"Church Asks for More Time"

By MIKE SAVINO
Chronicle Staff Writer
The Chronicle, May 22 2009, pg 1

COVENTRY — A local church proposing a religious and com­munity development plans to address concerns from residents when the inland wetlands agency once again discusses the issue Wednesday.

The meeting will be at Coventry High School’s lecture hall starting at 7:30 p.m.

The wetlands agency will once again take up the public hearing for St. Paul’s Collegiate Church’s proposal, which was continued last month.

St. Paul’s Collegiate Church is proposing to develop 60 acres for both religious and community uses, with the focal point being a church capable of seating 800 people.

Plans also include two fields, one for baseball and one for soc­cer, space for offices, Sunday school and other church-related services, as well as 375 parking spaces.

Pastor Ben Dubow has said about 270 spaces would be paved, with the rest using pervious mate­rials like gravel or grass.

Dubow said Friday the project engineers have come up with a “less engineered, more wetlands- friendly” solution for addressing Clark Brook, locat­ed on the property.

“The real reasons we needed time was to work with the town engineer (on Clark Brook),” Dubow said. He added he feels he, the engineers and his attorney have addressed concerns from residents, but Dubow and his representatives still took time to “ summa­rize” their arguments again.

St. Paul’s currently has a purchase agreement with the owners, Alice E. Dunnack and Jane Herchenreder, to purchase the land located on Jones Crossing Road, which intersects Route 195 near the borders of Mansfield, Willington and Tolland.

Many residents in the area have come out to the previous two public hearings to express their con­cerns, forcing the wetlands agency to move its meet­ings from the town hall annex to the high school.

Many of the concerns focused on the impact on wetlands, as well as Clark Brook and the Willimantic River, which is nearby.

A group of 17 homeowners has even hired an attor­ney, Lou Wise, to represent them.

Wise has characterized the project as “massive,” noting plans call for a 31,000-square foot church, and asked for the wetlands agency to seek input from wetlands experts.

Town Engineer Todd Penny, who could not be reached for comment Friday, told the council he would ask the North Central Conservation District, a consultant firm reviewing the project, about further analysis.

Some residents were specifically worried about the proposed development’s impact on water qual-i­ty, with one resident saying he and others already experience issues and the area does not have access to town sewers.

St. Paul’s currently has locations in Storrs, also on Route 195, and in Manchester. Dubow said the church needs more space for local services.

The wetlands agency will also address an applica­tion from Flanders Woods, a development project previously put on hold over permitting issues with the state Department of Public Health.

The project received approvals from the wetlands agency and planning and zoning commissions, but developers were not able to begin the project before permits expired because of issues with the DPH.