Residents Criticize Town for Not Following its Own Rules

A wooden barrier along a narrow road with no striping are features that would keep Garder Road looking more scenic, according to Planning & Zoning Commissioners' assessments of a Public Works project to repave a stretch of Garder Road from Applegate Lane to Pepper Street.

Town Land Use Dir. Scott Schatzlein, who is also the town engineer, favors a metal guide rail, but said he will see if the state will allow wood barriers instead. He also told commissioners the pavement could have an appearance similar to gravel.

The project aims to rebuild the road's base and widen it to 22 feet. Connecticut highway standards call for roads to be a minimum of 32-feet-wide, but Schatzlein said Garder Road has less than 600 vehicles driving on it per day, exempting it from those guidelines. The 20 mph speed limit would stay the same.

The width of the road currently varies in places from 14 to 20 feet, according to Schatzlein.

He said he wants to pursue minimal improvements to protect the condition of Garder Road, while making it safer for drivers.

A Public Works crew had already started to re-pave the stretch of Garder Road last year, but the first selectman halted the project when it was found that the town was not following the approval process outlined by the Scenic Road Ordinance. Now Schatzlein is handling the application.

The Inland Wetlands Commission and Town Council issued approvals and now only a nod from the Planning & Zoning Commission is needed for the project to continue.

P&Z Chairman Patrick O'Hara said town departments must take Monroe's Scenic Road Ordinance more seriously in the future, and praised Schatzlein for taking the Garder Road re-paving project through the process.

The commission listened to Schatzlein's presentation at its meeting last Thursday, asked questions and allowed public input before directing department staff to confirm whether or not Garder Road is a scenic road.

Same Rules for All

Members of the public criticized the town for now following its own ordinance for the project.

"This was a scenic road that just got obliterated in this section," Joe Sullivan said of the Scenic Roads Ordinance not being followed. "Lets try to keep what’s left of this section of Garder Road."

Steve Ballok said a proposal to widen the road and add steel guide rails doesn't sound very scenic to him. "Keep the rural nature of the town," he said. "There's not that much of it left."

Gail Bunovsky, who serves on the Conservation Commission but spoke as a private citizen, expressed concerns over finding that the traffic survey says there is truck traffic, including 18-wheelers on the narrow road.

She also said the town's own Plan of Conservation & Development says a scenic road is not supposed to be more than 20 feet wide.

John Kimball, a resident and a developer, said, "Nothing against the current staff or commissioners here, but It's unfortunate the town doesn’t have to follow the same regulations and procedures as private developers do."

Kimball favors wooden barriers and chip sealing, which would make Garder Road stronger and appear more like a gravel road. Studies should also be done to protect the wetlands, he added.

O'Hara read a letter by Garder Road residents Ted and Therese Zalenski into the record. The couple said the Department of Public Works should apply for permits and do studies like everyone else. They also asked why the town was not hit with a violation for starting the project without seeking approvals.

The Zalenskis want Garder Road to be restored back to the condition it was before the DPW started the job last year.

Discouraging Truck Traffic

Commissioner James Weinberg asked if the town could put up a "No Thru Trucks" sign, but O'Hara pointed out that there is an industrially zoned lot on Garder Road and some on Fan Hill Road.

Weinberg said, "That road takes a beating constantly. A lot of that has to do with heavy truck traffic."

Sean O’Rourke, a commission alternate, asked if there was anything the town could do to discourage truck traffic or speeding on Garder Road.

Schatzlein said the road being 22 feet wide is a traffic calming measure in itself.

But O'Rourke said widening the road would encourage more traffic. He then asked about having speed bumps in certain sections of Garder. Schatzlein said he and Police Chief John Salvatore do not recommend speed bumps there.