Norwalk panel grants wetlands map amendment for parts of Manresa Island after contested hearing

The Norwalk Conservation Commission voted Jan. 13 to grant a petition from Manresa Osprey LLC to amend the city wetlands map on parts of Manresa Island, after a contested public hearing that drew residents’ objections and technical testimony from the applicant’s consultants.

The commission’s decision affects two previously‑mapped pockets the applicant sought to declassify. Applicant counsel Liz (representing Manresa Osprey LLC) and the project team said field work and laboratory checks found those pockets composed of human‑altered soils (described in the record as eudorthans and historic coal‑ash fill), with little evidence of persistent hydrology or obligate wetland vegetation. ‘‘I could not, in my right mind, delineate these as wetlands because they didn't meet the criteria,’’ Michelle Ford, a wetland scientist retained by the applicant, told the commission, explaining the team’s use of soil, vegetation and hydrology indicators in disturbed fill areas.

Residents urged caution. Kevin Hobson, who lives across the marsh, told the commission the applicant’s surveys were conducted during an unusually dry April and that the record for the areas proposed for declassification lacked the standardized Army Corps wetlands data forms used elsewhere on the property. ‘‘A 3‑day visit at the end of an unusually dry period can’t tell the whole story,’’ Hobson said, urging site observations in a range of conditions and an independent verification.

Applicant team members said they had reviewed decades of aerial imagery and prior reports, consulted monthly with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), and prepared remediation plans for contaminated fill areas. Project director Doug Adams said the work will be paired with a multi‑phase ecological restoration plan the team calls Manresa Wilds and noted the goal of creating publicly accessible parkland and resilient habitat.

Commissioners discussed whether an additional third‑party review was necessary. Some members said the evidence presented—field sampling, aerial chronology and expert testimony—was sufficient. After debate, the commission closed the public hearing and voted to grant the petition, with the recorded tally in the meeting noting four votes in favor, one opposed and one abstention.

The vote changes what areas are formally mapped as inland wetlands under municipal records and will shape what subsequent permit applications are required as Manresa Wilds moves into design and remediation phases; the project team and state agencies will oversee remediation steps for contaminated areas before construction in those zones. The commission indicated that additional permits and reviews will be needed for later phases and that the wetland map amendment establishes the baseline mapping for future filings.

The commission said the map change will be placed in the record and the team will proceed with required subsequent permits and remediation approvals. The commission also asked staff to schedule follow‑up materials and reminded applicants that the decision pertains to the map amendment alone, not to future zoning or planning decisions.