KENT, Conn.—The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet in special session Thursday night, Aug. 20, to consider modification of a site plan for a large home built within the ridgeline overlay district off Kenmont Road.
Development of the 199-acre parcel was approved in 2024. About half of the property lies within the ridgeline overlay district and 192 acres remain forested, according to Jessica Goldvarg, an architect.
Goldvarg and her husband, Alex, have developed a five-bedroom home, a three-car detached garage with guest suite, a swimming pool and pool house. on the site. A 1,200-foot driveway leads to the house.
“During the [zoning application] process, tree removal was approved,” she said, “but some trees were taken down mistakenly.” An additional tree along the driveway was blown over in a storm.
“We are very regretful this happened,” said Goldvarg, “There have been questions about whether we had proper approval. It was never our intention to clear cut along the ridgeline. We have a pretty robust landscape plan that we are in the middle of, and we would like to plant additional trees to make amends.”
She displayed a graphic that showed where six trees had been removed as well as indicating were three large maples have already been replaced. Six other large trees are planned for replacement and their arborist has recommended oaks as appropriate trees.
Goldvarg said that the landscape plan also calls for installation of smaller trees that will reach 30 feet in height.
Pictures taken from the site showed that the trees removed did not create a view over the valley below.
Goldvarg said the couple believes the error occurred because the approved clearing line was marked and adhered to, but individual trees were not marked.
PZC alternate Darrell Cherniske, designer and project manager at Kent Horticultural Services, thanked Goldvarg for her “transparent presentation,” and said her arborist had selected the right trees for the environmental conditions along the ridgeline. It was suggested however, that some evergreens be introduced into the design to blend them into the surrounding forest.
“Overall, I think your presentation is great and shows there hasn’t been an effort to get away with more clearing than allowed,” he said. “When you look at the edges of the disturbed area, there are evergreens. It might be good to have some more, but you would have to do extra work for the evergreens, especially in the early years.”
He also observed that flexibility should be allowed in the placement of the trees to ensure their success. The trees of lower height would help to block the sky, creating greater density.
Even though the Goldvargs are close to receiving a certificate of occupancy and want to clear up the tree issue so they can move into their home, Jessica Goldvarg said she wanted time to confer more with her arborist to ensure the “trees will do well,” and when they should be planted.
Zoning Enforcement Officer Tai Kern said that the PZC could approve a modified site plan and that the Goldvargs could then bond for the performance of that plan, giving them a temporary certificate of zoning compliance and allowing more time to complete planting.
To allow the greatest amount of time to implement the plan, the commission will hold its Thursday night meeting.
