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Wetlands commission approves Meeting House Lane permits with stricter erosion controls and bond requirement
Summary
The Old Lyme Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission approved permits for two houses and a shared driveway on Meeting House Lane after requiring culvert upsizing (to a 25-year design if needed), a crushed-stone driveway base, enhanced construction-period sediment controls, monitoring and a performance bond.
The Old Lyme Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission on May 26 approved an application to permit two single-family houses and a shared driveway on Meeting House Lane, imposing multiple erosion-control and monitoring conditions.
Roger Demigrant, the project's engineer, described the proposal as a reissued 1987 subdivision layout updated to reflect current wetland boundaries and modern construction practices. "The application is to build single family residents on each of those two lots," he told the commission, noting the driveway culvert and portions of house-related work fall within the town's upland review area.
Commission members focused on construction-period risks. "I had a number of concerns when we were out there, the steepness of the slope as the driveway comes down," said Committee member Mike, pressing for more than hay bales and silt fence to protect the intermittent watercourse during construction.
After extended exchanges about culvert sizing, temporary surfacing and stabilization, the commission approved the application with conditions recorded on the permit: verify and, if necessary, increase the culvert size to handle a 25-year design event; install a stone (crushed-trap) driveway base during construction (6 inches of clean crushed stone was agreed as the working specification) with paving deferred until surfacing is ready; implement composite erosion controls (silt fence backed by hay bales and baffles) and intermittent in-driveway baffles during construction; require a monitoring plan and periodic site photos after major rain events; and post a performance bond sized to cover implementation and maintenance of erosion controls.
The commission directed staff to confirm culvert sizing and permitted the engineering team to administratively adjust the culvert if upgraded sizing can be implemented without returning to the commission. The decision also noted that phasing the work to limit simultaneous disturbance would be preferable.
The approved conditions aim to reduce sediment delivery to the adjacent stream corridor during months-long construction on the steep driveway segments. The engineer and project team agreed to provide plan details showing cross-sections, the composite erosion-control details on sheet two of their plans, and to produce a bond estimate and monitoring schedule for staff review.
The commission's action follows its authority under local inland-wetlands regulations to condition upland review approvals to protect regulated resources. The permit paperwork will reflect the required measures and monitoring schedule; staff will verify implementation during construction.
