Dinosaur Place project wins local approvals

Montville - With two local approvals in hand, the developers of three proposed museum buildings on Route 85 must now gain support from state agencies before their project comes to fruition.

The owners of The Dinosaur Place at Nature's Art are proposing to expand the facility south of the property to include three museum buildings that would house early 20th century industrial artifacts and technology. The project is called The Past.

On Tuesday, attorney Harry Heller, representing the Phillips family, owners of the prehistoric-themed park, spent about 20 minutes before the Planning and Zoning Commission outlining the proposal, which required a site plan review.

The project would be built in three phases over the 5.12-acre parcel just south of The Dinosaur Place's Raptor Bay, a man-made pond on the property. The first would include construction of a 12,762-square-foot, single story museum and retail building. The second and third phases will include 7,200-square-foot buildings primarily used as museum space.

Heller reviewed details of the drainage system for the site, in which much of the water would be filtered through vegetation on the property.

The project was approved by the wetlands commission in June with two conditions: that the applicant address the town engineer's concerns; and that if changes are made to the plan to meet the requirements of the Uncas Health District, that the project come back to the commission for review.

On Tuesday, the planning commission added its own conditions. Before any work can begin, the Philips family must get approval from several agencies, including the state departments of transportation and public health, the traffic commission, if necessary, and the health district and local fire marshal.

Contingent on all those conditions, and a few more technical ones, the project was approved quickly by the commission, causing Chairman Alan Marcus to say with a chuckle, "The Past is passed."

m.bard@theday.com

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