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, presented planting plans and said he had installed two mitigation areas: plantings along Torringford Street and native, facultative wetland species around the perimeter of a proposed detention/water-quality basin. Borghese told the commission the basin mitigation area is about 1,890 square feet and described additional perimeter plantings developed with a soil scientist. He characterized the on-site wetlands to be disturbed as low quality and said the mitigation would create higher-quality wetland attributes than currently exist.

Commissioners and staff focused on the parking layout as the largest on-site impact. Commissioners asked whether the applicant had commissioned a professional parking study; Borghese said he had not done a formal third-party parking study and instead calculated needed parking by applying the existing building's parking ratio to the new 36,000-square-foot addition. He said the existing building is roughly 80,000 square feet and estimated the larger, existing parking area has slightly more than 300 spaces. Borghese said he used the current buildingparking ratio plus a small buffer as the engineering basis for the lot size.

Neighbors and a written comment raised environmental and safety concerns. A letter from Laura J. Sanderson submitted on Aug. 26 asked the city to reconsider the project, citing disruption to the community, environmental impacts, and traffic safety; the letter also criticized remarks by a consultant. Two residents who spoke at the hearing said the project would extend into wooded areas behind their homes and expressed opposition. One resident who lives directly across the proposed driveway said headlights and noise were concerns but staff reminded the public that traffic and zoning issues are handled by the Planning and Zoning Department, while this commission must focus on wetland impacts.

Commissioners suggested several mitigation and design options, including shifting more mitigation toward the water-quality basin, adding low-impact development measures in planting islands within the parking layout, and reconfiguring outlets and pipe alignments to preserve additional wetland area. Staff reminded the commission that any new plan submitted after the hearing would require either a written extension request (statutorily up to 65 days in this jurisdiction) to keep the hearing open for revisions or the applicant could resubmit through a new public hearing process.

Borghese said he would not request an extension. The commission accepted a motion to close the public hearing for the meeting; the body did not make a final permit determination and will take up a decision at its next meeting after additional internal review. Commissioners also noted that if Commissioner Steven Thompson chooses to review the previous meeting recording and minutes he may participate in the future deliberation on this application.

The commissionrecord shows substantial discussion rather than a formal approval or denial; the next meeting will include the item on the agenda for a final ruling or further continuance.