Four months after Simsbury’s wetlands commission unanimously rejected its proposed 52-unit retirement community expansion, McLean Affiliates Inc. has resubmitted plans for a smaller development it hopes will address the regulatory concerns that doomed its initial application. The nonprofit retirement community operator is now seeking approval to build 40 duplex-style, independent-living homes on its 110-acre campus […]
Four months after Simsbury's wetlands commission unanimously rejected its proposed 52-unit retirement community expansion, McLean Affiliates Inc. has resubmitted plans for a smaller development it hopes will address the regulatory concerns that doomed its initial application.
The nonprofit retirement community operator is now seeking approval to build 40 duplex-style, independent-living homes on its 110-acre campus at 75 Great Pond Road — 12 fewer than it proposed earlier this year.
The revised application, submitted Tuesday, also reduces the number of wetland crossings from two to one, and relocates development away from protected habitat areas.
"We are confident that you will find this proposal to be a substantial improvement over the application you denied earlier this year and that the new plan eliminates any likely adverse impacts on wetlands or watercourses," attorney Joseph P. Williams of Shipman & Goodwin wrote to the town's Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission.
The commission denied McLean's original application May 28, finding the project would likely harm wetland hydrology and that the applicant failed to demonstrate there were no better alternatives with less environmental impact. Commissioners also criticized the biological assessment and raised concerns about salt and other pollutants discharging into the Hop Brook.
The new proposal addresses each of the commission's concerns, according to Williams' letter.
Key changes include:
- A 23% reduction in the number of units, with development clustered to minimize the project footprint;
- Comprehensive drainage and wetland impact assessments prepared by environmental consulting firm SLR;
- Protection of Eastern Box Turtle nesting and hibernation areas identified by a herpetologist;
- Management practices to minimize soil compaction and low impact development designs, including rain gardens, to maximize stormwater infiltration;
- A six-phase construction plan to reduce impacts;
- An integrated pest management plan emphasizing biological controls over pesticides.
The revised plans also include a commitment to comply with Connecticut's Winter Road Materials Management principles to limit salt discharge.
McLean President Lisa Clark said in May the retirement community had more than 130 people on its waiting list for the new homes, which would be marketed as independent living units called McLean Meadow Homes.
The proposed development would occupy about 22 acres on the southern portion of McLean's campus. The property is surrounded by single-family homes and the Hop Meadow Country Club, which McLean also owns.
McLean's existing campus includes 131 independent living units, 71 assisted living units and 89 skilled nursing beds. The facility
underwent a $68 million expansion in 2020.
The original proposal drew strong opposition from neighbors and environmental advocates, including an intervention petition from a group concerned about wildlife habitat disruption.
The wetlands commission has not yet scheduled a hearing on the revised application.
