Milford wetlands commission closes public hearing on proposed 44‑unit 8‑30g project at 843 North Street

The Milford Inland Wetlands Commission closed the public hearing on Feb. 19, 2025, on application IW2400282 — 843 North Street, a proposed 44‑unit development submitted under Connecticut General Statutes §8‑30g. Chair Brendan Magnan presided over a continuation of a hearing that opened Dec. 18, 2024; the agency received an applicant extension of the statutory review period and voted to close the hearing after presentations and public comment.

Why it matters: The proposal lies near off‑site wetlands in the Wepawaug River watershed and is subject to the commission’s upland review. Neighbors and a retained engineer urged the commission to scrutinize stormwater treatment, potential pollutant migration to groundwater and the effects of removing tree canopy near the northeast corner of the parcel. The city engineer’s memos and the applicant’s technical responses are central to the commission’s pending decision.

Applicant team and key revisions Attorney Thomas Lynch, representing 843 North LLC, told the commission the applicant revised the December plans to remove a previously proposed clubhouse in the northeast corner of the site and to relocate the primary driveway onto Kozlowski Drive. Lynch said the changes preserve several large trees in the northeast corner. “We have addressed the concerns that were raised in the December meeting,” Lynch told the agency.

Engineer Ronald Wozmer (Connecticut Civil Group), the applicant’s project engineer, said the stormwater system was redesigned and sized to manage a 100‑year, 24‑hour storm (8.3 inches), the standard requested by Milford engineering staff for this application. Wozmer said the design routes runoff through roof drains and catch basins into underground galleries and proprietary StormScepter water‑quality chambers; he said the design provides about 16,500 cubic feet of water‑quality storage versus roughly 5,600 cubic feet recommended as the manual’s water‑quality volume. “The drainage system is designed for a hundred year storm event, and that's 8.3 inches of rainfall,” Wozmer said.

Wetland scientist and landscape changes Landscape architect and professional wetland scientist Matthew Popp said the revised plan retains about seven large oak trees at the site’s northeast corner, adds understory plantings and proposes a roughly 50–70 foot buffer from the lawn edge to the off‑site wetland. “In my opinion, this would not have a significant adverse impact to any wetland off the property,” Popp said, noting the site slopes gently toward the wetland and most hard‑surface runoff will be routed through the proposed quality treatment system.

Neighbors’ concerns: fractured bedrock, treatment effectiveness Engineer Steve Trinkas, retained by adjacent neighbors, challenged the applicant’s infiltration assumptions and the effectiveness of the proposed treatment in local soils and fractured ledge. Trinkas said several of the proposed underground galleries sit in or near fractured/decomposed ledge and that fractured rock does not provide the biological and chemical treatment associated with loamy soils. “Providing the volume does not simply equate to treatment,” Trinkas said, adding that field monitoring studies show far lower total suspended solids removal than manufacturer tests for the same proprietary units.

Other public comments and technical points Resident Phil Pichotti (879 North Street) called the hydrology report “static” and urged use of sensitivity or variability analysis. Resident Jenny Goldstein and a submitted photograph documented rock fragments at test pits and questioned whether the field conditions matched the applicant’s infiltration tests.

City engineer memos and technical responses The commission’s file included multiple memoranda from the City of Milford engineer, dated Dec. 23, 2024; Dec. 24, 2024; and Feb. 18, 2025. Wozmer and the city engineer concluded the submitted plans meet Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) stormwater guidance in the 2024 Stormwater Quality Manual and that the proposed system should produce no net increase in peak discharge or total runoff for the 100‑year event. Wozmer also noted private drinking wells nearest to the on‑site galleries lie well beyond DEEP’s recommended 100‑foot horizontal separation: the well at 110 Kozlowski is about 203 feet away and the property at 879 North Street is in excess of 200 feet distant.

Agency action and next steps Commissioner Jim Connors moved to close the public hearing; Brian Black seconded. The commission took a roll‑call vote and closed the hearing by unanimous voice vote. The commission then entered deliberations but did not render a final decision at the Feb. 19 meeting; commissioners split on whether to decide immediately or allow more time for review of the city engineer’s memos and the rival expert reports. Commissioner Ranjit Bahav said he required additional time to review the city engineer’s full memo; others indicated confidence in the city engineer’s reviews.

The commission left the matter open for deliberation; no permit or denial was issued. The chair scheduled the next meeting for March 5, 2025, when the commission expects to continue deliberations and consider a final action.

Votes at a glance - Motion to close public hearing on application IW2400282 (843 North Street): Motion by Jim Connors; second by Brian Black. Roll‑call vote — yes (unanimous). The public hearing was closed; no final permit decision was made on Feb. 19, 2025.

(Reporting note: transcript contained multiple spellings for nearby watercourses and officials; article uses corrected local names and legal references where appropriate.)