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Date: 10/3/2023
EAST LONGMEADOW — The East Longmeadow Conservation Commission heard a notice of intent on Sept. 27 for an indoor self-storage facility to be constructed at 275 Benton Dr. The applicant, CJ Bardy, has also requested a special permit from the Planning Board and is going through that process and the Conservation Commission simultaneously.
The mostly rectangular property has a triangular offshoot at the rear. A wetland sits behind the site. Wetland scientist Steve Riberdy said the proposed location for the building straddles the boundary of the 100-foot buffer required for wetland banks under the Wetlands Protection Act. Setbacks from the front of the property do not allow the building to be placed any closer to the street.
An access road would circle the building with a fence surrounding it. Engineer Jim Luczak explained that a forebay would collect water runoff from the front of the site. Two catch basins would be at the side of the property, while back runoff would flow overland to a rock swale, allowing it to filter through the ground. Luczak said two “small trees” and some branches would be removed, but the majority of the existing trees would remain. Together, with grass and landscaping, they would help secure the wetland banks and avoid erosion.
Conservation Commission Chair William Arment and member Michael Carabetta agreed that they would like to walk the site before making a determination on the project.
“That is a lot of impermeable surface,” Arment commented. He said he was concerned about road salt entering the wetland. Luczak assured him that no water would flow into it without going through stormwater infrastructure first, but Arment noted that once salt is dissolved in water, it cannot be removed in the way sand or other sediment can be.
The issue was tabled until Oct. 11, when the commissioners will walk the site prior to their 6 p.m. meeting.