WESTFIELD – The Conservation Commission voted Tuesday night to initiate an enforcement order for a violation of the Wetlands Protection Act by the owners of the Westfield Shops on East Main Street.
That action was approved after a commission member observed paving of the entryway located between the CVS Pharmacy and Applebee’s Restaurant in violation of city, state and federal flood plain regulations.
Commissioner George Martin, who witnessed the paving work, said the problem is that the shopping center owners, Devcon Enterprises (Devcon Shops, LLC) of West Hartford had failed to mill the existing asphalt before laying the new blacktop.
The commission issued enforcement actions to the Westgate Plaza and the Salvation Army, both in the flood plain along East Silver Street, when paving was being done.
In both of those incidents, the old asphalt had been ground down so that the new pavement was at the same elevation. Both the Westgate Plaza and the Salvation Army were found to be compliant with the enforcement orders.
The board’s enforcement order, which is also filed with the state Department of Environmental Protection, requires the company to appeal before the board to discuss options to bring the shopping mall into compliance.
Those option include either removing the new pavement by milling it down to the former elevation or identifying compensatory storage for flood water displaced by the new pavement.
“That whole area is a flood plain,” Commissioner James Murphy said. “All the property owners know that. They did not mill the existing pavement before repaving and they did the work without filing a notice of intent with this Commission.”
