Violation halts Durham’s proposed Milford bus depot, private fueling facility

MILFORD — A wetlands violation has forced developers to put on hold plans for a proposed bus depot and private fueling facility for the school district’s contracted bus company. The developer, 615 Plains Road, LLC, is proposing the depot and fueling station for Durham School Services — the student transportation operation contracted by the city’s school district — at at that Plains Road address. The developer has since received a notice of violation and was told to stop all work because of a parking area constructed within 100 feet of a wetland or watercourse without a permit. The proposal was supposed to come before the Planning and Zoning Board this week, but, according to Chairman Jim Quish, 615 Plains Road, LLC asked for the proposal to be postponed. The developers were given a notice of violation on Jan. 13, 2022, and were told to stop all work because site work had been conducted without approval of the Milford Inland Wetland and Watercourses Agency. A public hearing on the violation was scheduled for Wednesday. According to wetlands agency, the contractors had constructed a parking area within 100 feet of a wetland or watercourse without a permit on the property. Because of how close the property is to the Housatonic River watershed, a permit must be acquired to conduct regulated actives affecting inland wetlands and watercourses. The agency said all activities conducted within wetlands or watercourses and the 100-foot upland review area that impacts or has the potential to impact or affect wetlands or watercourses are regulated activities. The wetlands panel instructed 615 Plains Road, LLC to install proper soil erosion and sedimentation controls on the slope adjacent to the intermittent watercourse. They also need to submit a detailed mitigation and planting plan for review and approval by the agency to restore the wetland by Feb. 1. Milford Public Schools has contracted Durham School Services for the past 15 years to provide buses for the districts students. Durham runs 63 buses in the city, with some 110 routes and 1,100 stops. The location will be used most regularly during the year from Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. through 5 p.m., with some buses returning at 10:30 p.m. or later. Saturdays, there will be trips depending on the season, and during the summer, the proposed hours are between noon and 2 p.m., with 20 trips at the most. Besides a private fueling facility, the proposal has the location to be used as a school bus base of operations, storage and maintenance for school buses. There is an existing 13,694-square-foot building that the applicant said will not change, and they are also ready to build a self-contained fueling station with the zoning approval. The proposed development will have enough parking spaces for 135 vehicles. There is no plan to have engine maintenance or vehicle washing onsite, but Durham anticipates 69 school buses and 67 employees, including drivers and eight onsite staff employees. All traffic, including buses, will access the property from Bic Drive and Shelland Street.

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