HomeMy WebLinkAboutSS Comments (1-22)
January 31, 2022 Ms. Tiffany Williams
Town of Montville
Planning Department
310 Norwich-New London Tpk. Uncasville, CT 06382 RE: Hiking Trail at Public Safety
CLA-6767T Dear Tiffany:
On January 14, 2022, I walked the proposed hiking trail at the Montville Public
Safety as delineated by Tyler Lawton. Tyler is proposing to construct this trail as part of
his Eagle Scout project. As such he is coordinating with several town departments, including Inland Wetlands. At your request I walked the site with you, Liz Burdick (Planner), Tyler and his father to determine potential impacts to wetlands.
The trail starts near Route 32, and follows Stony Brook to Horton Cove, and eventually loops back to the starting point. There are five proposed wetland/watercourse crossings, each of which would be spanned with either a beam bridge or a bog bridge as shown in Tyler’s proposal. Tyler has indicated that all of the work would be done by hand,
including transporting materials to the bridge sites. The construction would not include
footings or additional fill in the wetland beyond the stringers and logs for the bridges. I
am familiar with these types of crossing and am of the opinion that they would not adversely impact the wetlands. I have also reviewed the alignment of the trail and find that the crossing locations are at narrow points in the wetland.
In summary, I believe that the proposed use could fit under Section 4.2.b of the Town of Montville Inland Wetlands regulations as recreational use as of right. The cited section specifically includes hiking trails. I recommend that Tyler submit a request to the agency for consideration of such finding.
Very truly yours,
Robert C. Russo, C.S.S.
CLA Engineers, Inc.
Civil Structural Survey
317 MAIN STREET NORWICH, CT 06360 (860) 886-1966 (860) 886-9165 FAX