Whether Council can Take Action on Lakefront Property Questioned

The lakefront property at 68 Spellman Pont Road again took center stage during a fairly swift moving East Hampton Town Council meeting on Tuesday night.

The discussion centered not so much on whether local regulations were not followed, but whether the town council should first be discussing the matter with its land use boards. It also was suggested that the town could be on the verge of violating a state statute should it act on consultant John D. Pagini’s recommendations.

Property owners Maryann and F. James Hubert were granted approval by the inland-wetlands commission on Sept. 28 to demolish the 1,000-square-foot home on Lake Pocotopaug and build a new house as well as add a garage.

Town planning, zoning and building administrator Jim Carey has said that the construction, as proposed, is in compliance with the town’s zoning regulations and no variance of the regulations was required. He also said in a response to Interim Town Manager John Weichsel that the setback requirement for an R1 zone is 25 feet to the rear line, in this case, facing the lake, and it does not limit or regulate grading or landscaping activities.

Council member Barbara Moore voiced concern over the hiring of a consultant to look into the matter, suggesting the town was walking a fine line, legally.

According to legislative attorneys in Hartford, Moore said, “Our council should not be interfering with our land use boards.”

Moore then made a motion that the council stop Pagini's review until the commissions provide a report, and then have the council decide whether it should continue.

“I think it’s in the best interests for our town that we ask Mr. Pagini to put a halt on his findings for the moment until these commissions can meet and talk about it.”

As she did at the previous on Jan. 10, Moore strongly advocated for discussions between the council and the local land use boards.

“They want to talk about it and we’re not giving them the chance,” said Moore, who felt there has been little if any communication with the boards. “I have talked to the chairmen of P&Z, inland-wetlands and conservation and find there is no communication to them from our chair or anyone else.”

Ted Hintz then followed up on Moore’s assertion the town could violate a state law by reading from Chapter 124, Sec. 8-1, Subsec. (a) of the general statutes:

“Once municipality adopts provisions of chapter 124 and establishes a zoning commission which then commences its functions in accordance with said chapter, commission is not subject to interference by municipality's legislative body. Municipality's legislative body may not substitute its judgment for that of commission in a matter involving use of municipality's land. 49 CS 183."

Said Hintz: “By hiring an outside attorney to look at this, as [town attorney] Jean [D’Aquila] will say is not technically against the state statute, it’s on the line because if we were to act on anything that they came out with, we may be in violation of the statute. So, I do agree with Barbara. … We do have the boards in town, they should have the opportunity to address it, and I think we’re just walking a fine line.”

Whether to address the Spellman Point Road issue with the local boards before hiring a consultant was brought to a vote Jan. 10, and defeated, 4-3. Council member Kyle Dostaler was against the idea then and still was Tuesday night.

“I think this has been an ongoing issue for about 15-20 years,” he said. “The only way to solve this is to have a third, independent party to look into this matter. In regards to the town staff, there have been answers and responses from town staff regarding this issue and this should certainly continue to clear this up. … At this point, I think it would be a mistake to simply just say stop and pretend it didn’t happen.”

Council member Derek Johnson didn’t believe having Pagini provide the town with a report would violate the state statute.

“I don’t believe that any report that would be issued would violate state law,” he said. “I don’t think it’s in any way inappropriate for this town council to seek the recommendation of someone that is respected in the field. I think quite candidly it is to our advantage that that individual is not connected to the town. We hopefully are going to obtain independent, objective advice, and we as a town council can accept that advice or reject that advice.”

Council Chair Sue Weintraub also was in favor of going forward.

“The review process we’ve asked Mr. Pagini to perform is going to help clarify things,” she said. “We don’t want to get into a blame game or pointing fingers. This is so we can move forward positively.”

As for concerns that were voiced over the cost of the consultant, given the investment the town has made in Lake Pocotopaug, Weintraub seemed to think it was worth the expense.

“We’ve spent over the last four to five years $153,000 on our lake,” she said. “What we’re asking Mr. Pagini is to review our state statutes as well as our local regulations to see if everything was done properly.”

Pressed by Hintz on what exactly the town was trying to accomplish with the property, Weintraub said, “The precedence has been set that it is OK to clear-cut the lot on a watercourse. The regulations seem to say something else, within 100 feet of the water. What we’re trying to do is determine if the regulations are being properly enforced.”

“So how would you enforce it at this point when there are no trees left?” Hintz asked, wondering if Pagini comes back with a cease and desist recommendation, is the land going to be left as dirt.

“Mr. Pagini will be making those recommendations,” Weintraub said. “If something has been done improperly, he’ll make recommendations on how to move forward and how to make sure in the future it doesn’t happen again. He might also make suggestions on other regulations we might consider be put in place.”

Ultimately, the motion did not carry, losing by a 3-3 vote. Council member Glenn Suprono was unable to attend the meeting.

Pagini, the Director of Community Development for Bolton, was honored by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) with a GreenCircle Award in December for his . He also was recently recognized by then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell in June 2010 for his contribution to the development with greenways.