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Proposed 84‑foot sports dome at Windham Woods draws conservation concern
Summary
An applicant told the Conservation Commission May 14 that building an 84‑foot sports dome at Windham Woods would require roughly 37,000 cubic yards of fill, two dredge‑and‑fill areas and 286 parking spaces; commissioners flagged the scale of disturbance and a public commenter asked for a phosphorus study.
Joe Maynard of Benchmark LLC presented plans May 14 for an 84‑foot‑tall sports dome at the Windham Woods site (listed as 41 Range Rd / 3 Delahunty Drive). The project as described would include 286 parking spaces, a wraparound drive for emergency access, pervious walkways and parking surfaces, drainage through catch basins into an underground recharge system, a retaining wall at the front of the building and approximately 37,000 cubic yards of fill to level the site.
Maynard identified two dredge‑and‑fill locations on the property — one at the rear of the building and another along a man‑made ditch to the property’s left — and said about 30,000 square feet of previously disturbed area would be affected. The Commission expressed concern about the scope of disturbance required for a structure of that size; Vice Chair Michael Specian asked whether the applicant had considered moving the building closer to Range Road or reducing its size to lessen wetland impacts. Maynard said the current plan reflects four years of design and is what Windham Woods needs.
A member of the public, Andrew Casper (23 Harvest Rd.), asked whether the applicant could provide a phosphorus study to assess what would enter nearby waterbodies. Vice Chair Specian and other commissioners said they had not encountered a formal requirement for such a study in previous hearings but agreed it would be a useful analysis if it could be completed reasonably.
The minutes note the Zoning Board will hold a site walk on either June 15 or June 22 at 5:30 p.m., with the Conservation Commission attending, and that the case will return to the Conservation Commission on June 25, 2026, to address questions or changes arising from the site walk.
