Clinton Panel Schedules July Hearing on Landfill Closure

Planning and Zoning · Meeting of June 10, 2026

CLINTON — The Clinton Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to schedule a July 13 public hearing on the town's plan to cap and close the Old Nod Road landfill. Engineer Emily Kelting of Loureiro Engineering Associates outlined a two-year closure involving an estimated 50 truck trips a day, prompting commissioners to press on truck routing and oversight. A staff member identified as Abby confirmed "there is no third party oversight of the project," referring to fill-material verification handled entirely by Loureiro.

The commission separately approved special exceptions for a self-storage facility at 335 East Main Street and a rear-lot subdivision at 75 East Main Street tied to the town's senior-center redevelopment, and received two zoning amendments required under the state's Public Act 25-1, setting a June 22 hearing.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,589 words

Source: the Planning and Zoning meeting of June 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

Agenda Amendment and the Shopping Center Notice Problem

The meeting opened with two housekeeping matters. The commission voted to move the self-storage special exception item from its original place on the agenda to the first slot, with the presiding officer saying the application "we can kind of wrap up rather quickly." Separately, the presiding officer announced that a pending special exception for a shopping center at 224 East Main Street could not be heard because the application had been publicly noticed under the town's shopping-center regulations, which carry different procedural requirements than a standard retail use. "It would be inappropriate for this commission to follow through with the public hearing that has not been properly noticed," the chair said, directing that the application be amended and renoticed for the July meeting. The question before the body was purely procedural — whether to proceed despite a notice defect — and the outcome was to decline, preserving the applicant's right to a properly noticed hearing later.

Minutes Approval

The commission took up approval of the May 11, 2026 meeting minutes with no corrections offered. The vote to approve passed, though the recorded count in the audio was garbled ("five, four yeses, two said three obstensions"); the presiding officer stated the motion passed despite what sounded like at least one abstention. No further action is required; the approved minutes become the official record of that meeting.

New Business: Self-Storage Facility Receipt and a Recusal

Before taking up the self-storage application, Commissioner Dylan Walter disclosed he had sold the subject property and recused himself, leaving the room for the vote. With Walter absent, the remaining six members voted unanimously to receive PZC26-12, a special exception for a self-storage and warehouse facility under section 12.46 of the Clinton zoning regulations at 335 East Main Street (rear), Map 88, Block 69, Lot 124, zoned I-2, and scheduled it for a public hearing later the same evening. Walter returned to the room once the item concluded.

New Business: Middle-Housing and Parking Amendments Under Public Act 25-1

Background and stakes: the state's Public Act 25-1 requires municipalities to adopt zoning provisions addressing "middle housing" and parking standards, putting Clinton on a compliance clock. The question before the commission was simply whether to receive two commission-sponsored text and map amendments and schedule hearings, not to decide their substance.

PZC26-13 proposes amendments to zoning regulation sections 3, 10, 12.3, 23 and 27.2, plus a new Section 37 titled "middle housing." PZC26-14 proposes a new zoning map and text amendments to sections 21 and 33, adding Section 24 ("parking management district") and Section 33.12 ("parking needs assessment"). Both were received and scheduled unanimously for a June 22 public hearing, described during the meeting as a "special meeting" dedicated to the regulation adoption. The presiding officer urged "everybody needs to be here for the June 22nd meeting" to ensure a quorum. No substantive debate on the content of either amendment occurred at this meeting; that discussion is reserved for the June 22 hearing.

New Business: Old Nod Road Landfill Closure — Debate and Scheduling

Background and stakes: the roughly 9.26-acre former town landfill on Old Nod Road operated from 1960 to 1979, received both municipal and industrial waste, and was capped in 1980 with a soil layer ranging from 6 inches to 2.5 feet — a cap the project engineer acknowledged "does not comply with state regulations." A 1990 Connecticut DEEP consent order requiring remediation remains open on the site. The question before the commission was whether to receive the town's own application, PZC26-15, for a comprehensive landfill-closure site plan under section 27.2.51 of the zoning regulations, and whether to schedule a public hearing immediately or delay pending more information.

One commissioner moved to postpone acceptance entirely, citing unresolved "storm water management" and "construction sequencing" questions and arguing the town-sponsored application "should give it just as much scrutiny as we would any other applicant." Another commissioner countered that receiving the application and scheduling a hearing was itself the mechanism for gathering more information: "You really can't receive the information until you have some type of application received." A staff member identified in the meeting only as Abby, who handles land use matters for the town, clarified the statutory clock: "You have 65 days to open that public hearing under the statutory time frames. You do have time," noting the application was otherwise complete, including a revised transportation plan submitted the previous Friday.

The commission then heard a presentation from Emily Kelting, a professional engineer with Loureiro Engineering Associates of Plainville, joined remotely by Kate Angler, described as a vice president and licensed environmental professional with the firm. Kelting detailed the project: a two-foot minimum final cap (18 inches of low-permeability material plus 6 inches of topsoil) over the full parcel, regrading of slopes currently as steep as 1:1 down to a 3:1 maximum, four new stormwater detention basins sized for a 100-year storm, and disturbance of about 0.1 acres of a single wetland pocket that the project's soil scientist characterized as "man-made" with "low functions and values." Construction is expected to take about two years, with work limited to 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and an estimated 50 truck trips per day, or about five trucks per hour.

Commissioners focused heavily on two issues. First, oversight of incoming fill: Kelting explained that material suppliers hire their own licensed environmental professionals to sample and certify fill before it is trucked to the site, and that Loureiro performs "an independent secondary review" of that paperwork but does not conduct additional sampling once loads arrive. Asked directly whether a third party reviews the process, Abby said plainly: "There is no third party oversight of the project." Second, truck routing and road damage: an initial route slide showed trucks traveling via Egypt Lane, prompting immediate objection — "You're sending trucks down Egypt Lane. You can't do that. No way. That is way too steep and windy" — before Kelting acknowledged she may have displayed an outdated route map and that a revised route uses Route 81 to Airline Road or I-95 to Duck Hole Road. No bond has been arranged to cover potential road damage from the hundreds of truck trips the project will generate; Kelting said Loureiro's construction arm would "certainly work with the town to repair any potholes," but confirmed this was "not contractually agreed to at this point."

Commissioners also challenged a stated project benefit — that landfill closure will "generate revenue for the town" — pressing on where paying fill material would come from. Kelting and commissioners agreed any revenue would likely come later, after capping, through future use of the land rather than from the fill-placement process itself.

Resident and environmental consultant Robert Fere, identifying himself as being with a firm referred to in the meeting as Austrian Environment, suggested the town create a dedicated project webpage addressing groundwater, surface water and gas monitoring questions, and whether other contaminated materials such as asphalt fragments might be accepted on site.

After discussion, Commissioner Walter moved to receive PZC26-15 and schedule a public hearing for the commission's July 13 meeting rather than June 22, which is reserved for the Public Act 25-1 regulation hearings. The motion, seconded by Commissioner Jay Mandel, passed unanimously with all seven members present. Implications: the July 13 hearing will need to place on the record the full consent-order requirements, final truck-route maps and any additional information Loureiro provides between now and then; commissioners asked that materials be sent to them "prior to July."

Tree Committee Presentation

The Clinton Tree Committee, represented by chair Carol Gaiser and member Enrique, presented an informal update rather than a formal agenda action. The committee is drafting a revision of the town's 1998 tree ordinance, which Enrique said still contains outdated references to the former "selectman" form of government. Using a self-described "gap analysis" of six Connecticut towns' tree ordinances — Seymour, Hamden, Greenwich and Middletown among them — the committee is proposing updated committee-structure language and consideration of a long-term "urban forest management" framework, which Enrique said neither Clinton nor most of the comparison towns currently require. The committee asked the commission to review a draft ordinance once submitted to staff, and to consider directing the committee to review planting plans in future site-plan applications involving significant landscaping.

The presentation prompted an extended exchange about the recent removal of trees on Liberty Green. Gaiser said the tree committee was not consulted in advance about the most recent three trees removed, despite an advisory provision in the ordinance calling for the tree warden to bring such decisions to the committee: "That has not happened," she said, adding the committee disagreed with the rationale offered for removing the one remaining tree on the green. A staff member who said he works with the town's director of public works and the tree warden said no formal canopy plan exists yet for the green, but that a revised quote from the town's consulting engineer, which includes landscape architects, is pending to develop options for the site's future use. No vote was taken on the tree ordinance or the Liberty Green matter; the discussion was informational only.

Public Hearing: Self-Storage Facility (PZC26-12)

The question before the commission was whether to approve a special exception for a self-storage and warehouse facility at 335 East Main Street (rear), presented by engineer Robert Graberick of Osprey Environmental Engineering on behalf of Shoreline Partners LLC. The facility includes no offices, bathrooms or climate control, with lighting on motion-activated, daylight-sensing controls only. The presiding commissioner flagged that the site plan's 38 parking spaces sat at the threshold requiring an electric-vehicle charging station, and noted the applicant could reduce the count by nine spaces and still meet minimum parking for a warehousing use, avoiding the charging-station requirement. Graberick agreed: "I would love to do so." No members of the public spoke for, against or neutrally. The commission voted unanimously to close the public hearing.

Public Hearing: Rear-Lot Special Exception (PZC26-11)

Engineer Francis Bach of BSC Group Engineering and Surveying, appearing remotely, presented a special exception under section 27.2.13 of the zoning regulations to split 75 East Main Street into a 23,859-square-foot front parcel (0.55 acres) retained by the town, including its green space, gazebo and statues, and a 136,450-square-foot rear parcel (3.13 acres) tied to the redevelopment of the former Abraham Pierson School building into housing with a town-leased senior center. Bach detailed compliance with minimum lot area, 70-foot minimum frontage (the lot measures 274 feet wide), 10-foot setbacks measured from the school building and gazebo, 32.5-foot access width, 107-foot access length and a 2.7 percent driveway slope, all exceeding or meeting regulatory minimums. No public comment was offered. The commission voted unanimously to close the hearing, with one commissioner remarking, "That was a really great presentation."

Old Business: Approval of PZC26-11 and PZC26-12

For PZC26-11, a commissioner moved to approve the special exception "to permit a rear lot at 75 East Main Street," conditioned on a final survey showing monument locations under section 5.3 of the zoning regulations and a town attorney review of final legal descriptions before recording. Abby noted the parcel's chain of title includes pieces once subject to Attorney General oversight for prior educational use, requiring the town attorney's sign-off on deed language before closing, though she said this did not affect the commission's zoning finding. The motion passed unanimously.

For PZC26-12, a commissioner read a prepared motion to approve the self-storage special exception and coastal site plan, including conditions requiring a stamped drainage report before recording, proof of a filed DEEP construction stormwater permit at least two weeks before construction begins, and as-built documentation before any certificate of occupancy. During discussion, a commissioner flagged that condition four — allowing the applicant to reduce non-accessible parking spaces "with written approval from the zoning enforcement officer" — used the word "may" rather than "shall." The motion was amended to substitute "shall," making the written zoning-officer approval a requirement rather than an option. The amended motion passed unanimously.

Committee Reports and Recognition

Under committee reports, the presiding officer reminded members to attend the June 22 special meeting for the Public Act 25-1 regulation hearings to ensure a quorum. The commission closed by recognizing a departing member — referred to in the recording as "Danny," though context suggests this may be Commissioner Dylan Walter, who indicated earlier in the meeting he did not expect to return — for "many years" of service on the commission and other town boards. The meeting adjourned on a unanimous voice vote.

Bo Clark — member, present Ellen Dren — member, present; served as secretary, reading the public hearing legal notice Eddie Alino — member, present Chinsey Latierryi — member, present Jay Mandel — member, present Zack (surname not given in available sources) — member, present Dylan Walter — member, present; recused from the PZC26-12 self-storage item due to a prior property sale Michael Rossi — chairman, listed as absent; signatory on the published legal notice Michael Florio — member, absent Andrew Randy — member, absent Susan Marcus — member, absent Brian Green — member, absent Abby (surname and formal title not given in available sources) — town land use staff, present, provided procedural and statutory guidance throughout Emily Kelting — professional engineer, Loureiro Engineering Associates, presented the landfill closure application Kate Angler — vice president, Loureiro Engineering Associates, joined by Zoom Robert Graberick — professional engineer representing Shoreline Partners LLC, presented the self-storage application Francis Bach — professional engineer, BSC Group Engineering and Surveying, presented the rear-lot application, appeared remotely Robert Fere — identified with a firm referred to as Austrian Environment, offered public comment on the landfill project Carol Gaiser — chair, Clinton Town Tree Committee, presented tree ordinance update Enrique (surname not given) — member, Clinton Town Tree Committee, presented tree ordinance update A staff member who said he works with the town's director of public works and the tree warden spoke to the Liberty Green canopy question; no surname was given in available sources

Loureiro Engineering Associates (spelled variously in the recording) — town-contracted engineering firm presenting the Old Nod Road landfill closure application Osprey Environmental Engineering — engineering firm for the self-storage application at 335 East Main Street BSC Group Engineering and Surveying — engineering firm for the rear-lot application at 75 East Main Street H&H Engineering Associates LLC — engineer of record for the shopping-center application that could not be heard due to improper notice Shoreline Partners LLC — applicant entity for the self-storage facility Clinton Town Tree Committee — presented a draft revision to the 1998 tree ordinance and raised concerns about Liberty Green tree removals Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) — issuer of the 1990 consent order governing the Old Nod Road landfill and reviewer of the project's solid-waste and stormwater permits Public Act 25-1 — state law cited as the basis for the commission's middle-housing (PZC26-13) and parking management district (PZC26-14) zoning amendments Inland Wetlands Commission — reviewed the landfill project the prior week and found it not a "significant activity," with a formal determination expected in July Clinton zoning regulations, sections 27.2.51, 12.46, 27.2.13, 3, 10, 12.3, 23, 21, 33 — cited throughout as the regulatory basis for each application and text amendment 2025 Plan of Conservation and Development — cited in the PZC26-11 and PZC26-12 motions as supporting findings for both approvals