Torrington wetlands hearing on Borghese expansion closed for now after debate over parking and mitigation

At the Sept. 9 meeting of the City of Torrington Inland Wetlands Commission, the public hearing on an application by Alan Borghese to expand a building and construct a parking lot at or near 2651/265120 Fourth/Torringford Street remained open in record but was closed for the meeting; commissioners agreed to defer a final decision to the next session. The application proposes a 36,000-square-foot addition and a new parking layout that would involve filling existing wetland area and installing a detention/water-quality basin.

The issue matters because the project would alter wetland soils and hydrology on a site the commission regulates and nearby residents said it would affect adjacent homes. Commissioners pressed the applicant on whether he had explored feasible and prudent alternatives to filling wetlands, particularly whether the parking footprint was larger than necessary.

Applicant Alan Borghese, who identified himself as a registered civil engineer and owner of Borghese Building and Engineering Company,…