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Commission sets public hearing Feb. 18 for 52-unit McLean expansion after finding application significant
Summary
The commission found application CC-25-02 (McLean campus) significant and scheduled a public hearing for Feb. 18; proposal would add 52 residential units in 26 buildings, cross two wetlands and have about 6,600 sq ft of direct wetland soil disturbance and ~5 acres of work in the 100-foot upland review area.
The Conservation Commission and Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Agency on Jan. 21 determined that application CC-25-02 for the McLean campus is significant and scheduled a public hearing for Feb. 18 to take public testimony.
Tom Daley, of SLR Consulting, presented an overview of the application for the McLean campus at 75 Great Pine (referred to in materials as Great Home/Great Pine Road). He told the commission the proposal includes 26 new buildings with two units each (52 units total), road realignment at the campus entrance, two narrow wetland crossings, modifications to existing stormwater basins and new stormwater management areas on either side of a wetland corridor. Daley said the applicant estimates about 6,600 square feet of direct soil disturbance in the wetlands and approximately 5 acres of work within the 100-foot upland review area.
Daley described the wetland features as a narrow drainage trough that alternates between shallow depressions and small drainage channels; the plan calls for box culverts at the crossing points with an associated native-planting plan to improve understory vegetation on both sides of the corridor. He said the road realignment runs through an already-developed portion of the campus, that some existing units would be removed to accommodate the loop road, and that infrastructure (roads and stormwater measures) would be installed before unit construction. Daley summarized an anticipated construction horizon of multiple years: the full buildout could take two to three years, but the infrastructure ‘‘front-loaded’’ during the first phase would be completed earlier. He also said the project will need additional approvals, including planning-and-zoning review, a state traffic commission permit and standard building permits; he stated the project must be registered with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEP) 60 days before construction.
Commissioners asked about grading, phasing and stabilization of disturbed soils; Daley said the site would be mass-graded and temporarily stabilized until building pads are developed and that temporary stabilization mixes (erosion-control seed mixes or similar) would be used instead of permanent lawn until last-stage construction. Daley said the applicant has coordinated plantings with McLean and received input from a staff member who runs the campus game refuge; a wetland landscape architect on the team will present more detailed planting and forestry information at a later meeting.
The commission recorded that the application includes two wetland crossings and several stormwater modifications and that it intends to proceed via a public hearing. Staff explained notices to abutters and relevant publications are required; the commission must open a public hearing within 65 days of the receipt date, and the parties agreed to schedule the hearing for Feb. 18 rather than the next meeting to allow additional public notice and outreach.
What happens next: The application will be the subject of a public hearing on Feb. 18; the commission and applicant will present additional technical details (including a detailed wetland impact assessment and planting plan) at future meetings. The project still requires planning-and-zoning approval, a State Traffic Commission permit and registration with DEP prior to construction.
