“People move here because they love the country. Then they get rid of everything that’s country.”
That’s Ken Novenstern’s pithy analysis of Westport homeowners.
The attorney speaks from experience. His home off Kings Highway North sits downhill from new construction, and property with far fewer trees than when he moved in 10 years ago.
It’s also a short walk from downtown. There, he’s seen the effect of ever-more-frequent flooding — caused, as his own neighborhood’s is, in part by the ever-more-frequent removal of trees.
A home near the Novensterns’, before teardown …
Novenstern does not think there’s a better way — he knows there is. From 1988 through 2013 he lived in New Castle, New York. He served as a councilman, and on its Conservation Board. on its Conservation Board. He was a member too of the Saw Mill River Audubon board.
Though New Castle is just 34 miles from Westport, right over the border in Westchester County, regulations are far different, he says. There, they prohibit — or at least strongly discourage — clear-cutting and similar actions. “There has to be a good reason to take a tree down, especially in a buffer.”
They also regulate the size of new homes.
“There’s less regulation in New England,” he says. “That translates to little power for planning boards to prevent taking down trees.”
… and after trees were removed, for new construction.
Near his own home, one uphill property owner removed a number of trees to create a play area. Meanwhile, he says, he can “almost touch” a new nearby home.
A pair of Capes have been replaced by 5,000-6,000 square foot homes. During construction, “they cut down every tree and weed on the property.” When flooding resulted, “the contractor put gravel in a drainage ditch. That was it.”
Last week, “a couple took down a beautiful oak tree. The wife didn’t like acorns falling on their cars.”
Several years ago, Novenstern sought advice from Town Hall. He says an engineer told him simply, “Water flows downhill.”
Water flows downhill, long after the rain ends.
He learned that in Connecticut, a tree warden can only protect trees on public property and rights of way. “What percentage of town is that?” he asks rhetorically.
“Planning boards need more power to protect and preserve,” Novenstern reiterates. “It’s incredible there is no oversight, planning or thought given to the impact on neighboring properties of removing trees.”
Too many people, he says, “don’t seem to appreciate the significance of trees. ‘We have enough,'” they seem to think. “If take down a few, it won’t matter.”
The problem, Novenstern notes, is not simply this administration’s.
“It probably goes back decades. No one has ever addressed it.
“No one in New England wants to be told what they can do on their own property. I thought our society was premised on the common good.”
Another view near the Novensterns’ home.
Thirty years ago in Westchester, Novenstern says, he helped pass legislation including building bulk, limiting impervious surfaces, and expanding wetland buffers. He also helped secure an Open Space Preservation Fund.
Later, involved with a community land trust, he helped develop strategies for runoff in open spaces.
“I’ve been here 10 years,” he says. “It seems like there’s no plan at all. It doesn’t seem like the Planning & Zoning Commission does much more than tell people they can do pretty much as they want. Maybe they don’t have the power to do more.
“It’s crazy,” Novenstern concludes. “No one is watching the store. If it’s this bad today, what will it be like 15 or 20 years from today?”
(“06880” often covers the environment, and real estate — and, like today, their intersection. If you appreciate stories like this, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)