This morning, “06880” reported on the first day of construction for the new Long Lots Elementary School. Homeowners just south of the property reported that carefully drawn plans had been disregarded, resulting in clearance of an estimated 6,000 square feet of mature vegetation and growth beyond the construction road.
This afternoon, the Long Lots School Building Committee responded. They told “06880”:
This statement is intended to address the story regarding the over-clearing of vegetation on the Long Lots campus in close proximity to a resident’s home. We would like to explain what happened, and what steps are being taken to address the situation.
Despite the extensive planning and multiple site visits conducted to review the area on the east side of the Long Lots campus which was designated for limited clearing, some additional vegetation beyond the intended scope was mistakenly removed by the contractor as the road for construction vehicles was installed.
It was a mistake and should not have happened. The issue has been reviewed extensively with all involved to ensure mistakes like this are not repeated.
Pre- and post-construction views.
To remedy the situation, a plan has been developed to plant a large evergreen buffer (in addition to similar plantings which will be planted on the site in the future) in the affected area within the next 1 to 2 weeks.
The homeowner who is most affected by this over-clearing will be involved in the placement of the trees in advance of the plantings. The Building Committee’s project manager has already been in contact with the homeowner. A separate letter to Planning and Zoning which details this remediation is also in the process of being delivered.
While we sincerely regret this error at the start of the new school construction process, we also see the proposed remediation as an opportunity to improve the plans for the final result. Upon project completion, the landscape buffer between the school property and the residence closest to the east side of the campus will be enhanced over the previous mix of unkept trees and the initial proposed single layer of evergreens.
Again, we regret the mistake and we will work to ensure it is not repeated.
Sincerely,
The Long Lots Building Committee
Is the contractor going to bear the cost of this “large evergreen buffer?”
And is anyone addressing the problems associated with planting large (aka mature) trees? For reference, see this article. https://choosenatives.org/articles/tree-size-matters-why-planting-bigger-is-not-better/
Just returned from the Building Committee meeting, where, I will note, no one from the First Selectwoman’s office was. The idea that oversight and accountability for a project this large and complex resides with a volunteer committee is ludicrous. This statement should have been from the First Selectwoman. Confidence in execution of the biggest public works project in the town’s history has taken a big hit. “Working to ensure it doesn’t happen again” simply isn’t good enough – “zero tolerance for mistakes” might be a better approach.
This comment seems unnecessarily histrionic. A relatively minor mistake was made and a quick and reasonable remedy is underway. Doesn’t require a Presidential commission or a meeting of the town elders!! Nice of Dan to publish but nothing to see here.
Spoiler alert: more issues are coming. More people will complain about them and other non-issues.
Disagree.
No concern with the fact we could very well be less than 6-8 weeks away from a hard freeze making survival questionable? Who will be watering them regularly and properly?
Oh, I see. This unforced error was actually an “opportunity” to get rid of all those “unkempt” mature plantings. Thanks for getting my mind right. Instead of trying to spin it, would it have killed you LLSBC guys to used the words “we apologize”? Just once? That might covered more than the evergreen hedge which will need to be watered for three seasons but won’t be – and maintained in perpetuity – but absolutely, 100% will definitely not be.
Unkept (sic) trees? You are really going there?
YOU CLEARCUT A FAMILY’S HOME SANCTUARY AFTER ASSURING THEM YOU WOULD NOT DO THAT. The Long Lots neighbors have been patient and polite despite the disrespectful actions of the town. Even today st the LLSBC meeting, a neighbor questioned whether artificial turf and field lights were off the table. “I dunno,” was the response. You do know the response: You are installing infrastructure for both! That is the respectful answer.
The dishonesty of the committee leadership (O’Day, Keenan and Puttagunta) knows no bounds. The shamelessness of this committee knows no bounds.
Do better Westport. Vote.
And read this:
https://open.substack.com/pub/tonisimonetti/p/i-was-there-don?r=1dhpe&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
I know a good lawyer in town that has practiced for 62 years!
Jack,
62 years is enough practice. It’s time to give your friend a real case.
Moreover, the un-kept is where beneficial bugs, birds and so forth live.
I sincerely hope the homeowner is planning on dictating what green buffer will be acceptable to them, and yes it is likely too late to do it until the spring.
No doubt the building committee will choose arborvitae, possibly the cheapest and least nice evergreen border ever.
Nelly Steven’s holly trees are beautiful, evergreen and fast growers. And yes far more expensive but this is what happens when you don’t care.
They can be trained to be a hedge with no effort and grow about 2 feet a year.
I planted 100 of them in 2007 and they were 12 feet tall.
In 6-8 years they grew to over 20 feet of dense hedge with beautiful red berries. Also deer do not touch them. They are likely well in excess of 20 feet now.
I have since moved from that home, but in the 10 years I lived there I lost 4 trees because a neighbors willow fell on them.
None were lost to climate even in the coldest of winters.
Most are grown in the Carolina’s and I’m sure if the building committee does some research they will be able to source some 12 plus footers.
Please spare this neighbor having to look at arborvitae’s, or the likes of green giant, which get thin and die off at the bottom, eventually needing to be replaced. Plus snow breaks the branches leaving gaping holes in the hedge.
What’s another $50,000.
I presume and look forward to confirmation that the contractor responsible for this “mistake” will be footing the bill, and not the residents. And will be told by the homeowner what trees will be acceptable to them no matter the cost.
A DO NOT TOUCH, and bright tape is always put on trees not to be touched on a building site.
This was NO mistake.
Nelly Steven’s holly is an EXCELLENT suggestion. And lots of them.
Oops, typo: Nellie Stevens Holly.
American holly is an equally good choice and is native.
This feels an awful lot like one of those “its easier to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission” type scenarios.
No matter how one paints this STUPID act during the beginning of a huge Town construction project.
This project of this size and complexity should always have a Town construction and on site management entity that is directly responsible to meet with the contractors on site manager and review their planned project phase starts and progress.it is rediculous and naive to proceed with a project of this size and complexity without a project management capable individual representing the Town as owner!
Damn right the contractor should pay for the costs of remediation for their error!
Apparently the Town believes that this project and it’s completion will just happen in the Town’s best interests with a simple waive of the hand Wolah! This project appears to be CURSED from start to maybe even a disaster of a finish!
Yes Toni, lots and lots of Nelly Steven’s. Fabulous and fast growing and god knows the neighbors need all the buffer they can get. And since this “mistake” on purpose was made, it will be very very expensive to remedy and give instant gratification.
This is a direct from grower item so as to not have to pay a local company to be the middle man. It’s not necessary.
That is how I did it those years ago.
Straight to a grower in the Carolina’s and 4 tractor trailers…
Unless these very unfortunate neighbors obtain a comprehensive, signed maintenance agreement for that hedge that’s recorded on the land records, they risk a bad outcome. There needs to be, in writing, a clear commitment by the town to shape, top, fertilize, treat, mulch, weed and water this privacy hedge on an annual basis. That includes a commitment to not only use a drip irrigation system on a seasonal basis but a commitment to maintain the irrigation system as well. Further, any agreement should include a requirement to replace plantings which have, for whatever reason, failed to act as screening. And the agreement should stipulate the minimum height of the replacement plantings. Lastly, the neighbors should be supplied, each year, with a copy of that year’s maintenance contract for the hedge – trust but verify!
If the neighbors don’t have something like this, all they really have is temporary screening. That’s it.
Morley, this pretty funny. You forgot the part where the town has the town attorney write a legal opinion that says the signed agreement on the land record doesn’t mean what the words actually say. And dares the homeowners to sue the town. That is how the current crop of town “leaders” handle agreements.
Yes John, one now needs not only a retirement plan, but a “sue the town” fund. Because it’s not cheap, but it works.
Well, ok, you raise a good point, John. Afterall, we have a local government which has developed an often times casual relationship with the truth. And it famously decreed that, henceforth, the word “shall” will be construed as “may”. As Humpty Dumpty said to Alice: “We can make words mean whatever we want them to mean”. So that privacy hedge maintenance agreement probably needs one more thing: an arbitration clause.
The only way for this homeowner to get full participation in the selection of the trees, the planning of the “enhanced” border, payment of damages, recourse if the town does not plant and maintain the trees as agreed, and protection against further incursions, is through legal action immediately, then a negotiated settlement filed with the court. Vague promises are worthless.
I believe you are correct Bill.
Promises especially made by the administration responsible for this are worthless.
Straight to legal action. And make sure they look for their costs of legal fees etc..
Set the tone now, for the next 3 years of what will assuredly be broken promises and a sh.. show.
It is the only thing that works around here. Straight to court.
What a pathetic state of affairs.
This “regret” memo is itself regrettable. The LLSBC said “regret” 3x and “mistake” 2x
They then put caveats around their words too.
And the blame for a 3rd party contractor is beyond ridiculous.
Address the elephant in the room head on:
why wasn’t the site manager and anybody from the LLSBC at this part of the site when it occurred?
The closest abutting neighbor on day one – and this wasn’t a priority?
For god sake just simply say “We are sorry”. This is not the full and unreserved apology that it easily should have been.
Why is this so hard?
I’ve lived through this with Aquarion – and landscaping plans. The LLSBC submitted a plan today. I bet you 100% it’s totally inadequate. Stop dancing around. Take full responsibility and FIX IT. Lets not have the drip drip drip of slowly increasing the landscaping plan.
There is no doubt whatever their submission today is absolutely unacceptable. First of all it would be impossible to rectify this in a couple of days.
And as I suggested in all my comments. The appropriate remedy will be deer proof Nellie Steven’s Hollys. Not whatever species of trees they can find fast, and likely bargain basement.
This is a 50,000 -100,000k mistake. If using good trees, appropriately placed in 2 rows and second row staggered for no view of construction.
These will need to be very large specimens NOW, not in 3 years. The neighbors screening need is now, but I’m sure they will wait for appropriately sized and decent trees which may take several months to source, rather than rush this.
Deer eat arborvitae, in fact if hungry enough they will graze on it often.
They do not eat holly.
I wish the neighbors luck, with a bullet proof plan on maintenance, including watering by drip irrigation, and replacement sized appropriately if necessary..
a lawyer should certainly look over it.
There is no proof that this was done on purpose. No one was injured . The trees will be replaced. Why are you blaming Don ODay . These comments look like spoiled grapes from some of tbe gardeners. Sometimes mistakes happen. Let’s move on.
Easy for you to say, if you aren’t living next to it.
Oh, lordy….more arbor vitae? It does not replace mature native trees nor does it do very much for the habitat although it is evergreen and does create a tall lovely privacy hedge. Nelly’s Hollies sound good and could be included and lovely but it seems to me that primarily native trees should be planted to support the habitat now disrupted and destroyed by the recent tree removals. This fiasco was a was a sure bet to happen with this project at some point; one can only wonder how much else may go wrong. It is FUBAR at the moment and it is barely the beginning. Perhaps consider something in stern complete language to include appropriate healthy replacements of the original plantings with tree health having been determined by certified arborists, time frame in which to accomplish those things, qualifiers as to minimum size of the restoration plantings (for example, none of this nonsense of 5 ft replacements) quality of replacements (for example, to prevent using the logs from the corner lot at Post Road and Roseville or compromised trees from who knows where) and ongoing tree care in perpetuity by certified arborists, written by counsel and signed by the town and to continue in perpetuity by those who succeed that person in that government category, witnessed and notarized with multiple copies for every bordering property to prevent future such “accidents.” Just a thought….
Two things stand out for me in the School Building Committee’s statement.
“some additional vegetation” was destroyed. 6000 square feet! What would they consider significant vegetation?
And the ever popular:
“Reviewed extensively with all involved to ensure mistakes like this are not repeated.”
How many times have you heard that meaningless statement? Funny but they never seem to explain how they intend to prevent the mistake from happening again.
I would like to suggest a possible solution to make people a bit more diligent when proceeding an projects such as these. Simply planting a few trees is no answer. Impose a $250,000 penalty if the contractor obviously screws up.