THAT
W.P.A. LOOK...VALLEY FORGE BRIDGE LATEST FOR REDO (r)
These computer-generated photos of proposed new bridge designs for
Cartbridge Road were created by the design team at Arthur Dicesare
Associates PC of Westport. (Note the reflection of the old bridge in
the water.) The Board of Selectmen will review design options at its
next meeting on Thursday, Oct. 4, at 6 p.m. in the Meeting Room at town
hall.
Weston: Valley Forge bridge
repair takes shape
Weston FORUM
Written by Kimberly Donnelly
Wednesday, 01 September 2010 11:51
Despite a slight delay in delivery of some precast bridge span
sections, the Valley Forge Road bridge replacement project in Weston is
on track and proceeding with no major glitches.
Workers from Guerrera Construction removed the old bridge span across
the Saugatuck River at the end of the spring, and work has continued
largely unimpeded this summer, thanks in large part to very cooperative
weather.
Tom Landry, town administrator, said there was a slight delay early on,
when the contractor asked to change the method of creating retaining
walls from the cast-in-place ones in the original design plans to
precast interlocking pieces. It took about five weeks for the state
transportation department to reject the request, Mr. Landry said.
Since that time, excavation work was done for the retaining walls,
which are scheduled to be put in place this week using the
cast-in-place method, where workers lay rebar — super-strong metal bars
— inside forms and then pour concrete over it.
Abutments — the bridge’s foundation — on both sides have also been
installed using the same cast-in-place method.
The bridge span itself is designed to be precast sections. Mr. Landry
said the company in New Hampshire with which Guerrera had contracted to
make the concrete spans recently went out of business. Another company
has agreed to do the work, Mr. Landry said, but because of the change,
delivery of the bridge spans has been delayed by several weeks.
It has not put the overall project behind, though, he said, because
“there is plenty they can do while they’re waiting.”
Westonite Phyllis Gary has been documenting the bridge construction
since it began. “I have learned amazing things about bridge
construction... and this amazing engineering event in Weston,” she said.
Ms. Gary reported that workers have installed temporary structures made
of concrete slabs designed to support the huge cranes that will lift
the bridge spans into place on the foundations.
Cranes on both sides of the river will lift the spans of the bridge and
hook them together. Once the spans are linked together, there will be a
lot of road and drainage work still to be done, she said.
The bridge span sections are expected to arrive by mid to late
September, said John Conte, town engineer. “Construction is still on
schedule,” Mr. Conte said.
While Mr. Conte said the town’s contract with Guerrera runs through May
2011, Mr. Landry said the bridge is expected to be open to traffic, at
least on a limited basis, by the end of December of this year.
NEW
2008 ZONING REGULATION
MODIFICATION HERE; READ
TOWN ATTORNEY'S LETTER HERE.
When is the Town of Weston exempt from its own zoning
regulations? As my grandmother used to say, "it's
according." Do you think one of the first questions the new
Select Committee on Legal Services Review should be asked is "Is the
Town exempt from its own zoning regs on town owned property?" See
the report on this Selectmen's meeting tomorrow! We know bridge
repair has been considered "exempt" by this P&Z Commission in 2007
(see below).
Weston
P&Z exempts bridge
replacement from its scrutiny
Weston FORUM
Patricia Gay
Oct 2, 2007
The Planning and Zoning Commission passed an “emergency resolution” at
its meeting Monday night in order to allow the Cartbridge Road bridge
replacement project to move along without delay.
The resolution states that the “construction of public roads and
bridges does not require a zoning permit.”
This allows the Cartbridge project to move forward without P&Z’s
review.
The bridge has been closed since it was damaged by severe flooding in
April, necessitating several miles of detours for residents in the area.
The resolution was made in light of a written statement P&Z issued
last month indicating that the town was not exempt from its own zoning
regulations and would need to come before P&Z for review and
approval of town projects.
In the past, the Board of Selectmen has relied on a municipal zoning
exemption approved by a previous board and was accustomed to getting
only an 8-24 planning approval from P&Z for building projects.
Under an 8-24 review, P&Z decides only whether the proposed use is
appropriate for the land in question.
After asking the board of selectmen on several occasions to voluntarily
give up the planning exemption — and getting no for an answer — P&Z
conducted research of the minutes of town meetings and determined the
town did not follow due process to legally exempt itself from zoning
regulations.
The current Board of Selectmen did not say it would comply with
P&Z’s findings, and until the Cartbridge bridge project, the issue
of the exemption has not been put to the test.
Passing the resolution takes the question out of the mix for now.
P&Z member Stephan Grozinger said granting an exception to roads
and bridges makes sense in order to avoid “unintended results.”
Weston
zoning exemption: Selectmen deny P&Z request
Weston FORUM
by PATRICIA GAY
Nov 8, 2006
It’s over. Don Saltzman, chairman of the Planning and Zoning
Commission, has admitted defeat.
For a year and a half, members of his commission have spent countless
hours researching and working on a proposal to try and convince the
Board of Selectmen to relinquish the town of Weston’s exemption from
its own zoning laws.
But in a letter to the commission dated Oct. 24, the selectmen said no
to the proposal once and for all. “The Board of Selectmen has not taken
any action or formal vote on your proposal... I believe we are unlikely
to do so,” wrote First Selectmen Woody Bliss.
“This is it, this is the end of our work, we’re done,” Mr. Saltzman
said at Monday’s commission meeting. He said the commission did its
best but it has its answer from the selectmen.
The commission asked the selectmen to adopt regulations that would
require local leaders to obtain planning and zoning approvals for town
building projects. The town currently only has to get an 8-24 planning
approval, which the commission contends is less stringent than
traditional planning and zoning requirements.
“The town should be subjected to the same process that an independent
builder must follow to have something built in town,” argued Paul
Heifetz, a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Dan Gilbert added that tighter regulations would make the process
better. “If the town accepts these regulations, the people will have a
greater voice,” he said.
Reasons
The selectmen were ultimately not convinced by the commission’s
arguments and gave several reasons for denial of the proposal in their
letter:
• The current provisions have served the town well
for 30 years. No past problems were cited, nor were any future
hypothetical problems addressed.
• A town meeting would not be the final determinant
in a disputed issue, instead the matter would land in court.
• Decision time would take longer under the proposal
than it presently does in an 8-24 review.
• It would be more expensive for the town.
• It would reduce the voice of the people by allowing
the commission to nullify the vote of a town meeting.
• It would result in a less democratic decision, as
the final determinant is not the citizens or the commissions but an
“unknown, disassociated judge.”
Further, the commission has broad latitude to present a negative 8-24
review if it so desires giving the commission a direct say in the
building process, Mr. Bliss wrote.
Under advisement
But Mr. Bliss also agreed to take some of the commission’s suggestions
under advisement.
“With regard to notification of neighbors, the Board of Selectmen has
always provided notice when asked by the Planning and Zoning
Commission. I will urge the selectmen to adopt a policy of notifying
neighbors concerning any 8-24,” Mr. Bliss wrote.
With regard to the short time constraints an 8-24 review puts on the
commission (35 days to issue a final decision), Mr. Bliss offered two
options.
“The first is to ask the town to withdraw the application and resubmit
it in order to gain extra time in increments of 35 days. The second
would be to issue a negative 8-24 citing as the reason the lack of time
to gather additional information,” Mr. Bliss wrote. He added that he
was not aware of any case in the past where the 35 day limit was a
problem.
Rogue selectmen
One of the hypothetical reasons Dr. Gilbert gave for changing the
town’s standard of review was that someday there might be a “rogue”
board of selectmen that had a personal agenda and could take advantage
of the 8-24 review to get something approved that would be detrimental
to the welfare of the town.
Mr. Bliss responded accordingly. “In the last 25 years there have been
no competitive elections for seats on the Planning and Zoning
Commission. There have been a number of competitive elections for the
Board of Selectmen. In addition, the term of the selectmen is two
years, whereas the term for planning and zoning is four years, thus
making it easier for the citizens to remove ‘rogue’ selectmen who are
not pursuing the best interest of the town.”
The letter concluded by stating that the current zoning regulations are
designed primarily for residential situations, do not address municipal
uses, and variances would be required for some town building projects
which would further complicate the process.
With the selectmen’s denial in hand and the planning and zoning
commission conceding defeat, the only avenue still available for those
wishing to press the matter would be to petition the matter to a town
meeting.
Members of the commission said they have heard there are people
interested in going that route, but as far as they are concerned, they
are done with the matter.