Gov. Ned Lamont, Neighbors Fined Over Illegal Cutting Of Trees: Report

GREENWICH, CT — Gov. Ned Lamont, his neighbors and neighborhood association were fined $1,000 each Thursday for the illegal cutting of at least 180 trees on shared land which occurred last year, according to Greenwich Time.

The fines were handed down to the Lamonts, Viks and Ashton Drive Association by the Greenwich Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency (IWWA), the Time reported, noting the penalties were part of restoration plans for the affected properties.

IWWA staff found that there was no clear-cutting on the Lamonts' or Viks' land, the Time reported, but clear-cutting occurred on shared land owned by the neighborhood association.

Applications to restore what was cut down on the parcels of land were discussed during a public hearing on March 25 by the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency.

Cutting also crossed over onto a property — 148 Glenville Road — owned by INCT LLC, according to town documents.

During the March 25 meeting, Fred Jacobsen, a property director for the INCT LLC property, recounted the day he discovered the cutting on Nov. 10, 2023.

"I responded because I heard the sound of chainsaws. When I walked down to the property from the main house, what I came across was a massive cutting effort," Jacobsen told the agency, saying that it looked like it had been ongoing for days. He said there was a plywood path laid out to provide access for trucks and a woodchipper, and access was provided from the Vik property.

Jacobsen said the cutting "went far beyond the destruction to the wetlands vegetation. It was a coordinated destruction of the entire ecosystem in that area." He demanded that the perpetrators restore the entire area as closely as possible to the way it was.

In April, Lamont took partial blame for the cutting, saying he helped hire the landscaping company that removed the trees, and he said he expected the company and the neighborhood association to acquire necessary permits, NBC Connecticut reported.

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