The Regular Meeting of the Inland Wetlands Commission on June 25, 2012, immediately followed the Special Joint Meeting with the Barkhamsted Inland-Wetlands Commission; see our July 1 article Protecting West Hill Pond… which includes the video of that Special Joint Meeting.
During its Regular Meeting on the 25th, the Commission members dealt with an After-the-Fact where excavation for a 30-foot x 65-foot pond, drainage improvements, grading, and removal of dead trees had already taken place in a wetlands area without the contractor taking out the required permit. The Commission members stated that the contractor knew that a permit was required for the work but had not obtained one. The property owners in such cases were responsible for the non-compliant work and to remediate the situation.
The Commission members also voted to accept adding to their agenda a request from the First Selectman for the Commission to send a favorable report to the Planning and Zoning Commission regarding the planned expansion of the Antolini School fields. The request had not been delivered in time for it to be included in the meeting’s agenda. The Zoning Officer explained that it was due to her having been out of the Friday before the Monday meeting. Agenda items may be included in an agenda with a minimum 24-hour notice. One of the Commission members objected to the request being added, saying that it happened too frequently that items were added to meeting agendas without the proper public notice. His fellow Commission members voted to accept the addition of the request to their agenda on the basis that the plan did not include any regulated wetlands activities. This being the case, they voted to send a letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission stating that the plan did not include any regulated wetlands activities. Despite the Commission having no official role in the planned expansion of the field area at the town school, one of the Commission members stated that the plan was one of the most stupid things he’d seen. For this comment, he was found out of order by the Chairman.
After taking care of the Commission’s business, the Commission members discussed ways in which they could encourage residents to come before them with applications rather than attempting to skirt the process.
Following is the video of the June 25 Regular Meeting of the Inland Wetlands Commission.
Click on the image to watch the June 25th Inland Wetlands Regular Meeting on the NewHartfordPlus YouTube channel
