Only at the 11th hour did residents of the Misty Meadows and Maple Heights neighborhoods learned that Enfield’s Planning and Zoning Commission would consider an application for a proposed 501,500-square-foot distribution center near their homes.
They had received no formal notice about the application from the town or from the applicant, Adam Winstanley, owner of Massachusetts-based real estate development company Winstanley Enterprises. So the neighbors scrambled to mobilize before the PZC made its decision on the proposed 43-foot-high distribution center at 113 N. Maple St. The decision was originally expected during the commission’s June 25 meeting.
It was quite an undertaking, according to organizer Dale Butrymowicz of 11 Winter Way. The neighbors, who had to rely on word of mouth, had mere hours to convince the PZC to hold a public hearing on the plan.
PZC Chairman Ken Nelson said Tuesday that the application didn’t require a public hearing. But the commission voted unanimously on June 25 to hold one at its next meeting, this Thursday, to give residents an opportunity to voice their concerns.
One of the neighbors has hired a land-use lawyer to assist the residents, though the lawyer declined to comment on what he has been doing for them.
While Nelson wouldn’t comment on the matter further, another PZC member, who asked to not be identified, felt badly that the neighbors were getting the proposed distribution center “jammed” down their throats. The member said town Development Services Director Laurie Whitten should have called a public hearing from the start, even though the town’s zoning regulations don’t require one.
The member agreed with the residents that the hearing was rushed but said that two weeks is better than nothing.
While the commission member doesn’t believe the site plan review should be approved in just one meeting, the member said it will probably win the commission’s approval Thursday.
Continuance possible
The commission member added the residents may not realize they can ask for a continuance of the hearing to hire an expert to testify on their behalf — or have some sort of study performed. While asking for a such a delay doesn’t ensure that one will be granted, the member said, such a request could have a chance if it’s reasonable.
Even securing a public hearing, though, was an uphill battle. While the commission members believed it would be in the public interest to hold a hearing, allowing residents to voice their opinions on a large project that will affect the surrounding residential area, there was pushback from Winstanley and Whitten.
Winstanley was worried that delaying the approval would affect construction, which is slated to start in August.
As a compromise, the PZC agreed to close the public hearing on the same night that it begins, this Thursday, then vote on the application. If the project is approved Thursday, Winstanley can start construction as scheduled.
While this was agreeable to the PZC and Winstanley, the neighbors take issue with the tight timeframe. They have met a few times over the past two weeks to coordinate their efforts.
On Tuesday night, more than 50 neighbors congregated on the lawn of 18 Deer Run to discuss their strategy for Thursday evening’s hearing and list their grievances.
The proposed distribution center has been designed to accommodate two tenants — Agri-Mark, a Massachusetts-based company that distributes a wide variety of dairy products throughout the United States, and a second yet-to-be-named company.
“Why is this so secret?” asked Thomas Grigely of 18 Deer Run. “Why is this being rushed through? How did this all happen? Why did it all happen so secretly? Why was it so silent? Why was it so quick? It begs the question, ‘Why?’”
Adam Winstanley wasn’t available to answer those questions. A representative of his said he was on vacation for the week.
Not a secret
But Town Manager Christopher Bromson said this wasn’t a “closely guarded secret,” as Winstanley Enterprises has owned the property for nearly three years.
While town staff members learned the specifics of the proposal only a few months ago, Bromson reminded residents that the property has been zoned for industrial use for more than 30 years.
So while the town manager understands the angst of residents, especially those whose properties abut the 71-acre parcel, he said there is nothing illegal about the proposal.
“When you’re a neighbor, you’d much rather look out and have a nice farmland than … a building, … but when it’s an existing legal use, if you apply for that purpose they have a right to use it for the purpose that it’s zoned,” Bromson said.
Still, many neighbors have concerns about the scope of the project and its impact on the neighborhood.
“This doesn’t fit,” Butrymowicz said. “It’s a residential area primarily. It’s small roads, not a major distribution center.”
Increased traffic and congestion are a worry for many, as neighbors say there is already much truck traffic in the area. The proposed project, which would have three entrances, would generate additional car and truck traffic.
A traffic study performed by the Fuss & O’Neill engineering firm concluded that the proposed development wouldn’t have a significant impact to traffic operations in the area. But some residents question the validity of the study.
Pandemic affects traffic
For one, the study was performed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which the traffic study reports affected “ambient traffic volumes” due to Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive order restricting nonessential businesses. To compensate for this, the state Department of Transportation adjusted traffic counts to reflect previously observed levels. But some remain unconvinced by the methodology.
In addition, the traffic study fails to include Hazardville Memorial School at 68 N. Maple St. and the effect the distribution center will have on the school buses and on car drop-offs and pickups of students during the school year.
Another area of concern for many residents is noise.
Plans to minimize noise from the project include on-site traffic design intended to minimize trucks’ use of back-up alarms. In addition a 10-foot-high berm extending 1,100 feet is proposed, with 90 trees and shrubs planted in the area.
However, residents are unconvinced that the berm will do much good if the distribution center has refrigerator trucks — which can’t be turned off while parked for fear of spoiling perishable goods — coming and going at all hours of the day and night.
Agri-Mark plans to operate at the center from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout the week, but that could change. The hours of the other tenant remain unknown, potentially meaning the distribution center could operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week all year long.
Finally, there’s concern over potential pollution of the site.
The site plan review application says land records were reviewed for any environmental hazards, and none were identified. But the site plan doesn’t go into more detail about what methods were used as part of the applicant’s “due diligence.”
For some, including Butrymowicz, there’s a fear of contaminated soil on the former farmland. Several banned pesticides were found in 2006 on the athletic fields of the former Enrico Fermi High School, which is across North Maple Street from the Winstanley site.
