Following discussion at a November 12 session, Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members  unanimously endorsed, after the fact, the recent construction of a 576-square-foot concrete pad at a 34-acre site at Fairfield Hills to be used as a pedestal for sculpture at a planned animal sanctuary.

PH Architects of 22 Old Farm Road submitted the application on behalf of The Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary project.

Catherine Violet Hubbard was one of the first graders who died on 12/14. The animal sanctuary would honor her memory. The state recently for the planned animal sanctuary, which would be a joint venture of The Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation and The Animal Center.donated the land to the foundation

Town officials had initially described the concrete pad as being 400 square feet, but IWC documents state that the structure is 576 square feet in area, measuring 24 feet by 24 feet.

The recent construction of the concrete pad, without prior formal town wetlands/watercourses protection approval, drew sharp criticism from Trout Unlimited, a private environmental protection group that seeks to protect the coldwater fisheries which provide trout habitat.

That group has worked for the past decade to improve the trout habitat provided by the nearby Deep Brook, a tributary of the Pootatuck River which functions as a natural hatchery for trout.

James M. McManus, of JMM Wetland Consulting Services, LLC, of Church Hill Road, represented the animal sanctuary project at the November 12 IWC session.

Mr McManus told IWC members that there is no evidence of a naturally formed watercourse near the concrete pad site.

A nearby manmade swale constitutes “a nonregulated conveyance way [for water], not a regulated watercourse,” he said.

Mr McManus said he does not foresee any potential adverse environmental effects occurring due to the presence of the concrete slab at the 22 Old Farm Road site.

As plans progress for the project, the animal sanctuary group would provide the IWC with wetlands delineation documents for the site, Mr McManus said.

IWC member Sharon Salling, who chaired the IWC session, said the agency had received two letters requesting that the construction of a concrete pad be subject to the IWC’s formal public hearing process.

IWC members, however, decided that construction of the pad does not require a IWC public hearing.

IWC members then unanimously endorsed the application for concrete pad construction, after-the- fact, as a “nonregulated activity.”

One of the two letters requesting a public hearing was submitted by Ann Astarita, who chairs the town’s Conservation Commission. Ms Astarita formerly worked as the town wetlands enforcement officer.

The other letter was submitted by Marjorie Cramer, Mary Wilson, and Sarah Middeleer. Ms Cramer and Ms Wilson are former Conservation Commission members. Ms Middleleer is president of Pootatuck Watershed Association, a private environmental protection group.