Conservation commission urges easement to protect wetlands on truck-wash site

Kathy Demetors, chair of the Willington Conservation Commission, read the commission's letter during the public comment portion of the Planning & Zoning hearing and urged the property owners to place a conservation easement on the undeveloped portion of the parcel under consideration for PZ-26-7.

Demetors cited figures taken from the applicant's narrative: the parcel contains 12.3 acres, of which 4.3 acres (about 35%) would be developed for the truck wash and associated site improvements, leaving roughly eight acres (about 65%) as undeveloped habitat that includes two ponds, a stream, meadows and forest. "We respectfully ask that the property owners consider placing a conservation easement on the portion of the property that is not being developed," Demetors read. She said the easement would place permanent restrictions on future development or timber harvesting and pointed to precedents in nearby commercial sites where easements were recorded.

Demetors and other conservation speakers recommended management measures — periodic mowing of meadows, invasive species monitoring, and consulting a wildlife biologist for best management timing — and requested that any approval documents include plan notes or conditions to support long-term habitat protection. The commission also noted the town's plan of conservation and development balances economic growth with the protection of natural resources and identified this corridor near I-84 as an area deserving special attention.