KENT, Conn.—The Inland Wetland Commission tabled several applications during its regular March meeting, either waiting for additional information or scheduling site visits.
Robert Karr’s application to building a single-family dwelling on his property at 164A and 164B Kenmont Road received a general thumbs up from the commission, but the commission recommended that the two lots be combined into one before a completed application is considered at the April meeting.
The application calls for the demotion of two decrepit buildings and the removal of a couple of small trees. Commission member Paul Yagid said the proposed location for the new dwelling is “probably the best area on site,” saying moving it back would push it into a sloping area with ledge.
The commission also agreed that the current driveway seems to be holding up well and that requiring a new drive might be detrimental. They asked for more information about the “bump-outs” that would be installed along it and whether they would be installed in regulated areas.
While commission members agreed that the plan will ultimately be better for the site, Land Use Administrator Tai Kern recommended oversight of the project. The site is “super-sensitive,” she said, and is set well back off the road where the work cannot be easily observed.
Commission members may include a requirement for inspections as part of any conditions imposed on the application approval.
Connie Manes, executive director of the Kent Land Trust, and Jack Nelson, owner of Concord Environmental Construction, appeared to discuss the land trust’s potential acquisition of a South Kent Road property from Halsted Lovig.
Manes said the KLT has the property under contract pending funding from the state. If such funding is secured, the state requires that an old building be removed.
Nelson said there would be no excavation or materials to stockpile. The building has an earthen floor so there is no cement to remove.
The site is recorded as being marsh land, even though it is dry and, indeed, the IWC’s regulations do not include the term marshland.
IWC Chairman Lynn Werner said she saw no wetlands designation on a map of the land and Nelson said he can drive onto the site with a dump truck without disturbing the soil.
“The impacts will be minimal—if at all,” he said.
Werner said the type of soil must be verified, but that the KLT would not have to hire a soil scientist. “We need to document whether it is wetlands soil, which means we need to know what is on record,” she said.
Manes said the land trust pulled its information about wetlands soils from Housatonic Valley Association maps and the town zoning information. “I’m not really sure where the classification as marsh came into play,” she said. “It is definitely dry land.”
Werner, who is executive director of the HVA, said its map is not “an active assessment,” but was taken from state maps created decades ago.
The KLT will provide additional information in April.
Turning their attention to 11 Woodin Road, a property purchased in 2024 Jessica Bergeron and Michael Marotti, Kern reported that she had visited the property and had been dismayed to find a disturbance of wetlands during the installation of a pool and accessory building.
“Their application didn’t mention wetlands and the maps didn’t show wetlands,” she said, adding, “I was thrown by showing up on the site and seeing that.”
Emergency controls were put in place, stabilizing the site while a soil scientist was engaged. “The property owners have been great about making this right and moving forward,” she reported. But she is still concerned about the concentration of changes on a small portion of the nine-acre parcel.
Engineer Pat Hackett represented the owners and described measures being taken to stabilize the land. He said any excavated material will be hauled off site or used for work being done on the north side of the property. The state has signed off on the existing septic system as being adequate to support the accessory building.
Kern was asked to organize a site visit and the application was tabled until the April meeting.
