West Woods Apartments Clear Hamden Wetlands

The Inland Wetlands Commission Wednesday signed off on including some built under the state's Affordable Housing statutes, on 5.8 acres of land at 55 West Woods Rd.

The commission had previously approved a hotel for the site in 2009, and the plans presented Wednesday differed little in terms of wetland disturbance, which factored into the commission's quick decision, members said.

In terms of wetland issues, the proposed parking area is smaller than is was for the hotel, according to Ryan McEvoy of Milone and MacBroom, a Cheshire civil engineering firm hired by the developers, West Woods LLC.

More than a dozen members of the public attended the meeting, including residents of the nearby Trailside Village condominiums and members of the West Woods Neighborhood Association, but none were allowed to speak because there was no public hearing scheduled on the agenda.

But one commission member, Eric Annes, suggested it would be a good idea to allow the public to speak given the magnitude of the project and the number of people in attendance.

"I tend to like it to be an open meeting," he said.

But commission chairman Nancy Rosenbaum said she didn't feel there was a need for the public to speak.

"I don't want this to be a public hearing," she said. "I don't want to have 30 people speaking."

The commission's attorney Tim Lee agreed.

"There doesn't seem to be much of a different impact that what is in place," he said, referring to the 2009 approval for the hotel. "I'm not sure public comment would benefit the commission."