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Connecticut Governor Mocked Online After Illegally Cutting Trees From His Property

So much for environmental justice!

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This article originally appeared on CDM.press and was republished with permission.

Just a year ago, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont was touting the importance of adding trees to our landscapes under his plan to “create a greener, healthier future for our urban communities.”

“This means increasing urban tree cover by 5% by 2040, which will help communities like New Haven continue to address this disparity,” Lamont said at the time.

But not in the backyard of his own very wealthy neighborhood in Greenwich, it seems.

Turns out, Lamont’s landscapers cut a clear path through the wetlands right in his own backyard last November, allegedly so he could have a better view of a lake — and removed over 180 trees and shrubs and illegally trespassed on property owned by INTC LLC on which the lake lies in the process. To make matter worse, it all happened without permits in a protected wetland, according to the Greenwich Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Agency.

About a year ago, when the lake was purchased by INCT, the property director, Fred Jacobsen, commented that he could not see the houses of Lamont, or the neighbor, Vik, at all. But now it was possible to look right up at the Lamont house through the woods and the Vik house after the hillside was cut down to the pond.

Mr. Jacobsen said it “was coordinated to gain a larger view from the Lamont patio to the lake.”

The work on Lamont’s property allegedly violated the declaration of restrictions covering the local homeowner’s association open space and also violated the conservation easements overlying the Lamont and Vik properties.

The proposed remediation plan practically rewards the properties owned by Lamont and Vik because their lake views will be preserved for many years to come.

The plan was presented by land use consulting firm S.E. Minor, the same firm where Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo recently accepted a paid position in a controversial move that revealed the Greenwich swamp was alive and well.

John Tesei, an attorney from Gilbride Tusa Last & Spellane LLC who is representing Mr. Jacobsen and others in the matter, described the cutting on the wetlands as “carnage” and “devastation.”

But rules don’t seem to apply to King Ned, The Unaccountable, who was recently spotted celebrating “Earth Day” by helping to plant some donated trees in East Hartford. Hypocrisy runs deep with Lamont, it seems.

Many people have pointed out that if they had violated the permit process the way Lamont did, the book would be thrown at them, and they would expect to get slapped with millions of dollars in fines and replacement fees.

But Lamont? Well, he’s not called “unaccountable” for nothing!

You can read more about this by downloading the minutes from the March 25, 2024, Inland Wetlands & Watercourses meeting below.

Greenwich_03252024-6654Download

Copyright 2024 Creative Destruction Media

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