The Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) is reviewing the environmental protection aspects of a proposal to construct an approximately 4,400-square-foot retail center on an undeveloped 1.12-acre site at 149 Mt Pleasant Road (Route 6) in Hawleyville.

Applicant Walter Kilcourse of New Milford is seeking a wetlands/watercourses protection permit for the project from the IWC.

The project, known as Pogond Brook Plaza, would be built on the south side of Mt Pleasant Road, just east of Newtown Power Equipment, Inc.

 The property lies in a B-2 (Business) zone. The development application lists the planned use as “retail/personal services.” The project would have 22 parking spaces.

Project construction is listed as lasting eight months.

Artel Engineering Group of Brookfield has drawn the technical plans for the complex,

The IWC application seeks a permit to construct a building, build a retaining wall, place some earthen fill on the site, build stormwater drainage structures, install public utilities, construct a parking lot, and install lighting equipment.

The project would be served by municipal sanitary sewers.

Rob Sibley, deputy director of planning and land use, said July 9 that the town has issued the applicant a flood prevention permit for the site. The brook has year-round water flow, he said.

Pogond Brook, which is a tributary of Pond Brook, bisects the 149 Mt Pleasant Road site in a generally east-west direction.

Mr Sibley said Pogond Brook’s location on the site has resulted in IWC members seeking additional environmental protection information from the applicant, which has not yet been received.

The IWC requested such information on June 10. The IWC is seeking more detailed technical planning for the project, as well as an ecological study of the site.

If the project gains IWC approval, it would be subject to zoning review by the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z).