A public hearing on a proposal by Singh Realty Group LLC to build a truck terminal facility for Apache Trucking at 51 Commerce Road in Manchester’s Buckland Industrial Park continues tonight before the Planning and Zoning Commission, amid unresolved questions about wetlands.
Apache LLC is a Massachusetts-based refrigerated trucking company founded in 2014 by Daya Singh, who serves as president. The company specializes in transporting refrigerated food products.
Singh Realty Group is seeking a special exception to construct an 8,100-square-foot, one-story office and service building on the 12-acre parcel, along with 92 tractor-trailer parking stalls, 13 van stalls and 18 standard parking spaces. The facility would serve as an operational hub for Apache, with empty trailers stored on site between runs.
According to a traffic study, the facility is expected to generate roughly 98 daily truck trips — 55 entering and 43 exiting.
The commission continued the hearing from its Feb. 2 meeting after members raised concerns about the project’s impact on wetlands that have developed on the site over the past 25 years.
The property, which is Lot 4 of the Buckland Industrial Park II subdivision approved in 2000, was cleared and graded in anticipation of development that never occurred, and wetland conditions have since formed in low-lying portions of the land.
The applicant’s wetland scientist argued the affected areas are low-quality, manmade wetlands and proposed mitigation through the creation of new wetland areas on the property. But commission members and town staff raised questions about whether the mitigation approach is adequate.
The property is zoned industrial and is located on the northern side of Commerce Road, bordered by Interstate 291 to the north, existing industrial uses to the east and vacant industrial land to the west.
Tonight’s meeting begins at 7 p.m.
