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Norwich approves West Towne Street sidewalk; commission waives public hearing
Summary
The Norwich Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission approved the West Towne Street sidewalk improvement project (IWWCC 2503) affecting the Norwich Town Brook upland review area. The commission waived a public hearing, approved the project with erosion- and sediment-control conditions, and noted the work is mostly state-funded.
The Norwich Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission on July 10 voted to waive a public hearing and approved a state-funded sidewalk improvement project along West Towne Street that will place about 250 linear feet of new sidewalk and related pedestrian improvements through an upland review area near the Norwich Town Brook.
Judy Schueller, professional engineer with Freeman Companies, told the commission the work within the upland review area amounts to under 5,000 square feet (about 0.11 acres) and that the design avoids direct impacts to the wetland itself. The proposal includes a new sidewalk on the north side of West Towne Street, handicap-accessible ramps, pedestrian signals, striping, and removal/replacement of a metal beam guide rail to accommodate the sidewalk.
Schueller and city staff described erosion-and-sediment-control measures for the work: silt fence downslope of activities, silt sacks in catch basins, and a requirement that controls be installed and maintained before and during construction. City staff said the measures have been coordinated with the city engineer and wetlands agent. The city engineer noted a buried primary electrical line near the culvert that is not under the commission’s purview but should be considered by the project team.
Commissioner Dean Nason moved to waive a public hearing; the motion passed unanimously. The commission then approved the project with the staff conditions noted in the wetlands agent’s memo and with the commission’s standard erosion-and-sediment-control requirements. The record states the project is mostly state funded as part of a community connectivity program.
Commissioners asked a few site-specific questions; project presenters supplied site photos showing a concrete headwall and channel at the culvert and said no wetland vegetation area would be directly disturbed. The commission’s approval included a set of conditions to be provided to the applicant in writing, which the wetlands agent said she would supply for the administrative record.
