An in-depth discussion took place to consider revoking the wetlands permit for the Holly Estates Subdivision on Route 34 during the Newtown Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) meeting on April 13 at Newtown Municipal Center.

The agenda stated that Permit #20‐27 by Negreiro & Sons Construction LLC, is for property located at 203 and 211 Berkshire Road, for a permit revocation hearing.

The property is better known as the Holly Estates Subdivision, which is a cul-de-sac where more than a dozen single family homes are being built. An 1860 home originally on the property that was slated to be restored was later demolished.

Prior to the subdivision, the 73.2-acre parcel was a mixture of forest, old fields, and farmed fields that supported a variety of wildlife. Twenty-seven acres were donated to the Newtown Forest Association, due to the town’s open space rules, and most of those acres are wetlands.

The Holly Estates Subdivision project gained much attention from the community in the last few years due to concerns relating to road safety and the subdivision’s negative impact on wetlands, wildlife, and the water table.

Continuing to represent the applicant was engineer Jason Edwards, of J. Edwards & Associates LLC in Easton. George Negreiro was also present.

At the recent IWC meeting, Edwards started off by saying, “I guess we’re here, obviously, due to the erosion and control issues we’ve had on-site. In response to the latest problems, my office prepared this new erosion control plan that is intended to mitigate the current problems, as well as kind of provide long-term solutions to some of the issues, as well.”

He noted that there are preexisting farmer’s trenches to collect groundwater, so they decided last year it was best to keep the trenches in place and add hay bales to stop water from going in the road.

“Without them there, I think the water would overwhelm that whole area,” Edwards said.

He explained that they are now proposing to put hay bales, temporary sediment traps, and dams to “better maintain” the water.

“There’s a really high water table out here,” Edwards said.

While those are temporary solutions, he noted that they have proposed a swale to catch the water as it comes in, divert it to the south, where it will get channeled and discharged.

Edwards said, “Hopefully, it’s going to mitigate this whole water issue that’s coming into these houses as they get built. Otherwise, the concern is as each site gets developed, they open up a cut through, put the foundation in, and you’re going to have a water problem.”

‘Uncomfortable’ With Mitigation

IWC Chair Sharon Salling voiced that when she visited the site, the hay bales looked “extremely sparse” and that the silt fence was not functional. She added that the farmer’s trenches looked like they were eroding, and that overall, she was “uncomfortable” with what was going on at the subdivision site.

IWC member Craig Ferris brought up that town staff sent out e-mails to Negreiro that were not responded to even as far back as last summer.

He then asked, “If there are issues, how do we know you are going to respond in a positive manner?”

Negreiro apologized and said he is not good at responding to e-mails.

Salling stated the site is in “poor condition” and that there seems to be a miscommunication in what was a priority due to his lack of e-mail correspondence. She said if this project is to go forward, they need to be committed to make a plan of accomplishing what needs to be done “in due haste.”

IWC member Michael McCabe said that “significant silting” has occurred and water is pouring over, so a clean-up needs to be addressed.

Negreiro answered, “I feel confident things are going to get done.”

After some discussion among the commission about what specifically they are voting on, Senior Land Use Enforcement Officer Steve Maguire informed the group that the hearing is to decide if they want to keep or revoke their wetland permit.

The other component involved is the modification of plans to the permit where the commission can decide if they want to receive an application to review and approve or have administrative approval; then the mitigation step would be a separate application.

Maguire summarized his concerns by saying, “Construction began about a year ago and we’ve had a lot of issues throughout that year. I hate to be blunt, but I’ve never had these kinds of compliance issues or issues of this scale for any project I’ve dealt with in my ten years here.”

He added that this subdivision project is already having issues in “its infancy” with houses just being built by Route 34 and at the end of the cul-de-sac, meaning they have not even started on the houses nearest to the wetlands.

Misplaced Priorities

Overall, Maguire said he does not have confidence the issues will be rectified and that “the priorities are not where they should be” with those doing the project.

Negreiro said there was no need for reports during the winter, but he will begin sending the required reports since it is important to Maguire.

Salling acknowledged she has been a town commissioner for more than 11 years and “never seen a site like this” or heard from staff about this severe lack of response. She called it “concerning” and that this is the first time she has been involved with a possible permit being revoked.

Ferris voiced that he does not want to stop the work, but he has concerns for the water issues.

IWC member Kendall Horch agreed and wanted the plans to be implemented immediately with checked dam details included.

Salling asked for Negreiro or someone on-site to take photos and e-mail them to the town for documentation of the work going on.

“If there is work going on, we’d love to see it,” she said.

With the night’s discussion in mind, IWC member Suzanne Guidera moved not to revoke the existing wetlands permit for Permit #20‐27 by Negreiro & Sons Construction LLC, property located at 203 and 211 Berkshire Road. Ferris seconded it and all were in favor.

The commission plans to reconvene to review the progress at its next meeting on Wednesday, April 27 at 7:30 pm.

For more information about upcoming IWC meetings, visit newtown-ct.gov/inland-wetlands-commission.

Reporter Alissa Silber can be reached at alissa@thebee.com.