Author: Joshua Walton

On Monday night the RTM voted to approve the 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development, which was a surprise.

There had been much talk about postponing the vote. In fact, four committees had voted for postponement.

Earlier in the day, RTM Moderator Pro Tempore Alexis Voulgaris said on WGCH, “I think RTM members just want a little bit more time to read into it before they weigh in. …It’s a big item, and we’ll likely put it to the following month.”

Among those advocating for a vote Monday night were LWV president Sandy Waters, past LWV president who is head of the Tree Conservancy JoAnn Messina, Conservation Commission’s Susie Baker, former P&Z chair Louisa Stone and  Francia Alvarez, who spoke as a member of the Land Use Committee and as a resident.

Also, on Monday afternoon, First Selectman Fred Camillo issued an op-ed supporting the POCD.

P&Z director Katie DeLuca said she was pleased with the vote. “My sense is that hearing speaker after speaker explain the virtues of the Plan, the hard work and outreach that went into it, and the desire to move it forward, was ultimately what swayed the majority from voting for postponement,” she said in an email on Tuesday morning.

Indeed outreach was significant, and the lengthy process of public review began back in 2017.

There were workshops, group discussions, and online tools for gathering input. Public workshops included:  Community Workshop (January 17, 2018), Greenwich Chamber of Commerce, Downtown & Village Business & Property Owners Workshop (January 18, 2018), Putnam Avenue Business & Property Owners Workshop (January 19, 2018), Community Visioning Workshop (May 17, 2018), Subareas Visioning Workshop (October 4, 2018), Presentation of the draft (September 19, 2019), and a Public Hearing (November 12, 2019).

Also, focus groups included 32 meetings with town boards, commissions and organizations – everyone from Tamar Lurie to the Tree Warden, and from Greenwich Hospital to the Housing Authority. The P&Z Commission publicly noticed 50 other meetings to discuss edits of the POCD draft.

After a motion to postpone failed, the overwhelming majority of RTM members voted in favor.

The vote was 148 in favor, 24 against and 4 abstentions.

The next step is implementing the Plan.

“It was extremely gratifying to have that kind of support for the document,” DeLuca said.

POCD workshop at Greenwich High School. October 4, 2018 Photo: Leslie Yager

One of the guiding principles of the POCD is to preserve community character.

After input from a public planning session at Greenwich High School last year, P&Z agreed to work on a landscaping plan for Route 1 and to address signage.

DeLuca noted that the Riverside Association in particular has urged the town to create a “sense of place” on Rte 1 in Riverside.

Liz Peldunas of the Riverside Association has said that community wants the Post Road to reflect a character of place and described Riverside as both “a mutt” and the “poor step child” of Cos Cob and Old Greenwich.

For example, at hearings on a 20 unit building at 1205 East Putnam Ave proposed under the Town’s 6-110 “workforce housing” regulation, Peldunas noted Riverside has a village name and distinct zip code, yet its main drag is Putnam Ave.

P&Z has since put a moratorium on 6-110 applications.

Also, DeLuca said P&Z has had several sessions with the Greenwich Board of Realtors, and as a result the Commission is committed to studying FAR, height, and other building controls so they are simple enough to explain to newcomers and less dependent on professionals.

The POCD also calls for developing a tree preservation ordinance for private property, which has been on the radar of many local environmental groups for years.

A recent 6-110 application for 62 Mason Street, submitted before the moratorium, was case in point.

For the 7-unit building, which will replace an 1890 structure, the applicant had to hire professionals for repeated appearances before P&Z and ARC.

At the same time the application demonstrated the need for a tree preservation ordinance.

Over the objections of the Tree Conservancy, the applicant received permission from the tree Warden to cut down a mature Town-owned Maple tree that is part of the historic streetscape to make room for a wide driveway.

As part of the agreement, the tree warden stipulated a “historically important” Magnolia tree on the property be preserved. However, the applicant’s attorney John Tesei subsequently said the Magnolia was not healthy and needed to be cut down.

The commission ultimately approved the 7-unit building. It includes 2 units of workforce housing.

“This ordinance will be tricky as we must ensure the appropriate balance
between private property rights and the public good,” DeLuca said of a tree ordinance.

The Plan also seeks to develop housing opportunities that include innovative, high-quality, green, “physically accessible to all” options beyond the single family residence.

“We need reasonably priced housing to attract young families who will invest in the community. We need options for our seniors who want to downsize, and we need options for the 60% of the Town employees and the 60% of Board of Education employees who currently live outside of Town,” DeLuca added. “That’s 2,200 employees who could be spending more of their time at work instead of commuting.”

DeLuca said the Plan will also promote “hidden housing” like accessory
apartments and identify illegal apartments.

She said the Plan also addressed the balance between having top quality public and private schools and respecting neighborhoods.

DeLuca noted schools are mostly located in residential neighborhoods, and neighbors have voiced objections to increased traffic and to school expansions.

A proposed 30% FAR in 2018 drew the ire of neighbors of GHS and Greenwich Academy in particular. That proposal was ultimately withdrawn.

In response the POCD has action items that will address traffic, protect privacy, increase buffer space, and add planting requirements between schools and residential neighbors, particularly around parking lots, auditorium spaces, and athletic facilities.

Other guiding principals are to preserve open space, particularly in back country, and to maintain the town’s economic vitality by upgrading zoning regs and streamlining the process of establishing a business in Greenwich.

It also refers to strengthening Downtown as the central business district, exploring a dredge of  Greenwich Harbor, creating an art installation, improving lighting in the Steamboat Rd underpass and improving parking downtown by segregating employee parking from consumer parking.

And, finally the Plan talks about providing the best quality infrastructure, municipal facilities, cultural institutions and health services.

In particular, DeLuca said, “the health care industry is one we must keep a close eye on as it is gaining strength to parallel the hedge fund industry in terms of where we can add value.”

And while the POCD focuses on providing more affordable and moderate-income housing in Greenwich, the elephant in the room remained state affordable housing statute 8-30g.

While P&Z imposed a moratorium on the town’s 6-110 workforce housing reg, 8-30g continues to exempt developments from local zoning regulations.

Though the Commission has had some success with using the statute to convert illegal apartments to affordable units, hundreds of residents have turned out to object to large 8-30g proposals including a multi story building on Sound Beach Avenue (After a law suit, a scaled down version was approved as a moderate incomedevelopment rather than 8-30g.) and a proposal for the site of Post Road Iron Works for a 5-story, 355-unit apartment building with two levels of underground parking that was rejected by the Wetlands Agency. (After the applicant appealed in court, Judge Berger denied the appeal.)

Recently, P&Z approved a settlement with a Milbank Ave developerwho sued the town after the Commission rejected his proposed apartment building.

While residents expressed dismay with the massive building, which will replace six turn of the century houses with one 30-unit building, the developer could have resubmitted under 8-30g for a significantly bigger development.

First Selectman Fred Camillo, who was until last week a State Rep, has worked on a state level toward a moratorium on 8-30g.

Section 8-23 of the Connecticut General Statutes requires each municipality to adopt a POCD at least once every 10 years.

The Greenwich Tree Conservancy is thrilled to be bringing Peter Wohlleben, noted author of “The Hidden Life of Trees,” to the Greenwich Library Cole Auditorium at 7:00pm on Tuesday, March 12. Refreshments will be served at 6:30pm, and a Q&A and book signing will follow the presentation. Admission is free. Registration is required. RSVP to treeconserv@optonline.net

In his best selling book, heralded as groundbreaking by the New York Review of Books, Wohlleben reveals startling new discoveries about how trees nurture each other, communicate and maintain complex social networks. He presents the latest scientific evidence behind the secret and previously unknown life of trees.

A recent Smithsonian Magazine article states that a revolution has been taking place in the understanding of trees and that scientific studies have confirmed what Mr. Wolhlleben has long suspected from close observation. “Trees are far more alert, social, sophisticated—and even intelligent—that we thought”.

This program is in partnership with the Greenwich Library and co-sponsors include the Greenwich Botanical Center, Greenwich Garden Club, Greenwich Land Trust, Audubon Connecticut, Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens, Greenwich Green and Clean, Bruce Museum, Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers.

Cheryl Dunson, vice president of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, Peter Malkin, president, standing behind her, JoAnn Messina, executive director, Bruce Spaman, Greenwich Tree Warden, and LivvyFloren, advisory board member stand by planting of Magnolia tree.
An opening reception for Bruce Park’s Arboretum celebrating the creation of Greenwich’s first Arboretum Trail was held on Sunday, June 12. The trail is the beginning of an educational plan for Greenwich’s urban forest where residents may gather information about the community’s trees and enjoy a walk in the park. The first trail features 26 native and specimen trees with descriptive plaques circling the pond by the gazebo in the park.
A crowd of more than 40 tree and nature-lovers attended the reception, and were treated to beverages and snacks followed by a guided tour of the trail’s trees by GTC’s Board Member, Mark Greenwald, who educated the crowd about the history and nature of the trees.An Arboretum is a place where trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes. This is Greenwich’s first trail and many more are planned.
Thanks for this project goes to a partnership between the Town Tree Warden, Bruce Spaman of the Parks and Recreation Dept. and the Advisory Board of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy with Leslie Lee, Sue Baker and JoAnn Messina spearheading the project.,

Chris Kadsigiannis is a third-generation Greenwichite whose grandparents came here from Finland in the early 1900’s and bought a historic tavern on Strickland Road. They converted the tavern to a home and it was sold by the family in 2012 to the Greenwich Historical Society next door. Growing up in such a unique home at a tidal inlet of Cos Cob Harbor, her family inspired her love for history and the environment.
When Chris and her husband bought a house on North Ridge Road in Havemeyer Park eleven years ago, the most important feature for her was not the interior of the house, but a 150 year-old Copper Beach tree standing majestically right behind it. Unfortunately two years ago, the house was burned down in a fire.
They decided to build a new house on the footprint of the original but when the architect told Chris that the Copper Beach tree would have to go, she adamantly refused. She told the architect that this tree had to be saved. In the revised plans the tree remained.
However, when construction began, the tree was in danger of dying if its extensive root system was compromised by the construction work surrounding it, which often happens during construction near trees. She insisted that a perimeter around the critical root zone be delineated and that the construction crew practice low impact development techniques by limiting site disturbances to the land. She also hired a water company to bring in gallons of water from a river source, so that the Copper Beach tree was well irrigated during our drought conditions. hile readying the property for construction, Chris found two Copper Beech saplings at the back of her property. She has offered to donate one of the saplings to the Town of Greenwich to be planted in one of its parks, to continue the heritage of these trees originally planted over 100 years ago by Henry Osborn Havemeyer.
Chris knows you can’t “Unchop a Tree”. As the steward of her land on North Ridge, Chris has taken special care of her beloved Copper Beech, so that it can stand tall, branching out as it is today. (see photos below..)

From the beginning of the last century up until the present, Greenwich has been very fortunate to receive donations of private lands from environmentally conscious
residents. Owners of large estates with heavily forested tracts have turned their properties into public parks and refuges, thereby protecting them from the developer’s backhoes and enriching the quality of life for Greenwich residents. Think Byram, Bruce and Binney Parks, thePinetum, Babcock Preserve and others. Additionally, owners of smaller properties with protection of the environment ahigh priority, have donated portions of their property for conservation easements.

In April 1936, a local newspaper printed a story reporting extensive tree planting being carried out by the town with help from the Greenwich Tree Association and tree donations. We are reminded of the tree plantings along Lake Avenue donated by the Rockefeller family.In recent times, The Greenwich Tree Conservancy, established in 2007 with the mission of planting, protecting and maintaining the trees of Greenwich, works closely with the town tree warden, carrying on this grand tradition of caring for our environment and our trees. At times, it is easy to forget the life-preserving benefits of trees to both humans and wildlife.

It was our goal in 2015 to plant 375 trees on public and nonprofit land in honor of the 375th Anniversary of the founding of Greenwich. We are most proud to announce that we have exceeded our goal with the planting of 449 trees all around town. We thank all who donated to the Tree Conservancy to make this happen and thank the town for working with us toward this important goal.

JoAnn Messina is executive director of the Greenwich Tree Conservancy

The British poet, T.S. Eliot, wrote that April was the cruelest month. However, it’s fair to say that many would disagree. The month of April is full of promise, forecasting Mother Nature’s reawakening, so visible in the budding leaves on the branches of trees.

That is why Earth Day and Arbor Day are both celebrated in April and it is no coincidence that the Greenwich Tree Conservancy also holds its annual Tree Party this month on the same day as Arbor Day.
The date this year is Friday, April 29, from 6:30 to 8:30 at McArdle’s Greenhouse on Arch Street in Greenwich. The theme of this year’s celebration of trees is “In Honor of Trees and Those who help us Grow.”
Supporters and members of the Tree Conservancy have helped the Conservancy to plant more than 2,400 trees on public property in Greenwich in the last nine years, and after planting these trees, then preserving and protecting them so they enjoy a long life which benefits our town both environmentally and aesthetically.
Hors d’ oeuvres and drinks including signature cocktail tastings will be served and there will be door prizes, music and other fun surprises at the party.

All are welcome to attend. For information about tickets to this event, visit the Greenwich Tree Conservancywebsite.
Greenwich Tree Conservancy is a non-profit organization open to all interested citizens that was created to preserve and enhance the tree and forest resources of Greenwich to benefit the community, its health and its quality of life.