By Suzanne Carlson
Journal Inquirer
Published: Thursday, February 4, 2010 12:35 PM EST

VERNON — TicketNetwork Forest LLC finished up its presentation on a proposed 2,000-seat outdoor concert venue before the Planning and Zoning Commission in a special meeting on Wednesday.

The presentation has stretched over seven weeks and four PZC meetings, the first of which was held Dec. 17.

Four residents opposed to the application spoke during the last half hour of the meeting. More residents are expected to speak tonight during the continued public hearing at 7 in the Senior Center auditorium.

The application for the venue, proposed for the parcel at 60 South Frontage Road directly off Interstate 84 exit 66, originally was filed with the town planner Nov. 18. The venue requires special permits for recreational use and the sale of alcohol, according to Dorian Famiglietti, lawyer for TicketNetwork Forest.

Eric Peterson, an engineer with Gardner and Peterson Associates LLC in Tolland, on Wednesday presented the lighting plan for the proposed venue, which was designed by Apex Lighting Solutions of Middletown.

“Typically when we design lighting for a commercial setting people aren’t there at night. But in this case, on 20 nights during the summer, the lights will be on before people get there and after they leave, and of course during the shows. Once the shows are over, the lights will be dimmed and the site will be gated,” Peterson said.

“Our design goals were pedestrian safety, vehicular safety, the utilization of vendor and restroom areas, and obviously within the seating area itself,” he added.

Peterson said the lighting fixtures that would be used have received approval from the International Dark Sky Association. Dark Sky is a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting and preserving the nighttime environment and dark skies through quality outdoor lighting.

George Logan, owner of REMA Ecological Services LLC, presented the ecological impact study conducted on the site.

Logan began by saying he is a resident of 43 Blue Ridge Drive, “0.95 miles as the crow flies from the site,” and has walked along the Tankerhoosen River, which flows through the parcel, for his own recreation for years.

He said his staff has spent more than 65 hours conducting fieldwork around the site, which finished in November.

“What we did on the site, spring through fall, is obviously an inventory of natural resources,” Logan said.

He said some protected species are present on the parcel, including the eastern pearlshell mussel, which is of special concern.

“It’s probably one of the larger populations in Connecticut, if not the largest population,” Logan said.

Logan also said that wood turtles are present on the site, but he said there is minimal risk to local wildlife from both lighting and noise created by the proposed concert venue. He added that wildlife would not be driven off by concerts, which are only “temporary disturbances” to the habitat.

“Wildlife are incredibly tolerant,” Logan said.

Famiglietti also spoke to the development of the ecologically sensitive area.

“Remember, we’re talking about a development area of roughly 9 acres of a 39-acre parcel, so there’s 30 acres of protected forest land, for at least another eight years, so we’re talking about a fraction of the overall land that we’re proposing to use,” Famiglietti added.

The state designation that would protect 30 acres of the parcel from development will expire in eight years, documents filed in the town planner’s office say.

“There are quite a few elements of this that you, the commission, need to more or less take on faith, because they’re not readily monitored by town staff, should this concert venue proceed,” Town Planner Leonard K. Tundermann told the PZC.

The project has received approval from the Economic Development Commission, the Inland Wetlands Commission, and the Tolland County Chamber of Commerce.

At least a handful of Tolland County Chamber of Commerce directors have backed the project in letters of support.

Each letter says that “after listening to the presentation from representatives from TicketNetwork at our January Board of Directors meeting of the proposed TicketNetwork Forest Summer Stage Concert Series, I want to express my enthusiastic support of this project.”