[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Southington
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Planning and development agencies — See Ch. 112.
[Adopted 2-8-1993; amended in its entirety effective 7-1-2011 (Ch. 9, Art. I, of the 1989
Code)]
The Town of Southington hereby unites with the Town of Plainville
to form the Plainville-Southington Regional Health District pursuant
to the provisions of Chapter 368F of the Connecticut General Statutes.
It is hereby declared that the purpose of this article is to protect,
preserve and improve the public health of the citizens of the municipalities
of the Plainville-Southington Regional Health District.
A.
The affairs of the Health District shall be managed by a Board, which
shall have all the duties exercised or performed immediately prior
to the effective date of the creation of this Health District by the
Directors of Health of the constituent municipalities of the Health
District.
B.
The Health District Board shall exercise all the authority as to
public health required of or conferred upon the constituent municipalities
by law and shall have the powers set forth in Section 19a-243 of the
Connecticut General Statutes, as amended.
C.
Appointments to Board. The appointment of the Board shall be governed
by statutes and regulations for the State Department of Public Health.
Based upon current guidelines, the Town Council for the Town of Southington
shall appoint five members to the Board and the Town Council for the
Town of Plainville shall appoint two members to the Board. Of the
five members to be appointed by the Town of Southington, one shall
be its Town Manager and, of the two members appointed by the Town
of Plainville, one shall be its Town Manager. The other appointments
shall be in the discretion of the Town Council.
D.
Term of office. The term of office for members of the Health District
Board shall be three years, except that, during the initial formation
of the Board, appointments shall be staggered into one-, two- or three-year
terms.
A.
Appointment.
(1)
The Health District Board, with approval of the Commissioner of Public
Health, shall appoint a full-time Director of Health for the Health
District, pursuant to the procedure and qualifications set forth in
Section 19a-242 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended. The
Board may also appoint a full-time Acting Director of Health to serve
in the Director of Health's absence or if a vacancy exists, provided
such Acting Director meets the same qualifications as the Director
of Health, as set forth in Section 19a-242 of the Connecticut General
Statutes, as amended, or such qualifications as may be approved by
the Commissioner of Public Health. Upon the appointment of a Director
of Health for the Health District, the terms of office of the present
Director of Health of each constituent municipality shall terminate.
(2)
The Health District shall also appoint the current Medical Advisor
from Southington and the current Medical Advisor from Plainville for
a period of at least two years. After such time, it shall be in the
discretion of the Board as to the appointment of the Medical Advisor(s).
B.
Powers and duties. The Director of Health shall perform all such
duties as are required of directors of health by the Connecticut General
Statutes or the State of Connecticut Public Health Code. In addition,
the Director of Health shall enforce all ordinances of the constituent
municipalities within said municipalities as long as such said ordinances
do not conflict with the Connecticut General Statutes or the State
of Connecticut Public Health Code; provided, however, that any provision
of a municipal ordinance which is more strict than the State of Connecticut
Public Health Code shall not constitute a conflict, and the provisions
of the municipal ordinance shall prevail.
C.
Removal. The Director of Health may be removed upon vote of a majority
of the members of the Health District Board upon a finding of misconduct,
material neglect of duty, or incompetence in the conduct of his office,
in accordance with Section 19a-242 of the Connecticut General Statutes,
as amended.
A.
General powers. The Health District Board may make and promulgate
reasonable rules and regulations for the promotion of general health
within the district; such rules and regulations shall not be in conflict
with the State of Connecticut Public Health Code or any municipal
ordinance of each constituent municipality; provided, however, that
any provision of such rules and regulations which is more strict than
the State of Connecticut Public Health Code shall not constitute a
conflict, and the provision of the rules and regulations shall prevail.
No such rule or regulation shall be adopted until a public hearing
has been held by the Board of the proposed rule or regulation. Notice
of the time, place and purpose of the hearing shall be by publication
in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in each constituent
municipality at least seven days prior to the hearing. The powers
of the Board shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
to sue and be sued; to make and execute contracts and other instruments
necessary or convenient to the exercise of powers of the Health District;
to make and from time to time amend and repeal bylaws, rules and regulations;
to acquire real estate; and to have whatever other powers are necessary
to properly carry out its powers as an independent entity of government;
to develop and implement a budget; and to develop and implement public
health policy for the Health District.
B.
Meetings; Chairperson. The Board shall meet at least quarterly and
at other times determined by the Chairperson. At the Board's
initial meeting and thereafter at each fall meeting, the Board shall
elect a Chairperson, and the Health District shall furnish the necessary
offices and equipment to enable the Board to carry out its duties.
C.
Fiscal year; budget. The fiscal year of the Health District shall
be from July 1 to June 30, and by the 31st day of January in each
year, the Board shall estimate the amount of money required to pay
the costs and expenses of the Health District during the ensuing fiscal
year and submit that amount to the Town Managers' offices for both
Southington and Plainville. Pursuant to Section 19a-243 of the Connecticut
General Statutes, as amended, such Board shall hold a public hearing
on its proposed budget, two weeks' notice of which shall be given
in a newspaper having a circulation in each constituent municipality
of such district. From time to time, the Board shall draw upon the
Treasurer of each Town within the District a proportionate share of
the expenses of such district, from such funds as may have been appropriated
by each, to pay the costs of operating the Health District, such apportionment
to be made equitably on a per-capita basis as established by the most
recent annual population estimate by the State Department of Public
Health. The Health District shall make timely applications to the
State Department of Public Health for reimbursements for which it
is entitled, as set forth in Section 19a-245 of the Connecticut General
Statutes, as amended. The Health District shall provide said Department
with all budgetary and other information necessary for the Health
District to qualify for any reimbursements or other funds allowable
under state or federal law.
[Adopted 12-12-2005 (Ch. 9, Art. VI, of the 1989 Code)]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Brownfield
Cleanup Program."
The Town Council hereby finds that there are many abandoned
and likely contaminated properties that threaten the health and vitality
of the communities they burden, and that these sites, known as "brownfields,"
are also contributing to sprawl development and loss of open space.
It is therefore declared that, to advance the policy to conserve,
improve and protect its natural resources and environment and control
water, land and air pollution in order to enhance the health, safety
and welfare of the people of the Town and their overall economic and
social well-being, it is appropriate to adopt this article to encourage
persons to voluntarily remediate brownfield sites for reuse and redevelopment.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A person whose request to participate in the brownfield cleanup
program under this article has been accepted by the Town Council.
Any real property, the redevelopment or reuse of which may
be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous
waste, petroleum, pollutant or contaminant.
An agreement executed in accordance with this article between
the applicant and the Town for the purpose of completing a brownfield
site remedial program.
All remedial activities or actions undertaken to eliminate,
remove, treat, abate, control, manage or monitor hazardous waste or
petroleum at or emanating from the brownfield site, including, but
not limited to, the following:
Remedial investigation and remedy selection activities needed
to develop such a program.
Design activities.
Construction activities, including, without limitation, grading,
contouring, trenching, grouting, capping, excavating, transporting,
incinerating, thermally treating, chemically treating, biologically
treating, or constructing leachate collection and treatment systems.
Interim remedial measures.
Post-construction operation, maintenance, and monitoring.
Restoration of the environment.
Any hazardous waste or contamination located within the real
property boundaries of a brownfield site.
A cleanup or remedy that would allow a site to be used for
any purpose without restriction and without a reliance on the long-term
employment of institutional or engineering controls.
A.
A person who seeks to participate in this program shall submit a
request to the Economic Development Coordinator on a form provided
by that Department. Such form shall include information to be determined
by the Economic Development Coordinator sufficient to allow the Department
to determine eligibility and the reasonably anticipated land use of
the site.
B.
The Economic Development Coordinator shall notify the applicant requesting
participation in this program within 30 days after receiving such
request that such request is either complete or incomplete. In the
event the application is determined to be incomplete, the Economic
Development Coordinator shall specify the missing necessary information
required pursuant to this article to complete the application.
C.
Upon the determination that the application is complete, the Economic
Development Coordinator shall present the application to the Town
Council for its approval or denial or that it be sent back for more
information.
D.
The Town Council of the Town of Southington shall use all best efforts
to expeditiously notify the applicant within 45 days after receiving
the final application of its decision on the applicant's request
for participation.
A.
The applicant and the Town shall be required to sign a brownfield
site cleanup agreement as established by the Economic Development
Coordinator and Town Attorney and approved by the Town Council.
B.
The agreement shall fully set forth the terms of the reduction of
taxes as to remediation as set out in this section.
C.
The Town Council shall have the power to reduce real estate taxes
within this section by up to 30% of the difference between the current
real estate tax and the post-cleanup real estate tax. The Town Council
shall be allowed, by a two-thirds vote, to reduce an amount up to
100% of the difference between the current real estate tax and the
post-cleanup real estate tax.
D.
This program shall be for a period of 10 years or for a tax abatement
that totals the total amount of the cleanup, excluding administration
and legal fees, whichever is sooner.
E.
This program shall not be available for commercial uses that have
a building area of more than 50,000 square feet.
Upon certification by the applicant that the remediation requirements
of this article have been achieved for the brownfield site, such applicant
shall submit to the Economic Development Coordinator a final engineering
report prepared by an individual licensed to practice environmental
engineering.