Ruling Issued On 15 Trees Marked For Removal At Great Island

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“Those trees took 125 years to grow that way… You’re not going to replace those types of trees. You’ve got wildlife living in those trees, you’ve got owls living in those trees. To me, you’re going to make that road wider, it doesn’t make sense. That should be a road for entry or exit. You should make another road, you have enough property there to make another entrance. There’s got to be another way,” Panaro said. “It’s a sin you’re destroying a piece of land.”

The trees were posted for removal on Aug. 20, and the town subsequently received written objections which triggered the public hearing.

“This feels kind of like a sham hearing,” said resident Joseph Pontrello. “You don’t know what’s going into Great Island. Why do you need to build a driveway now? Why do you need to destroy anything right now when you don’t know what happens next?”

The Great Island Advisory Committee (GIAC) has been working with landscape architect Reed Hilderbrand for several months on developing a vision and master plan for the property. Darien will host the first community engagement workshop on the initiative on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Another resident, Ned Farrington, thanked the town for purchasing Great Island, but he, too, questioned why the road-widening project needs to be completed now.

“Unless there’s a real driver to have to expand that road right now, maybe there’s a way for us to kick the can down the street maybe six months or so and see whether there’s some other way to resolve this,” he said.

Juliet Cain said she was concerned Darien has no protections for the environment or conservation.

“Until we adopt true protections, I think we’re going to see more building and less greenery,” she noted.

Other residents said there had been little transparency about the proposed tree removals and few opportunities for residents to weigh in.

Selectman Monica McNally, who leads the GIAC, said the tree removals were part of the access road plan that’s been in the works since January. The project has made stops with Darien Planning & Zoning, Architectural Review Board, and Environmental Protection Commission in recent months, McNally said.

The tree hearing was contentious at times. First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky was the last person to speak, saying, “I’m highly empathetic to the emotions in this meeting.”

“I think based on some of the questions that have been asked here, that frankly you guys are owed a clear explanation of exactly what we are doing, despite the fact we’ve had a lot of discussions about it. To my point, you can’t over-communicate,” Zagrodzky added. “These trees are not going to get destroyed before we have this additional communication.”

On Tuesday, the town released supplemental information to go along with Cotta’s decision letter. Zagrodzky told Patch the information was intended to provide the additional communication he promised, and that there are no plans to hold more public hearings on the matter.

“When the Town of Darien acquired Great Island, the use of the property changed from Residential to Municipal, which necessitated certain improvements to meet the standards for access,” the town said in the supplemental information post. “These two standards – for regular and emergency vehicle access – are essential under any master plan scenario and cannot be met without a two-lane access road (including a sidewalk for pedestrian safety) from Ring’s End Bridge to the Traffic Circle. This conclusion was reached after extensive discussions with road engineers, safety professionals and other experts, including the Fire Marshal.”

Traffic bump-outs to permit passing are not adequate, the town said, and it’s not possible to widen the access road in the opposite direction because it would encroach on private property where there are also large trees.

As for finding other locations for access, the town does have an easement on the Ziegler property from Long Neck Point Road to the traffic circle, but that’s intended “only for catastrophic emergencies where the main entrance road is inaccessible.”

In late August, Director of Darien Public Works Ed Gentile said work to widen the access road was tentatively scheduled to begin in mid-September.

“While these mature trees unfortunately are being removed, a robust replanting plan has been developed to replace them, as was described in the hearing,” the town added.

Gentile said during the hearing the plan includes 122 new native plantings (55 new trees, 67 new bushes) along the roadway which is about 1,000 feet long.

“It is disappointing to take down any trees, especially mature ones that take decades to grow. But it is clear that meeting the standards for both equitable and emergency access require us to do so, which will be true no matter what shape the final master plan for Great Island takes,” the town said in its supplemental information.

“It is worth keeping in mind that had the Town not purchased the property, it likely would have sold to a developer, which certainly would have resulted in much more significant tree loss.”

Zagrodzky said he’s willing to meet or have a call with any resident who still has concerns. Residents can contact him at 203-656-7386 or [email protected].

View the entire tree hearing on Darien TV79

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