Common Ground is now an uncommon sight for a High School. A project to install geothermal wells has recently entered construction phase. These wells will act to use the earth as a heat source (during the winter) and a heat sink (during the summer).
Project Spotlight: the Star Supply Building
Located on State Street in New Haven, the old industrial site is now the stuff of great plans. Recently, the City Plan Comission approved plans for the construction of some 235 residential units. This would involve demolishing most of the existing buildings, which have been vacant and locked up.
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Career Event at Common Ground School
“More so than ever before, being a surveyor requires a general knowledge of technology that you all already possess,” said Calvin Weingart, L.S., to a class of high school students at Common Ground School. As part of a career-event, Calvin and survey technician Peter Grunawalt from Godfrey-Hoffman volunteered to give a presentation about the land surveying profession.
The emphasis of the presentation was on several key points:
Bamboo-zled! State Holds Property Owners Accountable for Bamboo Growth
Within Connecticut, planting of bamboo has become popular, particularly along coastal areas. However, most are unaware of how quickly and extensively bamboo can spread, and hence, the new liabilities property owners assume when planting.
The particular type of bamboo under scruitiny is known to regulators as “running bamboo.” Though not considered an invasive species in Connecticut, it has a root system that is particularly adept at spreading underground, and if not carefully maintained, will spread from one property to another. According to an article published February 17th on OrangeLive.com, the “bamboo roots spread and travel underground far from the visible plants and new shoots can pop up just about anywhere. They are strong enough to tear up patios and foundations and destroy septic systems.”
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Congress Votes to Block Flood Insurance Premium Hikes
This past Tuesday, the House voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill that would largley repeal Biggert-Waters, a bill which saught to balance FEMA’s enormos debt by expanding flood insurance risk pools and increasing premiums. The new bill, called the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, limits premium increases from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to 18% a year.
The new bill makes several key changes that homeowners should immediately feel, in addition to the limit on premium increases.
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Senate Passes Bill to Delay Flood Insurance Hikes
In a vote on January 30th, 2014, the senate passed a bill that will delay flood insurance hikes for at least four years.
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Project Spotlight: Kensett Lane
Our very own Denise Halstead, PE, was hired by a developer to take an existing site of 15.87 acres, formerly the grounds of a gravel processing operation, consisting of 1.83 acres of wetlands and develop the site into an age-restricted community with a meeting center and pool. The development would have some 62 units, approximately 3,500 sf each with a garage and patio. This development would be the first new home community in Darien in more than a generation.
Challenges
The plot of land was not without its challenges. The site had been overworked for 60 years and many drainage problems existed within the trunk storm sewer piping that ran throughout the entire property. A railroad and two cemeteries abutted the properties and the design be modified to appease all neighbors, regulatory agencies and the Town’s stormwater management requirements. The neighbors supported this development because the new design incorporated plans to alleviate flooding they regularly incurred during storm events.
The project required creative thinking in order to provide a home for a community that felt one with nature. One of the first improvements made was the replacement of the Town storm sewer and stormwater system. The use of underground systems combined with rain gardens and bioswales provided not just relief to the drainage concerns, but an environmentally sensitive and green infrastructure to complement the development.
The project was unanimously approved in 2009, but hit a hurdle with the State of Connecticut Department of Transportation. The project planned to re-use the existing driveway to access the site. The State denied use of the entrance because it crossed the Metro North railroad tracks, a site of multiple fatalities. The developer had to put the job on hold and determine another way to access the site. With the railroad abutting the site on the west, cemeteries on the west and north and wetlands on the east, the only access was via a neighboring street, and involved the purchase of properties to do so.
In 2010, a solution was found, and with approval from local regulatory agencies and the state, an access drive was developed off Wakemore Street. Final design work would include permitting from Metro North for a sanitary sewer crossing under the railroard tracks, as well as a State Department of Transportation permit for improvements on the nearby Hoyt Street and the realignment of their access road, Wakemore Street. The project included extensive coordination with utility companies, the Town of Darien Public Works department, and general contractor, client, sub-contractors, and other specialty consultants.
The National Flood Insurance Program, FEMA, and You
Damage sustained by a town in Fairfield county after Hurricane Sandy. Image courtesy of Michael McAndrews, a photgrapher for the “The Courant“.
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