The report, prepared by DMJM and Harris Inc. for the Board of Trustees for Community Technical Colleges, says the campus could affect the surrounding neighborhood, but adds that developers should be able to minimize any adverse effects.
"Impacts to the neighborhood will be experienced from aesthetic effects, vehicular traffic, and occasional noise," the report said. "The sponsoring agency will attempt to avoid or minimize these impacts, and provide certain mitigation measures as appropriate."
The report does not mention the possibility of locating the college in downtown Norwich, which at one time was a possibility before the state ruled it out.
Developer Ron Aliano, who led efforts to put a consolidated campus downtown, said Wednesday he still believes the campus will eventually go there.
"It's compromising a good residential neighborhood (Mahan Drive). I'm just absolutely amazed it came back 360 degrees to site," he said. "I still believe that school will not be built on Mahan Drive. It should be built in downtown."
Students and teachers at the Mahan Drive campus were in favor of a consolidation and they were not adamant that their campus stayed open.
"It's confusing to go to two campuses like I do and it eats up your time," Dawn Lamarche, 36, of Moosup said. "There's nothing right about the way we're doing this now."
"There's a lot more accessibility to the main arteries there (at the former Norwich Hospital in Preston, a site that has been considered before). It would streamline the process too with one cafeteria and one library," Sean Griffin, 44, of Westerly, said.
"I'm just worried about the loss of students," Ruth Stewart, 41, of Bozrah, an English teacher, said. She taught at the New London Submarine Base until Sept. 11, when security tightened and her classes were moved off campus.
"When we moved to Grasso Tech, we already lost students, so moving may cause us to lose some more. On the other hand, we could have a better library and a better facilities."
Residents in and around Mahan Drive have repeatedly voiced concerns that work on the site could create flooding in the area and bring a large amount of traffic to roads that can't handle any more.
The environmental report does say the campus would need a detention pond 830,000 cubic feet in volume to capture runoff from Ox Hill Drive and the college, as well as the addition of new storm water culverts and the expansion of existing ones to control runoff.
"It tells you the overall sort of solution," Ahmed Beermann-Ahmed, associate for facilities for the Board of Trustees, said. "But it doesn't go into the engineering of it. That will have to be done by the designers."
The report also notes three intersections -- Route 169 and Washington Street, Lafayette and Washington Streets, and Route 169 Harland Road and Ox Hill Road -- would be most impacted, seeing traffic increase by almost 200 cars from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
While the study said the intersections would become more crowded, even if the campus weren't built, consultants said new configurations to the intersections or, in one case, the addition of new lanes, could improve traffic flow. But adding new lanes, the study said, would require encroachments on private property.
Any improvements, Mayor Arthur Lathrop said, would be bankrolled by the state. The report does not offer cost estimates.
"I don't think it's the city's responsibility to pay for the drainage and traffic problems brought about by the Three Rivers College consolidation," he said.
Gov. John G. Rowland, who at one time considered putting the consolidated college downtown until studies showed it was not feasible, could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for Rowland declined to discuss the environmental study, saying the governor had not read it.
A public hearing on the environmental impact of the college will be at 7 p.m. May 6 at Three Rivers Community College's Mohegan campus at 7 Mahan Drive.
Reporter Jenny Miller contributed to this report.
Originally published Thursday, April 24, 2003
