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01/29/2018 11:00 PMA proposal to construct a 94,000 square-foot industrial recycling facility on a former Unilever warehouse is returning to Clinton commissions. The facility was first proposed by Shoreline Rail and Recycling LLC (SRR) in 2015 and was met with opposition and a legal challenge from neighbors. An updated version of the original plan will go before the Inlands Wetlands Commission (IWC) at a public hearing this month; a date is expected to be set at the Feb. 6 IWC meeting.
In 2015, SRR originally sought to build a recycling facility off of Route 145, the site of a former 140,000-square foot Unilever warehouse that collapsed under heavy snows in February 2013.
At the time of the purchase, following Clinton zoning regulations, SRR had less than two years to complete all regulatory work necessary to begin rebuilding the structure. In June 2015, SRR applied for and was granted a variance with the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to extend its building time.
At the time, members of the homeowners association of Founders Village, the condominium complex located across the railroad tracks from the proposed facility, filed a lawsuit to halt all construction on the site.
“The appeal was dismissed, with the judge finding in favor of the ZBA and the applicant,” said Zoning Enforcement Officer Eric Knapp. “This is an updated version of what Shoreline Rail proposed in 2015.”
Objections to the original proposal centered on increased noise and traffic and environmental concerns stemming from the wide range of materials that might be processed in a floodplain.
Knapp explained the scope of the upcoming IWV application.
“This application is just an application for possible impacts to inland wetlands,” he said. “This application is necessary, but not sufficient for the project to go forward. Following the public hearing and any continuation of the hearing, the public hearing will be closed and the IWC will make a decision.
“If the application is denied, the project, as proposed, cannot proceed. The applicant could appeal or modify the project to reduce the wetlands impacts and try again. If the application is approved, as presented, or with modifications and conditions, the applicant can proceed to the Planning & Zoning Commission [PZC] for a special exception,” Knapp said.
If the proposal were to receive a PZC special exception, another public hearing would be required, according to Knapp.
“The neighbors can appeal the IWC, in the same way they appealed the ZBA’s decision. The special exception application will require the applicant submit evidence demonstrating that the application meets the standards set forth in the regulations. The PZC can approve or deny, and the same possible appeals would be possible,” Knapp said.
Calls to Loureiro Engineering Associates, a company that has represented SSR in front of the IWC, were not returned at press time.
The Harbor News will print and post the public hearing date when it is set.