Court Rejects Gas Station Appeal in Deep River, Connecticut

DEEP RIVER - The recent Appellate Court dismissal of an appeal filed by several residents signifies even more changes for Deep River Center.

For the past several months, Canton-Mass.-based Cumberland Farms has been selling gas at the Gulf gas station, on the former Valley Garage property, until the courts made a decision regarding their proposal to build a new convenience store and gasoline station.

The court's dismissal has led the company to close down the aging gas station for the last time.

On Feb 15, "Sorry Out of Service" bags were placed on the pumps and new paper signs on the pumps state "Gas Sales Are Being Temporarily Postponed During Renovations And Will Resume In An Upgraded Station Later This Year."

First Selectman Dick Smith believes that Cumberland Farms plans to remove underground gasoline tanks first but did not know when the convenience store would close for construction.

A message left with the Public Relations Department at Cumberland Farms Corporate Office regarding the construction schedule was not returned.

While Smith said opponents could seek another appeal before Feb. 27, he believes this is unlikely since they would be required to post a cash bond and could be subject to civil action by Cumberland Farms for holding up the project.

The stalled project was originally approved by the Deep River Planning and Zoning Commission on May 18, 2006.

It will result in the removal of several structures between 173-179 Main Street including the Gulf station, the former Valley Garage repair shop, the existing Cumberland Farms convenience store, and an abandoned former hardware store.

Those structures will be replaced by a 3,744-square-foot Cumberland Farms convenience store with cedar clapboards, a pitched roof, and six fueling stations with a canopy roof.

After the project was approved, several residents filed appeals against the project including Elaine and Leo Klevens, owners of the Riverwind Inn bed and breakfast at 209 Main Street, Charles and Mary Luscomb who live at 34 Elm Street, and Sirge and Marsha Orzech, who are partners in the Valley Press Company printing business at 169 Main Street.

These families have been supported in their appeals by the Citizens for Deep River Center watchdog group.

They have argued that a new and enlarged Cumberland Farms convenience store and gas station will decrease surrounding property values, increase traffic, expand a non-conforming use of a gasoline station within 200 feet of a school or place of assembly, and hurt the character of Deep River Center.

The residents filed the appeal in Appellate Court after their original appeal at Middlesex Superior Court was dismissed by Judge Julia Aurigemma who stated that the opponents do not have merit since they are not specifically aggrieved by the project because they do not live on property abutting it.

Aurgiemma also stated that, based on testimony, she believes the project would greatly improve Deep River Center.

The town has spent over $70,000 in attorney's fees defending itself in court.

Smith, a proponent of the project, said it will make the site safer for vehicles and pedestrians, create more landscaping, remove a long abandoned building, and be more aseptically pleasing.

While Smith admitted the town would have preferred a gas station to resemble the Gulf station, which has only three fueling positions, he believes it was a good compromise since the company had originally proposed ten fueling positions.