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NORWALK, Conn. Members of the Mazzola family were speechless Wednesday night after a meeting in City Hall, at least as far as public comment went.
The family, owners of Amec Carting LLC, was seeking permission from the Zoning Commission to increase the amount of construction and demolition materials processed in the facility, from 200 tons to 600 tons. The number of trucks coming and going from its facility on Crescent Street, behind the Stepping Stones Museum for Children, would increase accordingly. The commission voted to allow Amec to increase the amount to 300 tons, with the stipulation that business cannot be open to private contractors.
It's a decision that one concerned citizen says may cost the city of Norwalk money. "They're going to sue the city and that's taxpayer dollars," Diane Lauricella, an environmental consultant, said of the Mazzola family.
"I think it's fair to say we're disappointed," said the family's attorney, Chris Smith of Shipman and Goodwin in Hartford. "There really isn't a fair basis for what they did." He had no further comment, saying he would "go back and huddle" with the family and "explore options."
Amec Carting was given a special permit in 2005 to operate at the location. In August, it applied for a modification that would not increase the size of its facility but would expand its hours and add traffic.
Trucks coming and going from the facility now belong to Amec, but the family wanted to open the facility to private contractors.
Commission Chairman Joseph Santo was on the Zoning Board of Appeals when the special permit was approved. "I never anticipated I'd be sitting here again six years later, asked to increase this tonnage," he said. "I remember back in '05 that they were happy and sufficient with what they wanted."
At the August hearing, the family presented a traffic study that said impact on the neighborhood would be minimal, as they planned to "stack" the trucks with a traffic controller who would communicate with drivers by radio. They said a misting system in the facility controlled dust and presented information to show that the facility could handle the increase.
Sclafani Brothers, which neighbors Amec, fought the modification and presented information that the commission took to heart. "We agree with his conclusions," said Commissioner James White.
"The applicant never really proved that it could handle 600 tons, and that was unreasonable," Santo said. "The trucks, the traffic, that would come in there would be unreasonable. The hours were unreasonable. The operation would unreasonably pollute the area, not be the best thing for the city of Norwalk. The trucks would not be able to stack the way they claimed."
Commissioners said they had a report from Hal Alvord, director of the Department of Public Works, indicating that one truck waiting to gain entry to the facility would cause a traffic problem. The curbs there are high, preventing cars from going around a stopped vehicle. They questioned the idea that trucks could be controlled, as private contractors could arrive without any notice, preventing radio communication in advance.
The commission voted 4-3 to prohibit private contractors from using Amec. It voted 5-2 to allow an increase in tonnage, from 200 tons to 300 tons.
"I'm happy with the way it's trending, however, I'm disappointed in the way this was handled by the city staff, and I'm going to be making suggestions how we can better facilitate projects like this," said Lauricella, who opposed the application.
Commissioners are volunteers, who are assisted by city staff members Mike Greene and Michael Wrinn of the Planning and Zoning Department. Lauricella said the city could have hired experts for an unbiased third party opinion to assist the commissioners, which is allowed under special circumstances.
She said she appreciated Alvord's report, but he "eyeballed everything but did not write a detailed engineering review that you need to have to counter the applicants engineering review. It's just a different world, you write a report, he wrote a memo. Which was helpful, very helpful, and I was pleased ... It's a shame, it's a missed opportunity to assist their laymen commissioners to make informed decisions."
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