Newington Conservation Commission Votes 5-2 to Require Public Hearing on Berlin Turnpike Parking Expansion
Town Council · Meeting of March 2, 2026
CT NEWINGTON — Newington's Conservation Commission voted 5-2 to require a public hearing on a parking lot expansion at 2929 Berlin Turnpike, the third application cycle for the contested project. The commission, chaired by Chairman Zellick, found that 33,190 square feet of proposed upland review area disturbance and 2,600 cubic yards of fill — along with near-total clearing of buffer trees along the southwestern boundary — met the threshold for formal public review under town wetlands regulations. Attorney Andrew Morin of Hinkley Allen represented applicant Berlin Turnpike 2929 LLC, and civil engineer Francis Vaca of BSC Group and soil scientist Matthew Gustafson of All Points Technology presented a low-impact stormwater system and wetland mitigation plan they said would produce no direct wetland impacts.
Zellick was unmoved, citing unresolved questions about whether state-listed swamp cottonwood trees may be present on the site and announcing plans to request an independent third-party site review. The public hearing is set for the commission's March 17 meeting.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 832 words
Source: the Town Council meeting of March 2, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
NEWINGTON — February 17, 2026 — The Newington Conservation Commission voted 5-2 to require a public hearing on a third application seeking to expand the parking lot at 2929 Berlin Turnpike, finding that the scope of proposed disturbance in the upland review area warrants formal public review.
The vote sets a public hearing for the commission's March 17 meeting. Chairman Zellick also indicated the commission intends to commission an independent third-party environmental review of the site before that hearing.
The Full Story
The application, filed as IW-26-2 by Berlin Turnpike 2929 LLC, proposes extending the existing parking lot approximately 180 feet to the south and constructing a retaining wall along the southwestern portion of the lot, which borders wetlands and a perennial watercourse on the property housing the Casadoro restaurant. Attorney Andrew Morin of Hinkley Allen in Hartford represented the applicant. Joining him were civil engineer Francis Vaca of BSC Group in Glastonbury and soil scientist Matthew Gustafson of All Points Technology.
The commission has now heard versions of this application three times. The first, IW-25-11, came before the commission in 2025, when the majority voted not to approve the plan, citing significant impact to the upland review area. A second version, IW-25-18, was heard in December 2025 and withdrawn by the applicant before any vote. Tuesday's filing carried forward the same plan submitted in December, with the addition of a turbidity curtain in the watercourse as recommended by the town engineer. Morin acknowledged that revisions pulling back the parking lot's northwestern corner were made prior to the December submission and were not new changes.
The applicant's team argued that the project would introduce no direct impacts to the wetland or watercourse, presenting data showing 33,190 square feet of disturbance within the upland review area and 2,600 cubic yards of fill for the total project. Vaca detailed a low-impact stormwater system featuring two bioretention rain gardens, an underground detention basin, and wood chip erosion tubes along the wetland edge. Gustafson testified that the wetland functions at only a secondary level due to its heavily urbanized setting, and that the project would not result in any significant negative impact to wetland functions.
"The purpose of all of this engineering is for us to prove as the applicant that the work in the upland review area can be done without disturbing the wetlands," [01:45:00] — Andrew Morin, attorney for Berlin Turnpike 2929 LLC.
Chairman Zellick pushed back on the adequacy of the site assessment, noting that a prior meeting had raised questions about whether swamp cottonwood, a state-listed threatened species, might be present on the property. Gustafson said he had reviewed the state's Natural Diversity Database and found no records of the species on or near the site, but Zellick was not satisfied.
"The databases aren't accurate. They're only as accurate as the data that goes into them. So if the public doesn't report that particular species are seen in a particular area, then the database doesn't get updated." [01:20:00] — Chairman Zellick.
Zellick said he would be requesting a review from town environmental staff member Logan the following morning. The town engineer's written report, presented to the commission before the meeting, noted that the project would require clearing nearly all buffer trees along the southwestern boundary, substantial soil disturbance on a hillside, and that there would be very little room for additional erosion and sediment control measures should a major storm occur during construction. Commissioners also raised concerns about snow storage, after one member reported observing snow being pushed over the guardrail and down the embankment toward the wetland under current conditions.
"Anything that cuts down that buffer area just makes it worse. Inevitable." [01:30:00] — Chairman Zellick.
After discussion, the majority of commissioners concluded that the combination of factors — the scale of upland disturbance, fill volume, tree clearing, and questions about the biological inventory — met the threshold for a required public hearing under the commission's regulations. Two commissioners opposed the motion.
Why It Matters
The Casadoro restaurant at 2929 Berlin Turnpike sits on a roughly three-and-a-half-acre commercially developed parcel adjacent to regulated wetlands and a perennial watercourse. The commission has now spent parts of three separate application cycles weighing the project, and the decision to require a public hearing extends that timeline further. The March 17 public hearing will be the next opportunity for residents, neighboring property owners, and agencies to weigh in. An independent third-party environmental review of the site has also been requested by the chairman, the results of which the commission expects to have in hand before or at that hearing.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Approval of December 16, 2025 meeting minutes Tally: For: 8, Against: 0, Abstain: 1 (Commissioner Conway), Total: 9
- Vote: IW-26-2 — Determination that a public hearing is required Tally: For: 5, Against: 2, Abstain: 0, Total: 7
- Action: IW-26-2 public hearing — Scheduled for March 17, 2026
Source Newington's community access TV: Conservation Commission meeting, February 17, 2026