Concerns Too Much as PZC Denies Triano Drive Proposal

There will be no new activity in the final lot along Triano Drive — at least not anytime soon.

After hearing from nearly a dozen residents who spent more than an hour expressing concerns regarding the application for an earth processing facility for the second time in two weeks, the voted unanimously to deny the special application on Tuesday night.

“The big concern to me, which was brought up last meeting and again this week, is the noise,” said Commissioner Kevin Conroy. “An operation of this intensity is not something approved for this area as it has been developed. The noise associated with this is detrimental to the community and to the homeowners in respect to property values and quality of life.”

The proposed plan, presented at 65 Triano Drive by landowner George Carpenter, called for the use of a 2.5-acre portion of the 37-acre site including topsoil, sand, stone and concrete, according to Attorney Anthony Denorfia and Stephen Giudice, a consultant and principal of Harry E. Cole & Sons.

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Denorfia said he believed the plan conformed to guidelines for the property and said the site would be used “at a maximum” of 32 loads per day with some periods where it would not be used at all. No remediation or asphalt would be handled on site and 90 percent of all work would be exclusively for S. Carpenter Construction, a Bristol-based company, he said.

But residents on Tuesday said they believe the comments made by Denorfia and promises of developer George Carpenter are simply a smokescreen to get the application passed.

“When you look at the history in the neighborhood, this is not a simple case of us saying we don’t want anything there. We are not here each time to oppose everything that is put in,” said Lazy Lane resident Michelle Allair. “We don’t come often at all. The only thing we have all been here for in the past was the power plant.”

Lazy Lane residents including Mona McKim, John Haburay, Scott Grey and Joan Bradley, along with Milcon Drive resident Stan Slipski, said there is no way for an outdoor excavation process to exist without causing high noise levels and a considerable amount of dust.

Carpenter, who was present for the hearing on Tuesday after being absent during the first one on April 17, called the effects of any dust produced minimal and downplayed the idea that a single rock crusher, all he plans to use on the site, would be detrimental.

“It’s a portable rock crusher and it will not be there all time,” he said. “It would be used intermittently, maybe once per month. As far as dust goes, we are cognoscente of the dust and will use water and other efforts to keep it down. We are doing this mindful of trying to protect the environment and keep dust down.”

When in full operation, the plan would call for 32 loads per day and if that is the case most days, that is 64 passes up and down Lazy Lane and 10,000 trips over the course of about a year, noted McKim. She said the light tree buffer also wouldn’t hide the noise of an active rock crusher needed to prepare that many loads.

Slipski said the water alone would not be enough to combat the dust of this many trucks as they pass through the area, leaving a potential trail of dust from Interstate 84 down Queen Street and Lazy lane to Triano Drive.

These concerns were too much for commission members to overlook, Conroy said, especially given the fact that unapproved work has already taken place on the site – a minimal amount, but work that representatives were unaware was taking place during the previous hearing Giudice admitted.

Conroy said with the added fact that such problems have already been taking place on the site, he was uncomfortable in approving a special exception that would allow Carpenter to police himself.

Commissioner Paul Chaplinsky praised Carpenter for some of his previous work, but said he had to agree with Conroy and the residents in regard to this proposal.

“I believe that Mr. Carpenter has been good businessperson in town and has acted in good faith, but I do believe the infrastructure in area cannot handle additional truck traffic and it would be difficult to put enough water on activity in area to knock down the dust,” he said.

“I believe activities there are difficult to enforce and it put lot pressure on town to do random audits. We can’t allow that at this time.”

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