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Farmington approves paving and stormwater upgrades for Farmington Motorsports after balky public hearing and added buffering conditions
Summary
The commission approved Farmington Motorsports’ site‑plan modification to pave an expanded outdoor vehicle storage area at 148 Brickyard Road with water‑quality controls, imposing conditions that require an eastern berm with evergreen plantings and ban parking in an eastern right‑of‑way strip after neighbors raised concerns about lighting and unpermitted expansion.
The Town Plan & Zoning Commission on Feb. 9 approved a site‑plan modification for Farmington Motorsports at 148 Brickyard Road that will pave a milled surface storage yard, add stormwater treatment and construct an infiltration basin sized to state standards — subject to conditions added by the commission.
Attorney Robert Reeve and owner Tim Vibert said the operation — a towing and impound business established in 1976 — had grown in recent years and that the application does not change the permitted use granted in 2018. Vibert described operational practices and said vehicles typically remain on site about 90 days while DMV paperwork is completed.
Engineer Joe Perugini described on‑site test pits that showed sandy soils suitable for infiltration. The plan includes hydrodynamic separator pretreatment and an infiltration basin sized to reduce peak runoff for storms up to the 100‑year event and to improve water quality over existing conditions. Perugini said the design aims to “remove well over 80%, upwards of 90% of total suspended solids” from the first flush and that the basin will infiltrate the 10‑year storm on site.
Neighbors testified about nighttime glare from previously installed spotlights, tree removal and what they described as incremental, unpermitted expansion of the yard. Lisa Busharozaki, who lives across the site, said, “All night long is the lights shining directly into our house,” and other residents asked for clearer limits. The applicant acknowledged there had been problematic spotlights in the past and said they were removed; he offered berming and planting to buffer neighbors.
A procedural dispute arose when a commissioner attempted to introduce evidence by late email; the chair preserved the emailed material in the record but declined to accept it for presentation at that night’s hearing because of timing and technical constraints. Commissioners debated whether to continue the hearing to review the late materials; the chair kept the hearing open long enough for discussion but the commission later closed the public hearing and proceeded to deliberation.
After deliberation the commission approved the site‑plan modification, adding two amendments requested by commissioners: installation of a 3–4‑foot berm and evergreen buffer on the eastern property line and an explicit condition that no vehicles be parked in the eastern right‑of‑way strip shown as unpaved on the site plan. Other standard staff conditions — detailed engineering, sediment/erosion controls, phasing and as‑built submission — apply.
The commission and applicant agreed the paved area will be constructed in phases to maintain storage operations; the applicant also agreed to work on lighting controls and to plant the buffer in the next suitable planting season.
