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Darien EPC continues contested Arrowhead Way wetland-fill proposal, asks for peer review sign-off
Summary
The Environmental Protection Commission continued the public hearing on a plan to fill a wetland pocket and create replacement wetlands at 16 Arrowhead Way, requiring a positive endorsement from the Town’s peer engineering reviewer and complete responses to an extensive list of technical questions before the hearing resumes.
The Darien Environmental Protection Commission voted June 3 to continue the public hearing on a plan to fill a wetland pocket and construct replacement wetlands at 16 Arrowhead Way until the Town’s peer reviewer for engineering issues provides a positive endorsement and the applicant submits additional requested materials.
At the meeting, staff summarized outstanding items from the initial May 6 hearing and a subsequent list of required submissions, including re-notification of adjoining owners within 100 feet, a fuller “feasible and prudent alternatives” analysis to minimize wetland impacts, confirmation of water service and roof drainage paths, a clear inventory of pipes and structures to be removed or abandoned, 24-inch minimum sump details for drainage junctions, and detailed elevations and soils data for any proposed relocated wetland. The staff packet also cited peer-review feedback the commission expects the applicant to address.
The applicants and consultants — including engineer Wayne D’Avanzo and environmental consultant Aleksandra Moch — described two design approaches they examined: one that fills the existing wetland pocket and creates a higher-functioning wetland downhill, and another that fills the pocket and extensively regrades the rear yard while routing stormwater around the house. The applicants told the commission they prefer the plan that creates a new wetland because it would both improve drainage and provide environmental benefit, and said abutters had been consulted about shifting wetland boundaries closer to a rear property line.
Commissioners repeatedly pressed the applicants and their consultants for more complete technical detail. Staff and commissioners listed missing or unclear items the commission relies on to evaluate potential off-site drainage impacts, depths of material to be placed in a created wetland, design of berms and water stops, and the engineering confirmation that nearby infrastructure and neighbors would not be harmed by the proposal.
After discussion, the commission voted to continue the public hearing and required the applicant to: secure a positive endorsement from the Town’s peer reviewer for drainage and water-quality analyses; submit revised plans and narrative that directly respond to earlier staff correspondence; and provide the additional technical elevations, pipe inventories and clarifications requested at the meeting. The time and date for the continued hearing will be determined after the peer-review process and the applicant’s resubmission.
No formal permit decision was made at the June 3 meeting; the hearing remains open.
