Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) members this week unanimously approved a wetlands/watercourses protection permit for a development firm for its controversial proposal to construct a Tractor Supply Co. store and adjacent outdoor sales area at a 8.2-acre site at 116 South Main Street (Route 25).Planning and Zoning

During a brief June 22 session, IWC members approved the permit without discussion. Voting in favor were Craig Ferris, Sharon Salling, Suzanne Guidera, John Davin and Michael McCabe.

NERP Holdings and Acquisitions, LLC, proposes developing an upland portion of the site. NERP would build a 19,097-square-foot store and an adjacent 15,053-square-foot fenced outdoor sales area, and then rent that real estate to Tractor Supply.

At IWC public hearings held on June 8 and May 11, some nearby property owners had complained that having a store and related features at the site could result in environmental damage to a large swamp on that property and also to a leaching field for a septic system on an abutting residential property.

An engineer for the developer has explained to IWC members that suitable measures would be taken for wetlands/watercourses protection.

In their motion to approve the permit on June 22, IWC members placed seven technical conditions on that endorsement. Those conditions concern erosion and sedimentation controls; the limits of physical disturbance at the site; possible modifications to the plans; and the hiring of an environmental consultant to monitor the project's compliance with the wetlands permit, among others.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) is scheduled to conduct public hearings on July 7 on NERP's two pending P&Z applications for the Tractor Supply project.

One hearing will involve a site plan review, through which the applicant is seeking a special zoning permit for the project.

The other hearing concerns the applicant's proposed modifications to the specialized zoning regulations, which the P&Z approved last November for the Tractor Supply project. The applicant is seeking approval for zoning rules that would allow an internally-lit sign at the site, and also allow a reconfiguration of the proposed development layout.

Last November, the P&Z approved a change of zone for the project from R-1 (Residential) to SMVDD (South Main Village Design District). Also, the P&Z approved a set of customized SMVDD zoning regulations, known as SDD-4 (Special Design District-4), that would apply only to the Tractor Supply project.

SMVDD zoning provides for flexible zoning regulations, allowing the applicant and the P&Z to create mutually agreeable zoning rules, which apply only to the site proposed for development under the terms of the SMVDD's Special Design District (SDD) provisions.

The P&Z created SMVDD zoning in 2007 in seeking to preserve the "New England character" of the 4.2-mile-long South Main Street corridor.

A firm known as 111 South Main Street, LLC, owns a one-acre parcel at that address, which contains a commercial building that houses Fair Auto Supply of Newtown, Inc, and Newtown Florist. After the P&Z granted the preliminary approvals for the Tractor Supply project last November, 111 South Main Street, LLC, filed an administrative appeal in Superior Court in seeking to overturn the P&Z approvals. That court appeal is pending.

In March, Tractor Supply received a town property tax break for locating a store in town, gaining endorsements for the tax reduction from the Board of Selectmen and the Legislative Council.

Tractor Supply, which is a major retail chain, sells merchandise including home improvement goods, livestock/pet-related products, hardware, tools, lawn and garden maintenance items, clothing, footwear and automotive items, among others.

Besides the opponents of the Tractor Supply proposal, other people commenting at past public hearings on the project have said the store would suitably expand the town's retail base and be a local commercial asset.