Commission accepts application for single-family home at 811 Torringford Street with engineering questions to be resolved

At the Sept. 9 meeting, the City of Torrington Inland Wetlands Commission accepted an application from Maria (Maria Perugini / Mike Perugini on record) for single-family construction at 811 Torringford Street (Assessor map 144, Block 002, Lot 002) that includes a wetland watercourse crossing. The commission accepted the application without holding a new public hearing and recorded the item as no significant activity, subject to the applicants engineer answering remaining questions from the city engineer.

Staff explained the project is a re-submittal of prior approvals: work first began under a permit originally issued in 2005 (foundations and road roughed in), the project was later halted after documented erosion and a stop-work order, and the clock on the prior application subsequently ran out. The current submission includes revised plans and an engineer's letter addressing city engineering comments.

City staff and the commission highlighted a technical question from the city engineer about concrete reinforcement pads proposed over an existing culvert system at the crossing. The city engineer sought clarification whether the proposed top pad would address vehicle loads only or whether the culvert needed additional structural or lateral support because of water flow dynamics. The applicant's structural consultants indicated the culvert could be reused, work would repair exposed rebar and patch with specified concrete repair products, and they did not expect flow through the culvert to be problematic; however the commission asked that the applicants engineer provide a direct response to the remaining city-engineer comments prior to final action.

The commission moved, seconded and approved acceptance of the application as "no significant activity" with the explicit condition that the applicant's engineer answer the city engineer's questions on the crossing stability and erosion protection. Staff noted that, because much of the crossing and roadbed already exists, the most likely next step before permit issuance is technical exchange between the applicant's engineer and city engineering to confirm the proposed reinforcement and erosion-control details.

Commissioners and staff also noted there are three existing, similar crossings nearby and that this accepted application continues a prior pattern of site work; staff recommended conditioning the permit on the structural details being satisfactorily resolved.