to 50 feet away.
The new regulations will require access roads be a minimum of 50 feet in length and properly screened and landscaped. The roads should also be designed to “minimize traffic dangers and nuisance to the surrounding properties.”
Town Council Chairman Thomas P. Gullotta said he hopes the residents who went to those meetings last spring come Tuesday. The hearing will begin at 8 p.m. in town council chambers of town hall.
Because of the dam’s historical significance to the town, as well as the potential $10,000 decrease in values of homes near the dam, the council decided to make the repairs, Mayor Mark Kaczynski said Friday.
Residents living near the dam, as well as the Berlin Historical Society, also expressed interest in not removing the dam, Kaczynksi added.
If the dam were to be removed, soil around it might need to be removed, too, according to previous council meeting minutes.
At a March 2017 meeting, at which the project was discussed, Town Manager Jack Healy said repairs would take about a year. The last repairs were 35 years ago, he added.
Bonding for the project is accounted for in the current year’s budget, according to Board of Finance Chairman Sam Lomaglio.
O’Brien’s appointment as a constable will likely be discussed at the following council meeting, later this month, Kaczynski said. Kaczynski said he would like to discuss with Corporation Counsel Jeff Donofrio what is allowed and not allowed under the Town Charter.
The council was going to discuss with O’Brien confusion over his statement at a recent Board of Finance meeting that he was going to resign.
O’Brien said he meant he wasn’t going to continue as a constable when his term was up in December and that he had not officially resigned through the Town Clerk’s office. He added that he’s reviewed Section 3-11 of the Town Charter on removal of a board or commission member, and he doesn’t meet the criteria for removal: missing three consecutive meetings, missing 30 percent or more of meetings, or finding of just cause after a hearing occurs.
O’Brien has said the issue is a “political hit job” by the mayor for his support of Joe Aresimowicz, a Democrat, for state representative. Kaczynski, a Republican, has denied that allegation.
Tuesday’s council meeting is set for 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at Town Hall.
Amid brick-and-mortar shakeup, Greater Hartford's retail vacancy rate shrinks
Sean Teehan
The times, they are a-shiftin' — in central Connecticut's retail real estate scene, at least.
A new study shows Greater Hartford's retail vacancy rate fell 4.5 percent over the past year to 10.6 percent.
It's a surprising number given recent news of major retail chains like Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Sears and Lowe's closing stores, and other brick-and-mortar retailers reportedly struggling to keep pace with online competitors.
But traditional brick-and-mortar retail isn't dead yet. In fact, department and sporting-goods stores added the most space over the past year and several major retailers — Burlington, Saks Off Fifth, Cost Plus World Market and At Home — have opened new storefronts.
However, shifting dynamics are impacting the market, including an increasing number of developers converting retail properties into mixed-use and residential space, and medical and health-focused businesses moving into storefronts traditionally occupied by retailers. And, of course, internet sales' increasing role will continue to put pressure on the industry.
"It was a relatively good year compared to recent history for Greater Hartford," said Robert F. Sheehan, research vice president of Massachusetts-based KeyPoint Partners Inc., which authored the study. "Developers held the line on new construction while a significant number of vacancies were replaced by growth-oriented retailers or by non-retail conversions. This was enough to lower the vacancy rate in the region, despite contending with the Toys R Us liquidation and a Sam's Club closing."
The amount of unoccupied retail space in Greater Hartford shrunk by 211,000 square feet over the past year, the report found.
Total retail space in the 26 towns and cities surveyed contracted by almost 50,000 square feet. That's a nominal decrease, but it's mostly attributable to retail spaces being converted to non-retail uses. One example is the former Showcase Cinema in East Windsor — more than 59,000 square feet of space — being razed in anticipation of a proposed casino there.
Meantime, the 10.6 percent vacancy rate is considered a significant drop from 2017's 11.1 percent vacancy rate, Sheehan said.
Happy holidays
Michael Gallon, managing broker at Newington-based Reno Properties Group LLC, is a firm believer that traditional brick-and-mortar retail still has a future, even if it's not as robust as it once was.
In fact, he's bullish about the upcoming holiday shopping season — retail's make or break period — and thinks many stores will enjoy healthy revenues as 2018 comes to a close.
Consumer confidence heading into Black Friday remains high, and shoppers are expected to spend 4.1 percent more on average this year compared to last, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.
"At the end of the day, my gut feeling is that brick-and-mortar retail is going to have a spectacular holiday season," Gallon said. "I still believe people want to go out and have the brick-and-mortar experience. I think there will always be a place for it."
However, Gallon has also witnessed some retail areas that have struggled with inactivity.
Demand and development, for example, has been slow along the Berlin Turnpike, a 12-mile corridor connecting Berlin, Meriden, Newington and Wethersfield, Gallon said. Big name national brands have mostly eschewed the area, save ongoing construction of a 7-Eleven in Wethersfield — Gallon thinks that's likely a competitive measure against a nearby Cumberland Farms.
"(As far as) traditional retail, I don't see any national brands or even regional or local retail as it relates to beautiful available spaces that sit empty on the Berlin Turnpike," Gallon said.
Increasingly, Gallon is also seeing health-related businesses (think walk-in clinics, medical labs and fitness centers) set up shop in places formerly occupied by conventional retailers.
As a category, health and fitness businesses added 22,000 square feet over the last year, third most behind department and sporting-good stores, the KeyPoint report found.
Club Fitness led the way, adding 34,000 square feet of space.
Meantime, GoHealth Urgent Care opened its ninth and 10th locations in West Hartford and Windsor, respectively, this year.
"Medical uses — minute clinics, dental offices, dental chains — are growing across the country, and looking toward retail shopping centers as a very viable place to locate," Sheehan said.
It makes sense for landlords to rent to medical businesses, Gallon said. They're usually credit-worthy, willing to sign long-term leases and bring patients to strip malls.
Hobby and toy stores, unsurprisingly, shed the most space over the past year (112,000 square feet), largely a result of the Toys R Us/Babies R Us liquidation.
Drug stores also shed space — Rite Aid closed 10 locations leaving vacant 101,700 square feet; Walgreens, however, absorbed some of that loss by adding seven stores and 74,900 square feet.
Tenant's market
When it comes to renting retail space, it's a tenant's market, said Mark D'Addabbo, a retail space broker and co-founder of New England Retail Properties Inc. in Wethersfield. Rents can be upwards of $30 per square foot in upscale developments like West Hartford's Blue Back Square, but can dip lower than $10 per square foot for an old square box building.
"I would say as a landlord you have to be competitive," D'Addabbo said. "For the most part, the tenants still have the upper hand."
But when it comes to development of retail space, D'Addabbo doesn't see much of an increase in central Connecticut's future. Most of the prime spots for retail are developed, and many of the national retail brands that might build in the area already have a footprint here.
"The retail areas are fairly well developed in this market area, so there's a lack of opportunity for a new development," D'Addabbo said.
Meantime, compared to other spots in the region, downtown Hartford's a different animal, Gallon said. It's one of the few places developers are looking to bring retail — especially in spaces occupied by parking lots near Dunkin' Donuts Park, where the planned $220 million Downtown North mixed-use development is expected to occur.
Aaron Goldenthal, vice president of Camera Bar, which has operated out of the same Asylum Street storefront for 62 years, said the influx of people who have come downtown as a result of new residential development could help reestablish the area as a good place for businesses to move into.
Goldenthal admits, about 30 years ago — before he started officially working for the family business — retail was much stronger in the downtown area. Currently, 13 percent of the city's 2.9 million square feet of retail space is vacant, down from 15.2 percent a year earlier, according to KeyPoint Partners. But he's hopeful about the future.
"I think there are a lot of (businesses) that understand the value of moving to downtown Hartford," said Goldenthal, who is also a member of business advocacy group Business for Downtown Hartford. "I think retail would be nice to bring back."
Glastonbury town council to hold hearing on changes to excavation regulations
The town’s zoning regulations concerning excavation projects haven’t been changed since 1989. On Tuesday, the town council will hold a public hearing on the first tweaks made to the regulations in almost three decades.
“The town plan and zoning commission identified a number of areas where the regulations should be tightened up and adjusted to current times,” Town Manager Richard J. Johnson said.
Those areas included access roads, landscaping plans and permitted areas of operations.
Last spring, the commission rejected William Dufford’s plan to remove 110,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel from a South Glastonbury farm. The plan called for using thousands of trucks traveling through neighborhoods and along narrow back roads. Dozens of residents along Dug Road and Duffords Landing opposed the project, saying they were concerned about the potential danger of the truck traffic and the dust and noise from vehicles that would make as many as 12,000 trips to extract the material. Since the rejection of the plan, the commission has been working on its regulationsThe new regulations address the potential of traffic issues by noting the excavation operations “shall be arranged and aligned to minimize traffic dangers and nuisance to surrounding property and the general public.” The commission will also require a landscaping plan for the area 50-100 feet away from the property line. The original regulation called a plan for only up to 50 feet away.
The new regulations will require access roads be a minimum of 50 feet in length and properly screened and landscaped. The roads should also be designed to “minimize traffic dangers and nuisance to the surrounding properties.”
Town Council Chairman Thomas P. Gullotta said he hopes the residents who went to those meetings last spring come Tuesday. The hearing will begin at 8 p.m. in town council chambers of town hall.
“I hope the individuals in South Glastonbury who were affected the last time would take the time and concern to look over this as would anyone else near a future potential excavation site,” he said. “I want to make sure everybody gets their opportunity to observe, comment and critique this.”