Simsbury conservation hearing on McLean ‘Meadow Homes’ focuses on two wetland crossings, stormwater mitigation and landscape plan

The Simsbury Conservation Commission held a public hearing on an application from McLean Retirement (75 Grapevine Road) for a wetlands permit tied to a 52‑unit expansion called “Meadow Homes,” project planners said.

Planning Director George McGregor opened the presentation, saying the application was deemed potentially significant at the commission’s Jan. 21 meeting and noting the sequence of reviews: wetlands commission action must precede any zoning special‑exception or site‑plan review. “Wetlands review has to happen first,” McGregor said.

Tom Naley, a professional engineer with SLR Consulting, described the proposal as 26 duplex buildings (52 units) on the roughly 110‑acre McLean campus. Naley said the team located two roadway crossings at the narrowest points in the on‑site wetland corridor and described the crossings as box culverts set into native material. “Both crossings are going to be completed, accomplished with a box culvert,” Naley said, adding each culvert is proposed at 3 feet high by 6 feet wide.

SLR’s wetlands scientist, Marilee Antal, described the site’s wetlands as roughly 13 acres across the campus and said the application affects primarily three smaller wetland features in the southern parcel. Antal summarized the permit request: 6,600 square feet (about 0.15 acres) of direct wetland impact from the two culvert crossings and roughly five acres of disturbance within the town’s 100‑foot upland review area; she said about one acre would become new impervious surface. Antal said the team will provide…