Wethersfield Wetlands Commission To Revisit Goff Brook Work, Price Rite Drainage Project

WETHERSFIELD, CT — The Wethersfield Inland Wetlands and Conservation Commission will consider proposals to remove material from Goff Brook behind two Carriage Hill Drive homes and from a drainage swale behind the Price Rite shopping center when it meets Wednesday, Sept. 16.

The Carriage Hill applications return after commissioners previously postponed action because the applicants were not present to answer questions about how the work would be performed. Town staff now recommends approval with conditions intended to protect town-owned open space, the Murphy Pond dam and other flood-control infrastructure.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers at 505 Silas Deane Highway.

Goff Brook Work Returns After 6-0 Vote To Table

The commission will consider companion applications involving 31 Carriage Hill Drive and 21 Carriage Hill Drive. The agenda describes both as applications to remove material from regulated wetland and floodplain areas.

An engineering department review included in the meeting materials provides more detail. The applications involve a shared stretch of Goff Brook behind the adjoining properties. Contractor Patrick Griffin of Griffin Landscaping proposes moving larger stones already in the brook to the eastern bank to provide riprap-style stabilization, removing accumulated silt, debris and vegetation from the channel and removing limited vegetation along the bank to improve water flow. No outside material would be brought onto the site.

The area has a history of erosion, sediment from Murphy Pond and backyard flooding, Inland Wetlands Agent John Mills wrote in correspondence included with the application. Goff Brook runs behind the properties below the Murphy Pond dam, and the area includes mapped inland wetlands and floodplain.

Town records also show flood-control infrastructure in the area, including the Murphy Pond earthen dam, a concrete spillway, drainage structures and easements. Town-owned open space lies along the brook's western bank.

Staff considers the proposed work a regulated activity rather than routine residential property maintenance because it involves removing material and relocating stone within the watercourse. Staff nevertheless concluded that the work is not likely to have a significant effect on the wetland or watercourse if it remains within the proposed scope and on the applicants' properties.

Staff recommends approval through a summary ruling with six conditions. They include staking the rear property line before work begins; prohibiting work on town-owned open space; using only material already on site; protecting the dam, spillway, drainage structures, easements and floodway; maintaining erosion controls; and requiring additional review if the scope changes.

The applications were previously tabled 6-0 after commissioners questioned what machinery would be used and said an applicant should be available to answer questions.

The agenda packet includes the engineering department's IWCC Review for 21 and 31 Carriage Hill Drive, Griffin's written description of the proposed work and town maps showing open space, wetlands, floodplain, the Murphy Pond dam and spillway, drainage infrastructure and utility rights-of-way.

Price Rite Plaza Seeks Drainage Swale Maintenance

The commission will also consider Application 798-26 from Wethersfield Retail LLC for property listed in the agenda as 140-204 Silas Deane Highway, Parcel 211-001. The application seeks permission to remove material from a regulated wetland and floodplain area.

Supporting documents describe the property as the Price Rite Plaza shopping center and the work area as an existing storm drainage swale behind the commercial development. The applicant proposes removing accumulated sediment, silt and debris that it says is preventing adequate drainage during storms.

According to the applicant's narrative, the work would take about three working days during dry weather using a Caterpillar 318 rubber-tire excavator. The swale would not be widened or deepened, and its alignment, side slopes and outlet structure would remain unchanged.

No trees would be removed, and vegetation along the ditch banks and side slopes would remain. Excavated material would be temporarily stockpiled on site to drain before being removed for off-site disposal, with sediment and erosion controls around the stockpile.

Photographs in the packet show standing water and deteriorated pavement in portions of the rear service and parking area. The application materials say the drainage trench was last cleaned with commission permission in 2014.

At an earlier review, commissioners requested additional information, including photographs, an updated map showing wetlands, details about the sequence and method of work and clarification of whether vegetation would be removed. Mills said the maintenance is intended to restore drainage flow and address ponding in the parking lot.

The packet includes Wethersfield Retail LLC's Stormwater Maintenance Narrative, photographs taken Aug. 6, the wetlands application, a contractor transmittal and site plans identifying the proposed drainage-trench work.

The commission has no separate Conservation Commission business scheduled. It is also expected to consider approval of its Aug. 19 meeting minutes. Residents may submit written comments to inlandwetlands@wethersfieldct.gov by 4 p.m. on the meeting day, according to the agenda.