Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Commercial Redevelopment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Big Y outlines West Farms Mall redevelopment in Farmington; commission finds upland work non-significant
Summary
Big Y presented plans for a ~50,200-sq.-ft. market at West Farms Mall, including underground stormwater chambers, landscaping and NDDB coordination; the commission determined the limited upland footprint touching the 150-foot review area to be non-significant and asked the applicant to address staff comments for a Dec. 3 follow-up.
Guy Hesketh, engineer for the applicant, described a proposed Big Y grocery (about 50,200 square feet) on the West Farms Mall parcel that straddles the West Hartford/Farmington town line. Hesketh said the majority of the store footprint and truck-loading areas are in Farmington and that the proposed work will not directly disturb wetlands but will encroach into a small portion of the 150-foot upland review area (about 9,800 square feet of upland disturbance).
Hesketh and his team explained a diversion of project-area runoff to the existing mall detention basin, underground polyethylene chamber storage for stormwater, pretreatment and throttling outlet structures to avoid increases in peak runoff, and an erosion-control plan meeting Connecticut 2024 guidelines. The team also described NDDB/DEP screening and a DEP letter noting spotted-turtle considerations; the applicant said they would install turtle barrier fencing and daily sweeps as part of the construction erosion-control plan if required by DEP guidance.
Commissioners, familiar with the site, generally agreed the wetlands impact was minor relative to the parcel and voted to find the application a non-significant regulated activity; the applicants were directed to address staff comments and return with a focused wetlands summary at the Dec. 3 meeting.
