[0:03] All right, we are recording to the
[0:04] cloud.
[0:06] » Terrific. It is 12:04
[0:08] and I'd like to call the meeting to
[0:11] order. Good afternoon and welcome
[0:13] everyone to the regular meeting of the
[0:15] new Kanan Conservation Commission this
[0:17] Thursday, September 10th, 2026.
[0:22] The first order of business will
[0:24] actually be to amend the agenda. we had
[0:27] done something similar for the when we
[0:29] discussed the leaf um lower ordinance.
[0:32] So what I would like to do is uh move
[0:36] public comment to proceed agenda item
[0:39] number seven and then also we'll correct
[0:43] the typo on the agenda which has two
[0:47] uh number fives and we'll just make that
[0:50] um top spot bench tuck that under item
[0:55] number four Bristo update 4A will be the
[0:58] top spot bench. So, those uh are that is
[1:02] the amendment to the agenda that I
[1:04] proposed. Do I have a motion to make
[1:07] that change?
[1:08] » I'll make a motion to make those
[1:09] changes.
[1:10] » Thank you, John. Do I have a second?
[1:12] » I'll second.
[1:12] » Thank you, Ann. All those in favor?
[1:16] » Good.
[1:17] » Terrific. Thank you.
[1:20] » So, our next um agenda item will be the
[1:22] approval of minutes for the July 9th,
[1:24] 2020 6th meeting. Do I have a motion to
[1:28] approve those?
[1:28] » Who has public comment? We're okay.
[1:30] We're going to move that to seven.
[1:32] » Oh, I'll make a motion to approve the
[1:34] minutes.
[1:35] » Thank you, John. Do I have a second?
[1:38] » I can second that as well.
[1:39] » Thank you, an
[1:44] um
[1:46] Bristo update. Robin, are you on the
[1:49] line?
[1:51] » Sorry. Yep, I'm here. Um,
[1:54] » Thanks. So, um, just an update that, uh,
[1:57] Land Trust went in. Uh we did some work
[1:59] throughout August um just weed whacking
[2:02] some areas working on the Cam Hutchkins
[2:04] garden. Um this past week we cleared the
[2:08] the shunt dam tiger. I don't know if
[2:10] that's the right terminology. Um, and we
[2:12] did rake out that area um to allow the
[2:16] water to get through um with the muck.
[2:19] But
[2:19] » Is is that something that can be dredged
[2:22] out or I don't know with wetlands what
[2:25] on on getting the water to flow to the
[2:28] pond.
[2:31] » So the uh Yeah. So we're working on a a
[2:34] maintenance permit with inland wetlands.
[2:37] So uh an annual maintenance dredging
[2:39] permit. We have one for me and for Mill.
[2:43] We just have to have one for the Bristo.
[2:45] So, it wasn't included in the original
[2:48] permit uh wetland permit that we went
[2:50] for for the actual restoration of
[2:53] Bristo. So, we're working towards um
[2:56] that and we'll get that hopefully be a
[2:58] like I said an annual Thank you very
[3:00] much. Uh an annual uh maintenance
[3:04] agreement that uh and that we just
[3:06] notify Kathy that we're coming in to
[3:08] take care of it. We come in and take
[3:09] care of at least once a year.
[3:11] » Okay. And then
[3:12] » Permit, we'll take care of it.
[3:14] » Is Is it okay that I'm going in there
[3:15] and just raking it back a little bit to
[3:17] allow water to go through?
[3:18] » A little bit of maintenance is fine.
[3:20] Yeah. Like that is fine. Yeah. For
[3:21] actual dredging, you know,
[3:24] » Just a little channel. Okay. Just make
[3:26] sure
[3:26] » Channel work. That's a That's a little
[3:28] bit much. But yeah.
[3:29] » Okay. And then um the dead maple by the
[3:32] entrance. We received at land trust some
[3:34] calls from people about that, but um
[3:36] that's gone to bid to the selectman, the
[3:38] board of selectmen for approval.
[3:40] » Yeah, it was on it. Yes, that's correct.
[3:42] That that that's going to the selectman
[3:44] this Tuesday. So, it was on a bid. We
[3:47] received the bids uh and that that
[3:50] package will go to the selectman on
[3:51] Tuesday for award and the contractor
[3:54] will start on it directly.
[3:56] » Okay. And then uh just a couple more
[3:57] things is thank you for the signs by the
[3:59] way. the um close the gate. Hopefully
[4:02] people keep keep those.
[4:05] » When I went to go put it up, the the the
[4:07] the upper one off of the flexi pave was
[4:10] wide open. The one down below was a jar.
[4:14] So the one off the baseball field was a
[4:15] jar. So when I went to go put both signs
[4:17] up, basically both gates were open. So
[4:20] but one was completely wide open, the
[4:22] other one just happened to be a little
[4:23] bit of jar. So hopefully they'll pay
[4:25] attention. it. You know, if you grew up
[4:27] on a farm, you know, you you leave the
[4:28] gate the way you found it, right? Which
[4:30] is it closed, right? It's closed, it's
[4:31] closed, it's open, it's open. But
[4:33] hopefully,
[4:33] » I think people who are going in there
[4:35] with strollers and the like, it's
[4:37] awkward to push a store through and then
[4:40] you come back and leave the stroller and
[4:42] close the gate. And I think that that's
[4:44] a lot of it.
[4:46] » I agree with you.
[4:48] And uh so the only other things um there
[4:51] we we have received through land trust
[4:52] some calls about um I guess residents at
[4:56] around 289 Park Street. There are some
[4:58] dead large trees in Bristo and they're
[5:00] just wondering if the town will be
[5:03] looking at them. Um if you're from Park
[5:05] Street, you can see one. It's that you
[5:07] know there's no leaves on the trees and
[5:09] it's completely cleared out. They but
[5:11] they've been calling Landrust with
[5:12] questions about that.
[5:13] » Um
[5:14] » When they when they call the land trust,
[5:15] just forward them on to us. forward to
[5:17] you.
[5:18] » Yeah, please. And I'll I'll I'll get the
[5:20] tree word now. That's off of 289 Park
[5:22] Street. You know,
[5:23] » 289 Park Street. I'll I'll email you
[5:25] with with uh the two people that have
[5:27] been reaching out. Um
[5:29] » That would be great.
[5:30] » And then I mean the only other things is
[5:32] we've spotted uh a green heron in the
[5:35] pond if the conservation commission
[5:37] wants to know that's been eating the
[5:38] goldfish. Uh we have video of it. So
[5:40] that was pretty cool. Um the B of Bristo
[5:42] is coming up um in Bristo and Land Trust
[5:46] is a sponsor and so we will most likely
[5:49] have some volunteers out there during
[5:50] the events. Um but otherwise we've been
[5:52] walking the trails. Um we have uh
[5:54] National Cherry League volunteers
[5:56] helping with uh the bird feeders, but
[5:59] otherwise everything looks good.
[6:02] » I think the only thing I have to add is
[6:04] that we have there is some trail repair
[6:06] that we um have planned that was uh from
[6:09] storm damage. We went out to bid on
[6:11] that. That's just we had storm damage in
[6:13] every trail. Uh not every trail but
[6:15] every park. So Wveny Kuanas and Bristo,
[6:18] but that's going to the selectman on
[6:20] Tuesday. So the contractor will start on
[6:22] that shortly thereafter. So um he'll
[6:25] likely focus first on Waven because of
[6:27] the cross country series uh you know the
[6:30] high school cross country um season is
[6:32] underway and then he'll roll to Bristo
[6:34] and Kuanas after that.
[6:36] » Right. Where in Bristo was the damage?
[6:39] There was several areas that uh um I'll
[6:41] send you the pictures. We and a little
[6:43] bit of a little bit of bridge repair um
[6:46] on the main bridge going over the um by
[6:49] the four-way junction.
[6:50] » So, was it flooding?
[6:51] » It was Yeah, just too much volume. Too
[6:53] much volume of water. Basically, it was
[6:55] during that major where you got four
[6:57] inches in an hour, you know, uh during
[6:59] that storm. Just the trails couldn't
[7:01] take got a little washed out. So,
[7:03] » Not that bad in Bristo much much much
[7:05] heavier in Waven,
[7:07] » Right? Um but we we packaged it all
[7:09] together Bristo Kuanas and and Wavey all
[7:11] together in one package and went out to
[7:13] bid instead of going out separately. So
[7:17] » Okay. All right. Thank you. Uh
[7:21] » Robin to continue. We um I believe uh
[7:24] you requested a vote on the top spot
[7:26] bench. Is there any information want to
[7:29] share with us before we
[7:31] » No, I don't know if Barbara Scabiki is
[7:33] there, but um she did.
[7:36] » Okay. She did reach out to Land Trust
[7:38] and Friends of Bristo and uh absolutely
[7:41] in support. Um and we would love love to
[7:44] have a bench there by I think it's is it
[7:46] going by the pond?
[7:51] » Do you want to
[7:53] you want
[7:56] » I think we may need you to come forward
[7:58] and speak
[7:59] » In one of the
[8:03] Christian ideas because he used to I I I
[8:06] live right next door to the very sanct
[8:10] for 37 years
[8:11] » Until last week. Hello.
[8:13] » Hi.
[8:14] » Um
[8:15] » Could you introduce yourself for
[8:16] » Oh, I'm Barbara Skitzky.
[8:18] » Hello Barbara.
[8:19] » I live 87 on Stanford Road.
[8:21] » And uh I was actually put my hand up
[8:23] when you mentioned about um the parents
[8:25] coming through and it was difficult. Um
[8:27] I'm going to disagree with you. Um as as
[8:30] working with parents for 37 years, they
[8:32] are capable of bringing in and then
[8:34] closing the gate. I know they're
[8:35] capable. I'm just thinking it's it's one
[8:38] of those annoyances that they and to I'm
[8:40] going to be leaving so I'll just leave
[8:42] the gate open.
[8:43] » I know. I let them know all the time.
[8:45] Could you just close it? I'm like I'm
[8:46] I'm renowned to be backwards and
[8:49] forwards there.
[8:50] » And I'm so grateful the signs, you know,
[8:52] to close the gate. So, no problem.
[8:54] » The weird thing is in the front when the
[8:55] gates when the signs went up there,
[8:57] almost 100% of the people closed it. The
[9:00] same people going out the other way, the
[9:02] signs weren't there. They didn't close
[9:03] it. So, there's still something, but
[9:06] still.
[9:06] » So, did you have a particular spot in
[9:08] mind for the
[9:10] » Bench?
[9:10] » For the bench.
[9:11] » If not, he can
[9:13] » Uh I do. Um
[9:17] maybe Robin can help me. I don't know.
[9:19] Um where my yellow house is. And if you
[9:22] look straight into the bird sanctuary,
[9:24] if it could be somewhere looking at on
[9:26] would be perfect because all the parents
[9:28] would love to have that. Um and and and
[9:31] it's got a nice little saying about the
[9:32] top spot and stuff. It would be
[9:34] fantastic for all the children if that's
[9:36] possible. If not, they may be at the
[9:38] pond because they'll always be walking
[9:39] around the pond.
[9:42] » Terrific.
[9:44] » I like to talk. I have to just say
[9:46] though because of the top spot there. So
[9:49] many children and I send Chris photos to
[9:51] Chris Ship. I said you can use them if
[9:53] you want as an advertisement with the
[9:55] backs of the children dancing through
[9:57] the bird sanctuary. It's really a
[9:59] fantastic thing. Fair enough. We could
[10:01] get your contact information and get
[10:02] those correctly.
[10:03] » Yes.
[10:04] » Great. Well, thank you. Uh do I have a
[10:06] motion then to approve uh locating and
[10:09] dedicating the top spot bench in
[10:11] Bristol?
[10:14] » Have a motion.
[10:14] » I'll make a motion. I'll make a motion
[10:16] to do that. Yeah.
[10:17] » Do I have a second?
[10:19] » I'll second this one as well.
[10:21] » Thank you, Ann. Uh commissioners, all
[10:24] those in favor, just raise your hand,
[10:25] vote I or say I.
[10:27] » I. Great.
[10:28] » Unanimous. unanimous. Thank you. It's
[10:30] approved.
[10:31] » Thank you very much.
[10:35] » All right, moving on to the next agenda
[10:36] item. That would be the South Avenue
[10:39] tree update. Tiger, could you help us
[10:40] with that?
[10:41] » Sure. So, uh we um we replaced all but
[10:45] one of the trees that were uh we had
[10:48] nine trees that needed to be replaced on
[10:50] South Avenue. Uh we replaced all but
[10:52] one. The one that we didn't replace,
[10:54] Burns, was still working in the area.
[10:56] So, we've got to come back out now and
[10:57] replace that one. But they were they
[10:59] were finalizing their work. Thankfully,
[11:01] now
[11:03] all the pipe work is done. Um, and
[11:06] they're on to uh restoration. So, well,
[11:09] repaving and then restoration. So, the
[11:11] repaving will happen. A little plug. Got
[11:14] nothing to do with you guys, but a
[11:16] little plug for the next five Saturdays.
[11:18] They'll be working on South Avenue from
[11:20] Harrison to to Farm Road. So, if you
[11:22] want to avoid it, avoid it. And then
[11:24] after that, they'll come in and start
[11:25] doing driveway restoration, curb repair,
[11:28] and repairing that entire kind of the
[11:30] verge where all the trees are um
[11:32] subsequent to the repaving. Once we get
[11:34] the once we get the grades right on the
[11:35] on the road, then they can come back in
[11:37] and fix the driveways and the curving
[11:38] and all the rest of it.
[11:39] » So, we just have one tree left to go.
[11:41] But other than that, the trees look they
[11:43] each one is taken. Looks they look nice.
[11:45] You know, they they seem to be healthy.
[11:47] Bob's happy. Uh Beautification League is
[11:50] happy. Keith Simpson Associates happy.
[11:52] So I think it's I think it's a good
[11:53] thing
[11:53] » And residents
[11:55] » And residents. Yeah. Yeah. No
[11:56] complaints. Let's put it that way. That
[11:58] we had we we had fielded early, you
[12:01] know, and the beautifification league
[12:02] did a very nice job of working with each
[12:05] resident as to location and type. And
[12:07] then we fielded a couple of complaints
[12:09] at the at the time of initial
[12:11] installation. Appeased whatever you know
[12:14] needed to happen, switching a tree, what
[12:15] have you. Um switching a location,
[12:17] things like that. And uh we haven't had
[12:19] any complaints uh you know since. So
[12:22] yeah,
[12:23] » Trees on farm road look great too. And
[12:25] Bob, thank you. Yeah,
[12:26] » Done a nice job of a tree replacement
[12:28] for one he took down onel as well.
[12:30] » Yeah, we we uh we had about 40 plus
[12:33] trees that that uh we did throughout
[12:35] town, but that stretch on Farm Road is
[12:38] most visible visible, right? Because it
[12:40] was probably, you know, several it was a
[12:41] bunch of trees in that one row there
[12:43] kind of coming up the hill from Main
[12:45] Street or, you know, White Oak Shave. So
[12:47] it looked really That looked really
[12:48] nice. That looked good. Yeah. Um he so
[12:51] he's he's trying to in areas that where
[12:54] we have a large impact he makes you know
[12:57] he's trying to plant something back in
[12:58] his place we're so well canopied in
[13:01] other areas he can take a tree down it's
[13:03] dead or diseased and people not
[13:04] necessarily notice it you know but if
[13:06] it's in an area like that along farm
[13:08] road it's very noticeable so at that
[13:09] point in time he goes back and replaces
[13:11] it. So
[13:11] » These are all pretty small trees though
[13:13] that you planted. I mean varieties I
[13:15] mean not what you planted but the the
[13:18] variety of tree that you planted.
[13:19] » It's about Yeah. 3 to 4 inch caliber you
[13:22] know is about what we're
[13:23] » But their cover is more like a smaller
[13:27] tree not a oak tree.
[13:28] » Right. Yeah. The majority of them. Yeah.
[13:30] Well right tree right tree right place.
[13:32] Right. So we got to be we got to be
[13:34] aware of that. especially like on Farm
[13:36] Road, we've got the sidewalk directly
[13:38] adjacent and then the roadside and then
[13:40] in certain areas, we've got utility um
[13:43] lines above it. So, in those those
[13:44] cases, we were planting like a a shrub
[13:47] or a bush, something that was going to
[13:48] be low growing. So, we wouldn't have a
[13:50] problem with with the wires, you know,
[13:52] going forward.
[13:55] » Great.
[13:57] If that's it, Tiger, can I ask you to um
[13:59] move on to the next agenda item, and
[14:01] that's the transfer station update.
[14:03] Sure. So, the uh I I just got handed a
[14:07] whole bunch of data for the uh for the
[14:09] transfer station itself. I I got to go
[14:11] through it a little bit before I
[14:13] quantify it for you guys and put it into
[14:15] the that spreadsheet for you, but we'll
[14:17] um we'll we'll have that done for you
[14:19] shortly. Um and then as far as uh as far
[14:22] as it goes, we have two events coming up
[14:24] at the transfer station. Uh well, um in
[14:27] in the in the entire area, I should say
[14:29] in our compound. So we have household
[14:31] hazardous waste day this uh Saturday
[14:34] from 8 to 2. Um so on the website is the
[14:38] uh what you can bring, what you
[14:39] shouldn't bring,
[14:40] » Right?
[14:40] » Um for us, but uh but I I I suggest this
[14:44] is the last um of the household
[14:46] hazardous waste day um events for this
[14:49] year. So we're in a consortium with five
[14:51] other towns, right?
[14:52] » We're always last. So this is the last
[14:54] one. So, um, if you if you want to clean
[14:57] out your uh clean out your garage or
[14:59] your shed, come this weekend. Um, and
[15:01] then next week on the 19th, we have a
[15:04] shred day from 8 to 1. So, and all we
[15:07] ask is no staples, no three- ring
[15:09] binders, no no paper clips. Um, and
[15:12] they'll shred the the um the items right
[15:14] there in front of you, so you don't have
[15:16] to worry about uh any security or
[15:18] safety. Um, and that usually is a very
[15:21] well attended event as well. So, I'd say
[15:23] get there early and then, you know, be
[15:26] patient.
[15:27] » Do you have the town publicizing that on
[15:29] their social media accounts?
[15:30] » Yeah. So, it went out. Yeah. So, it's
[15:31] been I send out a DPW update weekly. I
[15:35] don't know if you register for it, but
[15:36] it goes out every Sunday at noon time
[15:38] and then Monday, depending on if there's
[15:40] happening something on the roads, it's
[15:41] every day. Uh, if you go on the town
[15:43] website in the upper leftand corner, it
[15:46] says uh uh town alerts, so you can
[15:48] register for my updates and then anyone
[15:50] else. the um first selections newsletter
[15:53] and then others. So uh yeah and then we
[15:56] have that on just on our website as
[15:58] well. So it's on social media website
[16:00] and my updates for the past two three
[16:02] weeks
[16:03] » Right
[16:03] » On that. Then uh we usually typically
[16:06] put out a variable message board a
[16:07] couple days beforehand to uh just off
[16:10] the 394 Main Street entrance so that
[16:12] people know exactly where to go because
[16:14] you don't come in through the uh access
[16:15] road off of uh Lake View that goes into
[16:18] the transfer station. you come into the
[16:20] lower portion of the compound uh um off
[16:22] Main Street and queue up there.
[16:27] » All right.
[16:28] » Okay.
[16:29] » And any other questions for Tiger?
[16:32] » Okay. Thank you, Tiger. We'll let you
[16:34] go. We're going to move on to
[16:35] » All right.
[16:36] » Thank you.
[16:37] » Discussion.
[16:43] » Great. Thank you.
[16:45] Per the amendment to the agenda. Our
[16:47] next uh agenda item will be public
[16:51] comment and I do believe we have some
[16:52] people in the room. If you can help me
[16:54] John sort of
[16:55] » Direct that public comment and if you
[16:57] see anything online as well that'll be
[16:59] helpful.
[16:59] » All right let's start with the room. I
[17:01] suggest if anyone wants to come up to
[17:02] the podium and make a comment with
[17:05] regard to
[17:05] » I would ask you just to uh introduce
[17:07] yourself name and then the um the street
[17:09] that you live on.
[17:12] It'd be great if we could get a camera
[17:14] coverage of our public commenters.
[17:18] I don't know if that's possible.
[17:21] » Neilie Sticknoff 137 Elm Place.
[17:28] » Oh yeah, sure.
[17:32] » Simple solutions.
[17:33] » No. Um
[17:35] » I don't know if I like
[17:36] » We're doing We're doing pretty well on
[17:37] time for the meeting. Uh, and I
[17:40] certainly do not want to um
[17:43] » Have any kind of public comment, but I
[17:45] will ask everybody to try to keep it to
[17:46] about uh two minutes. But again, I don't
[17:49] want to restrict any public comment, so
[17:51] we'll do our best to to hear everything.
[17:53] I'll take this one.
[17:58] » Um, I was commenting on the uh uh
[18:02] » Who are you? I didn't hear you. Neie
[18:05] Stiknoth
[18:07] 137 Elm Place.
[18:09] Um I was commenting I saw the on the
[18:13] discussion on the uh wave.
[18:15] » Yes. Oh, last night,
[18:17] » Right? And I I was present at the at
[18:20] that discussion last night. Um I
[18:24] presented a couple of things because
[18:25] there seemed to be this this question
[18:27] about
[18:29] the e parcel and what that all means.
[18:32] Um,
[18:33] I had received this pamphlet which I
[18:36] have uh given copies of
[18:39] » From uh Steve Banko years ago and this
[18:42] is a brochure that they used in 1967 to
[18:45] uh uh to get residents to to buy into
[18:49] the idea of open space and it's really
[18:52] great because it you know they went
[18:53] through the kinds of things that you
[18:56] know they were anticipating to happen in
[18:58] Waven and it's exactly what has
[19:01] Um both parcels the the next uh image
[19:07] that you have on that sheet shows the
[19:09] parcels after the tour. Um the par the E
[19:14] and D were were both purchased in ' 67.
[19:17] As you all know the discussion is about
[19:19] E. But any conversation that we have
[19:22] about the deed for E is the same deed
[19:25] for D. So ste includes the house and
[19:30] some of the surrounding areas uh
[19:32] carriage barn powerhouse theater but D
[19:35] is our open space there. So if we're
[19:38] saying that D it's okay to do to say E
[19:42] is oh it's the mulch pile no big deal.
[19:44] We're kind of saying opening up D as
[19:46] well. And I think that's significant
[19:49] because uh you know this is something
[19:52] that we have as as a uh
[19:54] multigenerational space. People of all
[19:57] ages go they enjoy our our park. It's
[20:00] one of the benefits of New Kanan. And if
[20:02] we're saying that the problem with
[20:04] McCainan is that um we want young people
[20:07] to move here, well, they're moving here
[20:10] for for open space. That's it's it's
[20:12] it's such a unique thing that New Kanan
[20:15] has. So the idea that we're going to to
[20:18] now start to to limit that in any way
[20:21] that that particular parcel or anything
[20:24] related to Wave uh doesn't make any
[20:27] sense to me um for what for the for the
[20:29] use that they're talking about. Um the
[20:33] the final uh image is at of the map is
[20:37] of the the resource map that was done
[20:40] for the national register listing which
[20:44] was done in 2019. You can see where
[20:47] parcel E is and how large it is. It's
[20:50] actually the largest contiguous part of
[20:52] waving and that's the part that we're
[20:56] that seems to be presented as the
[20:59] stepchild, you know, like that's just an
[21:02] add-on. But in actuality that was the
[21:04] part that was very compelling to um the
[21:10] Shipo and the National Register because
[21:14] we are one of the only uh sites that has
[21:17] you know 282 acres that is contiguous
[21:21] that still looks when you come out of
[21:23] the the back of Waven it still looks the
[21:26] way it did then what it's not it's grass
[21:28] now instead of farmland but it's you
[21:31] still see the slope you see you still
[21:32] the geography and that's that's really
[21:35] important. So, um and that was what was
[21:38] so unique is that that we still have
[21:40] that and and we're in Fairfield County.
[21:43] You know, the idea that that that we as
[21:45] New Canaanites have been able to
[21:47] maintain that.
[21:48] » So, I just would like to say that we
[21:50] would I personally think that that
[21:52] should continue uh as wave as it as it
[21:56] stands now. And uh
[21:58] » Great. Thank you.
[22:01] » Thank you very much.
[22:02] I have a quick question.
[22:05] » That parcel E, does that actually
[22:07] include the parking lot at Talmage Hill?
[22:10] » No, that's parcel A.
[22:13] » Oh.
[22:16] Oh, I see. Okay. So, it's really not
[22:18] part of this.
[22:19] » No.
[22:20] » Property D. This is the woodland then.
[22:22] » Exactly.
[22:23] » This is where they play that thing in
[22:25] the woods.
[22:25] » This golf.
[22:26] » Sorry.
[22:29] » We took a tour.
[22:30] » Yeah. Um but yes that that area
[22:33] » There's a lot of topography in there as
[22:34] well.
[22:35] » Oh it's so
[22:35] » This is not a building site.
[22:37] » No and as a matter of fact there's also
[22:39] a lot of wetlands because that's the
[22:41] Nurotin River goes right down around
[22:43] there. And as a matter of fact, when
[22:45] they were doing the national listing,
[22:46] they they mentioned that of any place
[22:49] that there might be artifacts from uh
[22:52] you know, Indian civilizations, their
[22:54] settlements, that it would all be a near
[22:57] parcel E because that was the one that's
[22:59] the closest to any kind of water.
[23:02] » Interesting.
[23:02] » Thank you very much for that.
[23:05] » Yeah, appreciate that.
[23:07] » All right, continue. Go ahead, John.
[23:11] » Yep, we have
[23:13] Next public commenter.
[23:17] » Oh, Jimmy.
[23:22] » Your your name and street address.
[23:25] » That's fun to hand out. I made five
[23:28] copies, but obviously there's only three
[23:29] of you. I take that you'll send this
[23:31] along
[23:32] » To Tom. Yes. And
[23:34] » It'll become part of the record
[23:35] » To both Toms. Yes.
[23:36] » Perfect. Thank you.
[23:38] » Um I want to echo my name is Jennifer
[23:41] Holm. I live at Smith 1328 Smith Ridge
[23:44] Road and I've lived here in town over 26
[23:47] years.
[23:48] » It's Jessica Holmes.
[23:49] » Jennifer
[23:50] » Jenn
[23:54] um I echo Neil's sentiments, but I'm
[23:58] also here to talk to you about something
[23:59] that's very critical and important that
[24:02] basically is state law. Um, in the state
[24:05] of Connecticut, we are blessed with a
[24:08] law and the statute was recently updated
[24:10] in 2025
[24:12] to do parkland for parkland as I call
[24:14] it. It basically outlines that if
[24:17] anyipicality changes a use and I've
[24:20] highlighted it for you or for other
[24:23] purposes which the part the which land
[24:26] was purchased for or other recreational
[24:29] or open space purposes for which bonds
[24:32] were issued for such purposes or which
[24:35] has been dedicated for such purposes
[24:38] then the town has to provide equal value
[24:41] and equal size
[24:43] and this has been really critical as you
[24:46] know because open space is continuing to
[24:48] disappear. And the reason why this law
[24:50] came about in the 1970s was because they
[24:54] found many times municipalities were
[24:56] taking land for because it was free to
[24:59] build highways and other things like
[25:01] parking lots. And so what the state
[25:05] legislature did is in their wisdom is
[25:09] say that you must replace it. And
[25:11] recently in 2025, they also wrote into
[25:15] the law and it was passed that it was
[25:17] basically when you do a change of use of
[25:21] parkland or open space, this is
[25:24] triggered, but it isn't triggered after
[25:26] the fact. It's if you go on to the next
[25:29] sentence, you're required to have a
[25:31] public hearing. And that public hearing
[25:34] is a state requirement. and they outline
[25:38] how often you must notify which uh and
[25:41] what the language must be in the notice.
[25:43] But I want to point out to this
[25:45] commission that essentially the
[25:48] municipality
[25:49] use of such land and any reason for the
[25:53] proposed taking. This is not after the
[25:56] fact or concurrently. This is proposed.
[26:00] So here we have a proposal on the table
[26:02] to take this parkland and this hearing
[26:05] must then basically speak to the public
[26:08] and allow the public to speak on the
[26:11] taking of this land, the use of it and
[26:14] then it also must talk about what
[26:16] replacement is going to be provided and
[26:19] what other land was considered. This is
[26:22] all of the required public notice. So I
[26:26] strongly urge this commission because
[26:28] you are in charge and are basically our
[26:30] stewards, one of our stewards of open
[26:32] space to work with potentially park and
[26:36] wreck or independently to do this study
[26:39] prior to thisou being signed. This is
[26:42] really critical because what we have now
[26:45] seen and there was a recent court case
[26:48] called Kensington playground in New
[26:50] Haven was that essentially this allows
[26:54] then the public to weigh in on open
[26:57] space and parkland and wave as wave as
[27:01] as Neil talked about was basically those
[27:04] deeds deed this as open space parkland
[27:08] and they're actually zoned that way in
[27:10] our zoning regulations.
[27:12] So I strongly ask that this commission
[27:14] take this under consideration and either
[27:17] do their own independent study or work
[27:19] with park and wreck to do that.
[27:22] » So thank you John.
[27:24] » In the taking of a replacement parcel,
[27:27] you're not necessarily
[27:29] required to do the replacement parcel
[27:33] with the same zoning as the taking
[27:36] parcel. Well, um I would say that if you
[27:39] take parkland, what the statute says is
[27:41] you must replace parkland. Uh you don't
[27:44] replace it with something else, you
[27:46] replace it with parkland. So I call it
[27:50] parkland for parkland and it's when not
[27:53] and you know hear this a lot. Uh people
[27:56] have been talking about this deed and
[27:58] that we paid for those two parcels. That
[28:00] is irrelevant. this was, you know, I can
[28:03] buy a house and in the deed it says I
[28:06] can't knock the damn thing down. Well,
[28:07] guess what? I can't do that even if I
[28:09] paid for the house, which I should have.
[28:11] In this case, I would note that when
[28:13] Mrs. Lapam Lloyd looked at that and made
[28:17] those parcels and made those covenants
[28:19] in those deeds, she was very cognizant
[28:22] of parcel C and she was very cognizant
[28:25] to separate that out for educational and
[28:28] hospital purposes. And if the same logic
[28:31] would apply to allow this to be built at
[28:34] the mulch pile, then she should have had
[28:36] that language also on that part of the
[28:38] deed. I would also say to the following,
[28:42] we paid as a community with a bond for
[28:45] that parcel below market rate. So at the
[28:48] time when we bought that, if we didn't
[28:50] feel that we wanted to be unencumbered,
[28:52] we should have asked her to remove that
[28:54] easement. We didn't. We actually, as
[28:57] this points out in this brochure,
[28:59] actually wanted that.
[29:00] » We wanted to ensure that longevity and
[29:03] that per perpetuity. So I believe quite
[29:07] honestly that she was very cognizant of
[29:10] what she was doing when she made those
[29:11] deeds. She actually outlines in parcel C
[29:14] that you can have a corporation, a
[29:16] for-profit, a non-forprofit. I strongly
[29:19] urge you to read those deeds. They're
[29:21] very important. And it isn't about what
[29:24] the town's wishes are. It's really about
[29:26] what her wishes are.
[29:28] » Those are that's her legacy to us and
[29:30] that's a legacy I still feel strongly
[29:32] that should be maintained. And if you
[29:34] want to argue, you want to take
[29:36] Parkland, then you also must follow the
[29:38] state statute. It's not a may, it's not
[29:41] a should, it's a shall if you read this
[29:44] this the statute. And it's been a very
[29:47] active statute. So, the fact that the
[29:49] legislature has had this since 1970 and
[29:52] revised it in 2025 means it's very
[29:56] important to them. And we all know how
[29:57] long it takes the legislature to get
[29:59] anything done, believe me. But it's
[30:02] actually extremely important and
[30:03] extremely important for all of us who
[30:05] aren't here for generations to come.
[30:08] » Did I answer your question?
[30:10] » Yes. It was surpris
[30:16] all all of this. Well, I think you know
[30:18] what I think I give people the benefit
[30:20] of the doubt. They may not know. I don't
[30:22] know if you knew about this statute. Um,
[30:25] and its importance. Um, so let's have
[30:28] everyone get educated.
[30:29] » I'm not actually speaking about the
[30:30] public. I was thinking about the
[30:32] presentation made by the representatives
[30:34] of the way many care.
[30:36] » I understand.
[30:37] » They should know about this.
[30:39] » Well, we all should know. That's my
[30:41] » Now we do.
[30:42] » Now we do, right?
[30:44] » Fantastic.
[30:44] » Thank you. I have a quick follow-up
[30:46] question. Sure. Um, I think this source
[30:48] document here, the brochure that you
[30:51] provided is really interesting and I
[30:54] just wanted to get a little bit of
[30:57] information about where you found this
[31:00] and um, and the author here, Peter
[31:04] Emmens, chairman of the Lloyd Lapam
[31:07] Property Committee. Um, and then we've
[31:09] got committee members here. Are these
[31:11] uh, is this a town commission or is this
[31:14] » So, let me Yeah. So, um, Neilie can also
[31:17] talk speak to where she found it, but
[31:19] when you look at the deed, in the deed
[31:22] for parcel C, it discusses creating a
[31:25] five-year commission. In that
[31:27] commission, she names these people to
[31:30] sit on that commission. Uh, when she
[31:32] names those commission members, she
[31:35] named those commission members for a
[31:37] period of five years to study parcel C
[31:39] and to make recommendations for its use.
[31:43] and it's all in parcel cdeed
[31:46] um that you can basically find online.
[31:49] And at that point, those commission
[31:51] members then basically made those
[31:53] recommendations with that permitted use
[31:56] and basically felt that with her
[31:59] concurrence at the time because she was
[32:01] still alive up until uh she was live in
[32:04] 1972 when it was called New Kanan
[32:07] Healthc Care opened. It wasn't called
[32:10] Waven at the time. um that when they
[32:13] actually opened their facilities and I
[32:16] actually have found the Elise agreement
[32:18] between them, New Canon Healthcare and
[32:21] the original 1972
[32:23] discussion about what should go on
[32:25] there. So these people that you see
[32:27] mentioned here are basically that
[32:29] committee that was formed. This is a
[32:31] representation of her views essentially
[32:34] » And their views
[32:35] » And their views after studying uh this
[32:38] uh parcel
[32:40] » All the parcels and then the request to
[32:42] basically we would they obviously were
[32:44] had a conversation with her and
[32:46] obviously the recommendation was she
[32:49] would like to give more remember she she
[32:51] gave everything but DNA to the town
[32:54] including the house.
[32:56] » So at that point she basically made a
[32:58] decision. She says she could have gotten
[33:01] $2.5 million at the time for Parcels's
[33:05] DNE, but she decided that we could sell
[33:06] it to her for 1.5. And this brochure was
[33:11] basically put out by that committee and
[33:14] the support of the town and the town
[33:15] council at the time to basically issue a
[33:17] bond.
[33:20] » Okay, fabulous.
[33:22] » Great.
[33:22] » Thank you, Jennifer.
[33:23] » No problem.
[33:25] » We'll include this in the
[33:26] » Thank you, Jim. Good to see you.
[33:28] » Good to see you, too. If you have a
[33:29] digital copy of this
[33:30] » Oh, uh, I'll give you this
[33:31] » That you could email.
[33:33] » Oh,
[33:34] we do.
[33:35] » Yeah,
[33:35] » That'd be great. So, then we could
[33:36] attach it to the minutes for the record.
[33:40] » Thank you. Thank you.
[33:42] » All right, we're running a little over
[33:44] on public comment, but we perhaps have a
[33:46] few more.
[33:48] » Yeah, let me ask the question. Any other
[33:50] public comment in the room, please?
[33:54] » Hi, Michelle Crookenden.
[33:57] Oh, Michelle, we're gonna go through the
[33:59] room first.
[34:00] » Oh, sorry. Room. My apologies.
[34:02] » We'll be right with you, Michelle. Thank
[34:03] you.
[34:04] » Please come up. Please come up.
[34:06] » Next in the room.
[34:08] » Please step over.
[34:15] » This is purely
[34:18] self-s serving and anecdotal. My name is
[34:20] Sally Anne Powell. I moved to New Kanan
[34:23] in um 1977
[34:26] as a newlywed with my husband. We lived
[34:28] here for three years on Summer Street.
[34:30] Mabel Lamb sold me my house. Pete
[34:32] Raymond gave me my mortgage by sitting
[34:34] in his office. We moved away in 1980 and
[34:37] then we moved back in 1985. I've lived
[34:40] here on um Cheese Road ever since. My
[34:44] children were born here, raised here. I
[34:47] should be a target population for this
[34:50] proposed facility. The town of New
[34:53] Canaan basically has been my home for
[34:57] these almost 45 years. I believe that
[35:01] the mulch pile or whatever we want to
[35:03] call it. New new Kanan's parks have as
[35:08] we have improved them and especially
[35:09] Waveny has been an integral part of my
[35:13] life, my children's life. I really think
[35:15] we should go back, study the documents
[35:19] that we have and make sure we keep
[35:22] waving the way it is. I should be the
[35:25] person. I'm 76. My husband is 79. I'm
[35:29] the one who should be be saying yes,
[35:32] yes, we need something like this now.
[35:35] Well, we may we may because I've taken
[35:39] care of parents, in-laws, and everything
[35:40] else, but I don't think that we need to
[35:44] destroy Waven, which is a jewel to uh
[35:49] affect this type of facility here. There
[35:52] are other ways to get this type of
[35:55] facility. Believe me, I've toured these
[35:58] facilities for parents, in-laws, and
[36:01] everybody else. there are a need but
[36:04] maybe this is not the right place and I
[36:06] think it behooves us here to examine
[36:09] everything very very closely. This is
[36:12] just a personal opinion. Thank you.
[36:14] » Fantastic.
[36:15] » Thank you very much. Very well said.
[36:17] » Thank you.
[36:20] » Anyone else in the room there to public
[36:22] comment?
[36:24] » Okay, I think we've exhausted the room.
[36:26] Um
[36:28] Michelle, I heard you first. Do you want
[36:30] to jump in? Thank you, Michelle.
[36:33] » Thank you, John. Michelle Crookendon, uh
[36:35] 49 Bartling Drive. I've been a resident
[36:38] for 22 years. Um some of you know I also
[36:41] serve as Wave Park Conservy's executive
[36:44] director, but I'm really speaking as a
[36:46] resident. Um here I just am going to add
[36:50] a few small details that are factual,
[36:52] not an opinion. Um,
[36:55] first is that the conserv few people
[36:57] have asked me if the conservancy has
[36:59] weighed in with a view or an advocacy on
[37:01] this project and we have not. We have
[37:04] consciously met and decided to allow
[37:07] residents to investigate, share their
[37:09] views, decide what's best for the town
[37:12] and we will fit in accordingly when when
[37:15] and the time is right if this moves
[37:17] forward. Um, so the conservancy is not
[37:21] making any official statement at this
[37:23] point. Um, however, I want to correct or
[37:27] maybe just weigh in on some things that
[37:29] I think have been in discussion,
[37:30] including last night at the parks and
[37:32] recreation commission meeting. Um, one
[37:35] is some maybe um, misunderstandings
[37:39] around the footprint of the project,
[37:41] which is often referred to as the mulch
[37:43] site. The mulch site is 5 acres. the
[37:46] footprint of the project as proposed is
[37:48] 20 acres. So, it is four times the size
[37:51] of the the mulch site. Um it's just a a
[37:54] good thing to understand. Um that
[37:56] obviously is subject to some change, but
[37:58] that is the current project proposal. Um
[38:01] there's been questions around how
[38:05] » Did someone have a question?
[38:07] » No, go ahead.
[38:08] » Continue, Michelle.
[38:09] » Charles, we heard you there for a
[38:10] second.
[38:11] » Questions around how affordable it is.
[38:13] It's not my place to weigh in on the
[38:15] economics of the project, but it is
[38:18] definitely not something that would meet
[38:20] affordability tests under our, you know,
[38:23] on our state requirements to uphold
[38:26] moratoriums. So, I think there's been
[38:28] some side conversations about what Wave
[38:32] Wave Life Care Network could do to help
[38:35] mitigate the impact that this
[38:37] development would have, but um there's
[38:40] currently nothing outlined for that.
[38:43] Um, and then the other thing that I
[38:45] wanted to mention is, um, I think it was
[38:47] Neilie who mentioned that the property,
[38:51] the entirety of Wave Park is a listed
[38:54] National Historic,
[38:56] um, and State Historic Register property
[38:58] and that includes all the parcels. So,
[39:01] if it's helpful to anyone to see that, I
[39:04] can send uh to the commission the link
[39:07] that has all the detail of the um
[39:10] application in 2019 to put us on the
[39:13] historic register, but it really does
[39:16] include I think as Neilie mentioned,
[39:18] some specific language that highlights
[39:21] the importance of parcel E
[39:25] in granting.
[39:27] Very good.
[39:28] » So, those were all those were all my
[39:29] points.
[39:30] Thank you, Michelle.
[39:31] » Great.
[39:32] » Thank you, Michelle. That link would be
[39:34] very helpful, I think, in terms of uh
[39:36] seeing the totality of the of the of the
[39:39] uh application and whatever that
[39:40] response was.
[39:41] » I'll forwarded that on after after your
[39:44] » I have a quick follow-up question,
[39:46] Michelle. Um you said that the Wave Park
[39:49] Conservancy has not weighed in with a
[39:52] formal view on the merits of this
[39:55] project. Uh and um we know that there's
[39:59] a town council meeting coming up I
[40:02] believe on the 16th where there will be
[40:04] a memorandum of understanding
[40:08] uh proposed. Um and so do you have a
[40:12] timeline established for if or when you
[40:17] might weigh in as an organization on
[40:20] this project?
[40:22] » Um it's a fair question. I think
[40:27] in short, no. But I think what what is
[40:30] really guiding our board is that the
[40:34] definition of I mean we have the the
[40:37] conservancy has its own memorandum of
[40:39] understanding with the town that was set
[40:41] out 11 years ago when this um
[40:42] organization was established. And
[40:44] although we're independent, everything
[40:46] we do is advocacy. We really don't h you
[40:49] know the town the town does own the
[40:51] land. So we don't have any independent
[40:53] control of projects or pushing things
[40:56] forward. Um but our memorandum of
[40:59] understanding with the town does not
[41:02] include oversight of the land on that
[41:06] side of of Lapam Road. So we have a
[41:09] boundary of our area of influence. And
[41:12] for better or worse, it's within the
[41:15] lands um going to South Avenue, south of
[41:18] the drive, the main drive through the
[41:20] park and to Lapam Road. Um and that's
[41:23] really been kind of our guiding force
[41:25] here is this is outside of our scope.
[41:28] Um, and that doesn't mean individuals on
[41:31] our board and myself don't have views,
[41:33] but we've tried to remain circumspect
[41:37] and allow this process to be more
[41:39] publicly, you know, publicly weighed in.
[41:42] » So, I don't think actually, you know,
[41:45] have a voice as an organization, but you
[41:48] may hear individuals express their
[41:50] opinions,
[41:50] » Right?
[41:51] » Great. Thanks. Thank you.
[41:53] » Thanks very much, Michelle. Anyone else
[41:55] online care to weigh in?
[41:58] Yes,
[41:59] » Charles, go ahead.
[42:00] » Thank you for recognizing me. Um, I'll
[42:04] try to be very brief and that is uh I
[42:07] speak for myself and my wife Sarah who's
[42:10] in the room with me now. She had been on
[42:11] the call independently on her computer.
[42:14] We feel very very strongly that uh Waven
[42:17] Park should be preserved precisely the
[42:20] way it is now. that they there should
[42:23] not be uh allowed a discussion of
[42:27] alienating any portion of it for a hay
[42:30] penny for a dollar, a million dollars,
[42:32] hund00 million.
[42:34] It's a gem.
[42:37] We've raised our family here, by the
[42:39] way, for Carter Street, New Cananan,
[42:42] second oldest house in New Kanan.
[42:44] » Place matters. It mattered to the state
[42:48] historic preservation office and to the
[42:51] National Trust.
[42:53] It's their number one consideration to
[42:56] bismerch
[42:58] that place.
[43:00] It would be a shame. So I would urge you
[43:04] to conserve it precisely the way it is.
[43:08] Thank you.
[43:09] » Great. Thank you, Charles.
[43:11] » Thanks, Charles. Anyone else online?
[43:17] I think that's it, Tom.
[43:18] » That's it. Thank you, John, for
[43:21] coordinating that. Difficult for me to
[43:23] do it remotely.
[43:24] » Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
[43:26] » So, with with that, we're going to move
[43:28] on to the next uh agenda item, which is
[43:31] the commission's discussion on the Wave
[43:34] Lifeare network proposal for parcel E.
[43:37] And again, this will be for the uh four
[43:40] commissioners present in today's
[43:42] meeting. Would anyone uh Any of the
[43:45] commissioners like to start? John and
[43:47] Susan, would you like to start with
[43:48] comment
[43:50] » Or discuss? I'll
[43:50] » Start just to just to lay out that one
[43:53] of the duties of the conservation
[43:55] commission is to conduct research into
[43:57] the utilization and possible utilization
[43:59] of land in New Cananan. And that's one
[44:02] of our only four required duties. So it
[44:05] squarely fits within our purview to uh
[44:09] to be taking this issue up. Um, and so
[44:11] we are essentially required uh to uh uh
[44:15] to look at the issue. Um, and yeah, and
[44:19] I just want to kind of uh uh I I have a
[44:23] I have a motion that we might um we
[44:26] might discuss, but throw it open to
[44:28] other people who wanted to express
[44:30] express views.
[44:34] » I'm sorry. Are you finished or you
[44:36] » I'm going to come back with a with a
[44:38] specific motion.
[44:40] Oh, any other commissioners like to
[44:42] jump? I didn't want to jump.
[44:44] » No, I mean I would concur. I think that
[44:45] is a it is a responsibility.
[44:48] Um, and hopefully
[44:52] if the town is going to proceed with
[44:55] pursuing this, I think all of these
[44:59] various
[45:00] site restrictions need to be carefully
[45:03] considered, openly carefully considered.
[45:07] Um
[45:09] and
[45:10] I think that's a very important point I
[45:13] guess to my comment to earlier to um one
[45:18] of our pres uh commenters was that
[45:22] » It seems to be glossed over in prior
[45:26] comment. I found listening last night
[45:28] that it didn't seem to be a key point
[45:31] that needed to be openly considered. So
[45:35] hopefully as you're drafting your
[45:37] motion,
[45:39] um I think that is our obligation.
[45:43] » I agree. And um I also attended the
[45:48] parks and wreck um meeting about this
[45:51] last night and I wanted to draw
[45:53] attention to a particular slide which I
[45:57] can provide. Um they presented it to the
[46:00] community last night. It was titled five
[46:02] reasons this is worth evaluating. I
[46:05] think um some of the uh the points they
[46:10] made in this slide are directly in our
[46:14] wheelhouse
[46:15] » As stewards of uh open space. And um so
[46:20] I want to uh specifically note number
[46:23] three which says that the project will
[46:26] expand public access to open space
[46:29] that's currently a closed parcel. And um
[46:34] I think we need a a voice in um the
[46:39] discussion of some of these points
[46:41] because it seems to me that uh once you
[46:47] develop a piece of land, it's no longer
[46:50] open space. And if this parcel's
[46:54] considered closed because it's a mulch
[46:56] pile, um there are other ways we can
[46:59] open access for the public. And um so
[47:05] there uh in in the in these discussions,
[47:08] if if these are going to take place in
[47:11] the town um the for selectman for
[47:15] selectman's meeting, I think we should
[47:17] have some role in that conversation. I
[47:20] don't know if your motion is going to be
[47:22] relevant to that. So, I'll save it.
[47:23] Okay. So, I'll save that that for you.
[47:25] But I and I also wanted to point out
[47:27] number four, which said uh states that
[47:31] the project will simply expand Waven
[47:35] Park to be utilized by everyone. And um
[47:38] I think that is worth some scrutiny um
[47:43] because we have had
[47:46] a year's worth of guest speakers coming
[47:49] to this commission and um discussing
[47:54] conservation and wildlife uh in our open
[47:58] space. And um you know, we had our
[48:01] firefly expert who gave us this
[48:04] presentation about this new possible new
[48:07] species in Waven Park that hasn't been
[48:11] found anywhere else. Um and uh and we
[48:15] also had a bird migration expert come in
[48:19] and talk to us about the importance of
[48:21] our open space uh for migrating bird
[48:25] populations.
[48:26] And um so the process that seems to be
[48:31] laid out seems very swift. And if we are
[48:35] going to if we're required to study the
[48:37] issue, I would love to find a way to
[48:40] incorporate some of these expert voices
[48:44] on conservation
[48:45] in the town of New Kanan so we can uh
[48:48] make sure that information is brought to
[48:51] the public and to the uh the the
[48:55] committee that will be approving this.
[48:57] » Yeah.
[48:58] » Great. Um, and so John, if you have a a
[49:02] motion prepared, I'll I'll leave it to
[49:04] you.
[49:05] » I do. I do. And Tommy
[49:07] » And John, we'll we'll go ahead and hear
[49:09] the motion. If there's a second on the
[49:10] motion, then we'll open it up for
[49:12] discussion again as you nor do in the
[49:15] process of a motion and then we'll vote
[49:16] on it. So, there's additional time to
[49:18] discuss once we hear the motion. And and
[49:21] I should preface this by saying that Tom
[49:23] Herman worked on this specific motion,
[49:26] but it's exactly what I would also uh
[49:29] support, so I'll make it on my own
[49:30] behalf since he's not here. Um, the
[49:34] motion being moved that the New Cananan
[49:35] Conservation Commission requests that
[49:37] the town council formally consult with
[49:40] the Conservation Commission prior to
[49:42] taking any action to accept, approve, or
[49:45] enter into any lease agreement or
[49:48] memorandum of understanding regarding
[49:50] the proposal by Waven Life Care Network
[49:53] for development of parcel E of Waven
[49:55] Park.
[49:57] And be it further move that the
[49:59] commission finds such consultation
[50:01] appropriate and necessary because this
[50:04] will take a minute for me to read so
[50:05] bear with me. Wave park one maybe wave
[50:08] park constitutes open space and parkland
[50:11] subject to the commission's jurisdiction
[50:13] and mandate under uh charter 114 and 115
[50:17] to review and advise on matters
[50:19] affecting the town's open space, natural
[50:21] resources and conservation interests.
[50:24] two, the town ordinances C11489
[50:28] and C11-5, consultation with relevant
[50:30] town commissions or council uh action
[50:34] affecting land use of this character.
[50:37] Third, the proposed continuing care
[50:40] retirement community development would
[50:42] result in a substantial potentially
[50:44] irreversible change in a significant
[50:45] parcel of parkland implicating
[50:48] conservation values including open space
[50:50] preservation, tree canopy, wildlife
[50:53] habitat, and storm water management that
[50:55] falls squarely within this commission's
[50:57] expertise and statutory p purpose under
[51:00] Connecticut general statutes. Fourth,
[51:03] the land was conveyed to the town
[51:04] subject to deed restrictions intended to
[51:06] preserve its character as parkland and
[51:08] the commission has an interest in
[51:10] ensuring that any proposed use is
[51:12] elevated against those restrictions
[51:14] before the town council takes binding
[51:16] action. Uh, fifth, the meaningful
[51:19] consultation prior to a council vote
[51:21] rather than after is necessary to allow
[51:24] the commission's findings and
[51:25] recommendations to actually inform the
[51:27] council's decisions.
[51:29] Uh lastly, be it further resolved that
[51:32] the chair is directed to transmit this
[51:33] resolution to the town council and to
[51:35] request that no vote on the way lifeare
[51:37] network proposal be scheduled until such
[51:40] consultation has occurred.
[51:43] So that is my lengthy motion.
[51:45] » Okay. Do we have a second on the motion?
[51:49] » Second.
[51:50] » Thank you, Susan. All those in uh well,
[51:53] we'll open up for discussion as I
[51:55] mentioned. Um before
[51:56] » I think it's very comprehensive. Thank
[51:57] you. Sure is.
[51:59] » Yeah.
[51:59] » Uh by formally consult
[52:02] um would that be a public hearing or
[52:06] would that what would that look like?
[52:08] » Uh that would be the logical way to do a
[52:12] formal consultation would be in a public
[52:14] hearing would be my opinion.
[52:16] » Right.
[52:18] No, I think it's u I I I I approve the
[52:21] language uh in the motion. I I look
[52:24] forward to the opportunity to um learn
[52:27] more about the project and I think um
[52:31] that's very consistent with the way
[52:33] we've acted as a advisory commission in
[52:36] the past. I recently was contacted by a
[52:39] representative from the town of Derenne
[52:40] who Darianne is forming a conservation
[52:42] commission. They asked me uh how we work
[52:46] and um I gave them a couple examples
[52:48] from our our meetings and I used both
[52:50] the wellwater program meeting and the
[52:52] leaf blower ordinance meeting as an
[52:54] example of how how we operate and I told
[52:58] the represent from Darianne that we uh
[53:00] typically invite uh stakeholders or
[53:05] experts uh into our meeting to present
[53:07] to the commission so the commission
[53:09] becomes more informed but as a result so
[53:11] does the public because these are public
[53:14] meetings. We and again we did so um in
[53:17] in those two instances and as Ann has
[53:20] mentioned we've done it in in the past
[53:22] in in many other instances. So I think
[53:24] this is very consistent with that sort
[53:26] of way we operate as an advisory uh uh
[53:30] commission. So, I look forward to uh
[53:33] moving forward with that idea and
[53:36] perhaps reaching out to Russell Barkdale
[53:40] or uh any representative from the Wavey
[53:43] uh LifeCare network u to present to us
[53:48] uh as a commission so that we can learn
[53:50] a little bit more about um their
[53:53] intentions, a bit more factf finding and
[53:56] also uh to invite other experts uh to a
[54:01] weigh in uh as it relates to
[54:04] conservation open space in the town of
[54:07] Dana.
[54:09] » So I think we should take a formal vote
[54:11] on the motion.
[54:13] » Yes. And there any more comments? Well,
[54:16] I think I I like what you just said,
[54:18] Tom, and I wonder um do we need a motion
[54:21] to make that happen or uh should we
[54:25] reach out to the stakeholders
[54:29] um and invite, you know, devote one of
[54:32] our next meetings to the topic and make
[54:34] sure all the stakeholders are present so
[54:36] we can um properly ask questions and
[54:41] learn more about the project.
[54:43] » I I think so. And I and I I suspect
[54:46] there's going to be some redundancy. I
[54:48] mean, we there was a meeting la last
[54:50] night with parks and wreck. I don't
[54:51] think anybody would object to redundancy
[54:55] about hearing hearing more and more
[54:57] about this project. Information is key
[55:00] as far as um allowing people to make
[55:02] informed decisions. So I can I can make
[55:05] I can reach out myself uh on that
[55:08] matter. But I would also uh encourage
[55:10] you to help me with u reach finding and
[55:14] reaching out to additional uh experts on
[55:16] the subject matter beyond u u simply
[55:20] asking the wave lifeare network to
[55:22] present. So we'll work on that together
[55:24] as a commission.
[55:25] » Yeah. Yep. I can help with
[55:27] » I think perhaps then this speaks to the
[55:29] fact that this proposal for town council
[55:33] to review thisou
[55:36] in what did you say September 9 is a
[55:39] little premature and I think that they
[55:42] should consider the prospect that
[55:44] there's a lot of work to do before they
[55:46] actually take this up.
[55:47] » Exactly. Susan,
[55:48] » I I I Susan, that's an excellent point.
[55:51] I'm already hearing uh that that meeting
[55:55] might be pushed back till October.
[55:58] » I think so.
[55:59] » One followup, Tom. Um John mentioned the
[56:02] idea that we have a duty to study the
[56:05] issue and um there may be an you know an
[56:10] ecological study that that could be done
[56:12] on the impact uh on the site. That's the
[56:16] number.
[56:16] » You do something on one parcel, it's
[56:18] going to impact the neighboring, you
[56:19] know, the adjacent parcels and we may
[56:22] need funding to do a proper study. So
[56:25] that might be something that we take up
[56:26] in a future meeting as well.
[56:28] » It also takes time a study like that.
[56:31] You don't you don't whip that out in a
[56:33] week or so.
[56:33] » Right.
[56:34] » Right.
[56:34] » I mean, I would guess that this is
[56:36] easily six months off.
[56:40] uh some of that burden might fall on on
[56:43] on those who are putting forward the
[56:46] proposal.
[56:47] » Uh so we'll talk about that
[56:49] » As a commission.
[56:52] » I don't know who who is
[56:54] » Obviously it is out there. So um the
[56:58] town council decided this was possible
[57:02] and I think that's an issue. I don't I
[57:04] think the proposal that will be made by
[57:07] the wave care facility advocates or
[57:11] professionals will probably not differ
[57:14] hugely from what we saw but I think it's
[57:18] the town council that needs to say that
[57:20] this is this cannot be reviewed in this
[57:22] way.
[57:23] » Right.
[57:25] Understood.
[57:27] » Okay. Uh any other comments?
[57:31] So, we pass this motion, Tom. Then that
[57:34] would go to that would be a
[57:36] communication really to the town
[57:38] council,
[57:39] » Correct?
[57:40] » And um and then we would
[57:43] wait for a response that would come to
[57:46] you as the commissioner, as the
[57:48] director,
[57:49] » Chair.
[57:49] » Chair. Sorry. Thank you. Would that
[57:51] motion actually
[57:53] directly request that they postpone any
[57:58] action by the council in advance
[58:00] » Until they until they heard from us? I
[58:02] think that
[58:02] » I think that language is in there until
[58:04] they heard from us.
[58:05] » Yeah, this is this is non-binding
[58:08] obviously, but it is a formal request
[58:10] from our commission.
[58:11] » Yeah.
[58:12] » Order to ask a question.
[58:15] » Yes, but you have you'd have to come up
[58:16] to the microphones because we have
[58:18] minutes for the meeting.
[58:20] » Yeah. This is we need to make a quick
[58:22] this is actually
[58:24] » Discussion with the commissioners but I
[58:25] I'll allow a quick a quick comment if
[58:27] » Question are you asking for an
[58:29] environmental impact study independent
[58:32] of um wave lifeare is that what you're
[58:35] asking
[58:36] » No we're we're asking to do work with
[58:38] regard to
[58:38] » Okay I I just didn't understand the
[58:40] question I couldn't hear sorry
[58:43] » Thank you all right any more discussion
[58:46] points
[58:48] okay with that we have a motion on on
[58:50] the floor uh that John has uh read for
[58:54] us. Um and we had a second on that
[58:58] motion from an all those in favor of
[59:01] approving the motion raise your hand or
[59:04] say I.
[59:05] » I. All three of us here. Yes. And Tom.
[59:09] » All right. Very good. So, the motion
[59:10] passes. We'll have a little work to do
[59:12] to follow up on that, but I'll uh
[59:16] I'll manage that.
[59:19] So, thank you. Thank you for that. Um,
[59:23] we're going to move on now to the next
[59:24] agenda item, and that is um, uh, new
[59:28] business.
[59:30] I do not have anything on my
[59:34] schedule as far as new business. Anyone
[59:36] have anything they would like to add?
[59:39] The only thing I have is um I want to
[59:44] keep alive this uh possibility of
[59:48] creating a social media account for this
[59:51] commission so that we can communicate
[59:53] directly with the public. We were
[59:56] proposing that the ordinance
[59:59] um
[1:00:00] you know be proposed which would exp you
[1:00:03] know basically update how we communicate
[1:00:07] with the public. And so, um, it may not
[1:00:10] be something that we can take up in in
[1:00:12] we're already past five minutes, but,
[1:00:15] um,
[1:00:16] » Maybe, you know, with some of these live
[1:00:18] issues and, uh, so many people care
[1:00:20] about about this project and some of the
[1:00:23] issues we're taking on, uh, in our
[1:00:26] discussions, um, it would be great to
[1:00:28] have an avenue for communicating
[1:00:30] directly with with the public. So, I
[1:00:32] want to make sure that uh stays alive in
[1:00:35] our u in our agenda.
[1:00:38] for future meetings.
[1:00:40] » Right. Agreed.
[1:00:43] » Perhaps if we were able to draft
[1:00:46] something that that um embraces
[1:00:49] calculates what your intent is rather
[1:00:52] than we just talk about it
[1:00:54] » And that would give us a point of I mean
[1:00:56] I'm not sure even what that what what
[1:00:58] that would look like. It would be great
[1:00:59] if Tom were here, we could talk about
[1:01:02] the um ordinance because uh the during
[1:01:06] the summer we started we started the
[1:01:08] process of taking new ordinances to the
[1:01:11] um
[1:01:12] » The committee that the ordinance
[1:01:13] committee. I'm not sure where that
[1:01:16] stands or whether that process stalled
[1:01:18] out or
[1:01:20] um was put on hold. Tom, maybe
[1:01:25] you're your
[1:01:26] » Yeah, I will follow I will follow up on
[1:01:28] on that with with Okay. with Tom and and
[1:01:30] the um
[1:01:33] » And and also uh the town and the town
[1:01:35] council and the charter commission. It's
[1:01:38] not fully related to the charter
[1:01:39] commission that ordinances can stand
[1:01:41] outside the the revisions that have
[1:01:43] already been made to the charter, but
[1:01:45] it's still related and I'll follow up on
[1:01:48] » Great. And I take your point, Susan,
[1:01:50] that maybe this is as simple as a motion
[1:01:54] we vote on in the commission in the next
[1:01:56] meeting,
[1:01:57] » Right?
[1:01:57] » Yeah.
[1:01:58] » Yeah. Yeah.
[1:01:59] » I'll work on drafting.
[1:02:00] » Yeah. We could dedicate uh I would think
[1:02:02] dedicate perhaps a a significant part of
[1:02:06] the meeting to discussion point. And
[1:02:07] when we did that with uh when we talked
[1:02:09] about grant writing, our next step was
[1:02:10] to, you know, how do we move this into
[1:02:12] action? We invited Greg Riley into the
[1:02:14] room. He gave us a a nice presentation
[1:02:17] on how we might work with him on on uh
[1:02:20] grant writing, grant proposals. And sure
[1:02:22] enough, it was just two weeks ago that
[1:02:23] he sent us over, sent the commission
[1:02:26] over a first sort of viable, you know,
[1:02:30] um um you know, possible opportunity for
[1:02:33] for grant writing for Bristo for bird
[1:02:36] watching. So, you know, that's the type
[1:02:38] of follow-up that, you know, follow
[1:02:40] through. We we need to continue on.
[1:02:42] » We can do it with this communication.
[1:02:44] Yep. Great.
[1:02:47] » Okay. The uh next item on the agenda,
[1:02:51] and we're doing pretty well as far as
[1:02:52] time with a robust sort of meeting. Just
[1:02:56] seven minutes over here. Uh the next
[1:02:58] item is general information. Uh we have
[1:03:01] a meeting scheduled for October 8th.
[1:03:05] I'll go to work in getting um guest
[1:03:09] speakers for that meeting. And I suspect
[1:03:12] uh that'll be in relation to the uh
[1:03:15] Wavey Life Care Network proposal for
[1:03:18] parcel E.
[1:03:21] » Any other general information anyone
[1:03:22] needs to share?
[1:03:25] » Nothing here.
[1:03:26] » No.
[1:03:27] » Great. Thank you. Uh commission. With
[1:03:28] that, I'd like to call uh to adjourn the
[1:03:32] meeting. Uh can I have a motion to
[1:03:34] adjurnn?
[1:03:35] » John,
[1:03:36] » Make a motion to adjurnn.
[1:03:37] » Thank you, Ann.
[1:03:38] » Oh, Susan. Thank you. All those in
[1:03:41] favor?
[1:03:42] » I
[1:03:42] » I.
[1:03:43] » Great. Thank you everyone. Productive
[1:03:45] meeting. Uh thank you guests for
[1:03:48] sharing.
[1:03:49] » Thank you everyone for coming.
[1:03:50] » Thanks Tom.
[1:03:55] Humanness.