Cheshire commission approves Elm Park Place maintenance barn with environmental and safety conditions

The Cheshire Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously July 28 to approve a special permit and site-plan for a 60-by-100-foot maintenance barn at Elm Park Place, a continuing-care community at 140 Cook Hill Road. The commission’s approval includes conditions requiring a preconstruction meeting with town staff, installation of a fire-department knock box, and written, staff-approved sign-off for minor changes to landscaping, grading, utilities, or lighting.

The decision matters because the structure will relocate Elm Park Place’s existing maintenance operations closer to the Mill River and change stormwater, fueling and waste-handling patterns on a property that the commission and residents said is visible from neighboring homes. Commissioners pressed the applicant on runoff, spill prevention for an above-ground fueling pad, septic vs. sewer connections, lighting and nighttime visibility, and neighborhood screening.

Henry Thomas, a landscape architect and principal with LRC Group, described the proposal and site layout at the public hearing. He said the new barn is proposed on two parcels at the eastern end of the Elm Park Place property and will replace an older maintenance area near the pond so that the pond-side area can become a future amenity for residents. Thomas said the building would be “a 60 by 100 with 5 door bays,” include an apron of pavement, and provide eight additional parking spaces plus room for two vans and two shuttle buses. He said the fueling pad would use double-walled, above-ground tanks with secondary containment and that stormwater would be treated by a vegetated swale, a pretreatment forebay, and an infiltration/detention basin designed to infiltrate well in the local soils.

Brian Bedard, chief executive officer of Elm Park Place, said relocation responds in part to resident requests to remove an older, visible maintenance shed. “We’re gonna move it, relocate it, partially based on resident interest,” Bedard said, and said the old area could later become a park with amenities such as a pavilion or pickleball court.

Commissioners repeatedly questioned stormwater and fueling design. One commissioner noted the pad—and any overflow from it—would eventually discharge toward the Mill River and asked whether the fueling area could be sited to direct flow toward the street instead of the river. Thomas said the site generally drains west to east and that the proposed design includes a metered outlet from the infiltration basin so overflow would be released slowly; he also described a proposed forebay to “let everything settle out before it gets into the infiltration.” Thomas and other speakers said the project had been reviewed and approved by the town Wetlands Commission for wetland setbacks and delineation.

On fueling safeguards, commissioners asked about tank size, containment and spill scenarios. Thomas said tanks would be above ground and double-walled, the fueling pad would include containment grooves in the concrete apron (designed to capture small spills during vehicle refueling), and the applicant would provide a tertiary curved containment pad around the tanks at the request of town reviewers. Commissioners pressed for an on-site spill-management plan; a representative for Elm Park said the applicant would prepare one and that staff training and a response plan would be part of site controls.

Other points in the discussion included utilities and septic: the applicant said the property has sanitary sewer service at the main complex but not at the eastern end of Cook Hill Road; the proposal calls for a small septic system to serve one bathroom and floor drains in the new building if the lot lines remain separate, subject to health-district approval. Thomas said soils tested favorably but the group is awaiting formal sign-off from the health district. Commissioners also asked about lighting and nighttime visibility; the applicant said most lighting would be building-mounted, full-cutoff fixtures and that timers or other controls could limit nighttime interior illumination.

After public testimony and commissioner questions, the commission moved and approved two separate motions: one granting the special permit under section 43.6 of the zoning regulations and one granting site-plan approval. Each approval was conditioned on a preconstruction meeting with town staff, an approved knock box location to the fire chief’s satisfaction, and written staff authorization for minor changes to landscaping, grading, utilities or lighting before implementation.

The commission’s file notes that plans titled “Proposed Maintenance Barn, Cook Hill Road,” prepared by LRC Group and dated July 9, 2025, form the basis of approval. Next steps include the required preconstruction meeting and the applicant’s responses to outstanding reviewer comments (including fuel pad containment details and final health-district approval for septic if that option is used).