The real Martin Overton Part 2

Back in September 2011, Martin Overton passed out proposed changes to zoning regulations that he worked to write behind the commission's back.  Listed in this is the exact text of those proposed changes. 

These changes were written by Overton without including the commission.  Overton obtained a legal opinion in June 2011 that he hid from the commission until January 2012.  The public hearing started in December 2011. 

In the September 13 2011 zoning meeting, Overton waited until the end of the meeting to pass out these proposed changes.  He made the motion to go to public hearing on these without allowing the commission to even read them.  The commission yet again went along with this. 

You can read this for yourself on page 8 of the 9-13-2011 meeting below. 

http://www.woodburyct.org/meetings/zoning/Zoning%20Minutes%209-13-11.pdf

The question is why does this matter. 

1. It shows how Overton has conducted himself as a public official.  Woodbury will have one of two Democrats on the Board of Seletmen: Overton (endorsed by the Democrat Town Committee) or Kevin Barry (running as a petitioning candidate). 

2. It gives insight into why the Zoning Commission has been so dysfunctional.  Members did not read proposed changes before voting to go to public hearing (which the changes were later voted down).  Do you want elected officials acting like this? 

3. The changes would have been really bad for Woodbury and were completely unnecessary.  This proposal has 28 sections of businesses that would have been banned moving forward. 

4. First Selectman Jerry Stomski stepped in with two extremely important actions.  First he ended the practice of allowing Overton to obtain legal opinions and letting him hide them from the commission.  Secondly, he put together the beginnings of a training manual for board and commission members to learn what their job is.  This is a huge problem in town. 

Here is the actual text of the proposal.  I have bolded for emphasis key components of this. 

3.2.2          The following uses are specifically prohibited in any zoning district in an effort to protect the stratified drift aquifers and public drinking water well head protection areas, surface rivers, brooks and streams located through the Town, which are essential to health, safety and public welfare. Aquifers are an essential natural resource and a major source of public drinking water. Use of groundwater will likely increase as the population grows and opportunities for new surface water supplies have diminished and will likely continue to diminish in the future due development. At the same time, numerous drinking water wells may have been contaminated by certain land uses, and others may now be threatened. To protect the water resources, both underground and above ground, the following commercial land uses are specifically prohibited in any district:

A.     underground storage or transmission of oil or petroleum, to the extent such use is not pre-empted by federal law, or hazardous material, except for (i) an underground storage tank that contains number two (2) fuel oil and is located more than five hundred (500) feet from a public supply well subject to regulation under §22a-354c or §22a-354z of the Connecticut General Statutes, or (ii) underground electrical facilities such as transformers, breakers, or cables containing oil for cooling or insulation purposes which are owned and operated by a public service company,

B.     oil or petroleum dispensing for the purpose of retail, wholesale or fleet use,

C.     on-site storage of hazardous materials for the purpose of wholesale sale,

D.     commercial repair or maintenance of vehicles or internal combustion engines of vehicles, involving the use, storage or disposal of hazardous materials, including solvents, lubricants, paints, brake fluids, transmission fluids or the generation of hazardous wastes,

E.      commercial salvage operations of metal or vehicle parts,

F.      wastewater discharges to ground water other than domestic sewage and stormwater, except for discharges from the following that have received a permit from the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner pursuant to §22a-430 of the Connecticut General Statutes: (i) a pump and treat system for ground water remediation, (ii) a potable water treatment system, (iii) heat pump system, (iv) non-contact cooling water system, (v) swimming pools,

G.     commercial car or truck washing, unless all waste waters from such use are lawfully disposed of through a connection to a publicly owned treatment works,

H.     commercial production or refining of chemicals, including without limitation hazardous materials or asphalt,

I.        commercial clothes or cloth cleaning service which involves the use, storage or disposal of hazardous materials including without limitation dry-cleaning solvents,

J.       industrial laundry use that involves the cleaning of clothes or cloth contaminated by hazardous material, unless all waste waters from such use are lawfully disposed of through a connection to a publicly owned treatment works,

K.     generation of electrical power by means of fossil fuels, except for (i) generation of electrical power by an emergency engine as defined by §22a-174-22(a)(2) of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, or (ii) generation of electrical power by means of natural gas or propane,

L.      production of electronic boards, electrical components, or other electrical equipment involving the use, storage or disposal of any hazardous material or involving metal plating, degreasing of parts or equipment, or etching operations,

M.    embalming or crematory services which involve the use, storage or disposal of hazardous material, unless all waste waters from such use are lawfully disposed of through a connection to a publicly owned treatment works,

N.     commercial furniture stripping operations which involve the use, storage or disposal of hazardous materials,

O.     commercial furniture finishing operations which involve the use, storage or disposal of hazardous materials, unless all waste waters from such use are lawfully disposed of through a connection to a publicly owned treatment works,

P.       commercial storage, treatment or disposal of hazardous waste,

Q.      commercial biological or chemical testing, analysis or research which involves the use, storage or disposal of hazardous material, unless all waste waters from such use are lawfully disposed of through a connection to a publicly owned treatment works, and provided that on-site testing of a public supply well by a public water utility is not a prohibited use,

R.      commercial pest control services which involve storage, mixing or loading of pesticides or other hazardous materials,

S.       commercial photographic finishing which involves the use, storage or disposal of hazardous materials, unless all waste water from such use are lawfully disposed of through a connection to a publicly owned treatment works,

T.      commercial production or fabrication of metal products which involves the use, storage or disposal of hazardous materials including (i) metal cleaning or degreasing with industrial solvents, (ii) metal plating, or (iii) metal etching,

U.     commercial printing, plate making, lithography, photoengraving, or gravure, which involves the use, storage or disposal of hazardous materials,

V.     accumulation or storage of waste oil, anti-freeze or spent lead-acid batteries which are subject to a general permit issued by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner under §22a-208(i) and §22a-454(e)(1) of the Connecticut General Statutes,

W.   commercial production of rubber, resin cements, elastomers or plastic, which involves the use, storage or disposal of hazardous materials,

X.     storage of de-icing chemicals, unless such storage takes place within a weather-tight water-proof structure for the purpose of retail sale or for the purpose of de-icing parking areas or access roads to parking areas,

Y.     accumulation, storage, handling, recycling, disposal, reduction, processing, burning, transfer or composting of solid waste which is subject to a permit issued by the Commissioner pursuant to §22a-207b, §22a-208a, and §22a-208c of the Connecticut General Statute, except for a potable water treatment sludge disposal area,

Z.       commercial dyeing, coating or printing of textiles, or tanning or finishing of leather, which use involves the use, storage or disposal of hazardous materials,

AA.commercial production of wood veneer, plywood, reconstituted wood or pressure-treated wood, which involves the use, storage or disposal of hazardous material, and

BB. commercial pulp production processes that involve bleaching.