Public hearing set for Nov. 14

By Joe Kelly

Plans for a new Norfolk firehouse have received financial backing from the State of Connecticut and approval from the town’s Inland Wetlands Agency—two milestones for a project that could reshape Norfolk’s emergency response capabilities for years to come.

Attention now shifts to Norfolk’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z), which will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at Town Hall. The hearing will likely to be the most significant opportunity for Norfolk residents to provide public comment on the plans. Additional future steps in the process will be a vote at a town meeting and budget approval by the Board of Finance.

Matt Riiska, Norfolk’s first selectman, said at the open house, held Oct. 21 at the firehouse to answer questions about the proposed new building, that the Connecticut State Bond Commission—which is responsible for financing billions of dollars in projects throughout the state—approved $2.5 million for the firehouse. The information came from an announcement from State Representative Maria Horn (D-64th) and State Senator Lisa Seminara (R-8th Senate District). Horn, who sits on the commission, had requested $3 million.

Riiska welcomed the allocation as “excellent.” He said the town would seek additional state funding, as well as federal financing and private fundraising, to try to lessen the impact on local taxpayers for a project that will cost at least $5 million.

The approval by Norfolk’s Inland Wetlands Agency came despite an environmental report showing that some 10 percent of the land where the new firehouse would be located qualifies as wetlands. This amounts to about 8,000 square feet of the 1.75-acre area off Shepard Road next to the current firehouse. A project that impacts more than 5,000 square feet of wetlands can trigger a review by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The report prepared for the Wetlands Agency found that 95 percent of the impacted wetlands are in areas of the site that have already been disturbed by the existing firehouse. Overall, it found that the proposed new building would not result in any negative effect on wetlands performance but did encourage planting of more native and wetlands vegetation, as well as other measures to help mitigate any possible impacts.

The public hearing before the P&Z on Nov. 14 is expected to provide an in-depth public review of the entire project. Based on current plans, the new building would be more than twice the size of the current firehouse. It would comply with current safety regulations, allowing more room for vehicles, a larger meeting space and offices and improved ventilation for handling the diesel exhaust from the trucks. The entire area around the firehouse would be redeveloped with parking, lighting and an entrance to the nearby City Meadow. The current firehouse would ultimately be torn down.

Editor’s Note: An article in the October Norfolk Now referred incorrectly to the land being used for the firehouse. All of the property for both the current and future firehouse belongs to the town, not the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department.