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Winding Trails seeks repaving, safety and water-quality upgrades; commission delays final vote to July 13
Summary
Winding Trails presented plans to reconstruct multiple parking lots and a mile of roadway, add targeted drainage/filtration features and reorganize drop-off circulation to improve camper safety. The commission asked for clarifications and continued the application to July 13 pending inland‑wetlands review.
Winding Trails executives told the Town Plan and Zoning Commission on June 22 that a long-planned roadway and parking reconstruction would repair aging pavement, improve camp traffic flow and add modest water‑quality controls.
Scott Brown, the nonprofit’s executive director, said the organization operates on about 380 acres and "we currently serve about 10,000 members a year," adding the project focuses on a half-mile of looped roadway and seven adjoining parking areas used for drop‑offs, events and seasonal programs. Volunteer engineer Jim Playsh described a design that preserves existing lot locations while smoothing geometric bottlenecks, creating separated lanes for bus drop‑off and parent loading, and improving corner radii so school buses and fire apparatus can pass more safely.
The plan would reuse milled pavement on site, perform full‑depth reconstruction at the steep upper lot near the lodge, and install five shallow water‑quality depressions and minifiltration features. Presenters estimated an official gain of roughly eight marked spaces in the redesigned upper lot and an overall net increase in informal capacity (applicants described a "plus 33" when unmarked spaces are included). Work is planned to avoid the summer day‑camp season: large removals would start after October, with paving staged for the next spring when asphalt plants reopen.
Commissioners pressed project team members on timing, erosion control, spill prevention and on‑site staging. Staff said the project will follow Connecticut DOT standard specifications and that vegetated erosion controls and contractor spill plans will be conditions of approval. Shannon Rutherford, the town planner, noted the application must first proceed through the inland‑wetlands process; because that review remains outstanding the commission moved to continue formal action until July 13, 2026.
What happens next: The inland‑wetlands commission will review the application first; if wetlands approval is granted, the Town Plan and Zoning Commission will resume final action on July 13. Staff said construction sequencing aims to restore compacted, usable parking surfaces over the winter and complete paving and markings before the 2027 summer season.
