741 Colonel Ledyard Highway

Ledyard, Connecticut 06339

TOWN OF LEDYARD

Land Use/Planning/Public Works

Committee

Meeting Minutes

Chairman

Kevin J. Dombrowski

Special Meeting

Monday, September 19, 2022

6:00 PM

Annex Meeting Room- Town Hall

Annex Building - Hybrid Format

In -Person - Town Hall Annex Building

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CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order by Councilor Paul at 6:00 p.m. at the Town Hall Annex

Building Meeting Room.

Councilor Paul welcomed all to the Hybird Meeting. He stated for the Town Council Land

Use/Planning/Public Works Committee and members of the Public who were participating

via video conference that remote meeting information was available on the Agenda that was

posted on the Town’s Website - Granicus-Legistar Meeting Portal.

II.

ROLL CALL

Gary Paul

Present:

S. Naomi Rodriguez

John Marshall

Excused:

In addition the following were in attendance:

Kevin Dombrowski Chairman

Earl Lamb

Sean Moriarty

Conservation Commission Member

Resident

Roxanne Maher Administrative Assistant

III.

CITIZENS COMMENTS

None.

IV.

PRESENTATIONS / INFORMATIONAL ITEMS

None.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

MOTION to approve the Land Use/Planning/Public Works Committee Regular Meeting

Minutes of August 1, 2022

Moved by Councilor Paul, seconded by Councilor Rodriguez

Discussion: Councilor Rodriguez noted New Business Item #1 regarding the

Commercial Activity at 576 Lantern Hill Road. She stated her recollection was that

she and Councilor Marshall agreed that that this was a town issue.

Chairman Dombrowski explained legal issues regardless of the town department

were “town issues”.

The LUPPW Committee reviewed their August 1, 2022 Minutes and noted that the

minutes were correct as written, in that New Business Item #1, stated “…..The

LUPPW Committee agreed by consensus that the 576 Lantern Hill Road matter was

a Zoning Issue; and therefore, the Town Council had no authority to take any action

regarding this land use matter”.

VOTE:2 - 0 Approved and so declared

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Gary Paul

RESULT:

MOVER:

S. Naomi Rodriguez

SECONDER:

Paul and Rodriguez

Marshall

AYE:

EXCUSED:

VI.

BUSINESS OF THE MEETING

Discussion regarding Mr. Moriarty’s proposal dated July 13, 2022 regarding a Ledyard

Garden.

Mr. Sean Moriarty, 24 Partridge Hollow Road, Gales Ferry, thanked the Land

Use/Planning/Public Works Committee for inviting him to discuss his proposal for a

Ledyard Garden. He stated the idea was simple, noting that food security was a real

concern, not just for towns like Ledyard, but nationwide, and globally. He stated most

of the food we all depend on comes from thousands of miles away, and that they need

to begin addressing farming practices town by town. He stated he would like to see

Ledyard start a garden farm, noting that there were a number of ways this could be

accomplished. He addressed the types of soil, using organic matter and a variety of

other requirements to provide for a successful garden farm for Ledyard; and that he

would like to get this type of initiative started.

Councilor Rodriguez stated that she read Mr. Moriarty’s proposal for a “Ledyard

Garden” and that she liked his idea. She stated when she first began reading the

Garden Proposal she thought that this would be a “Community Garden” and that

some of the produce would be donated to the Linda C. Davis Food Pantry. However,

she stated as she continued to read Mr. Moriarty’s proposal she understood that the

produce would be sold.

Councilor Rodriguez continued by noting that she had the following concerns

regarding Mr. Moriarty’s proposed location of the Garden at the Nathan Lester

House. She stated the area where Mr. Moriarty would like to put the Garden was in

the overflow parking lot, which was frequently used during events such as the

Holiday Caroling and the July 4th Celebration as well as Boy Scout Events and

School Events. She suggested Mr. Moriarty talk with the Historic District

Commission and the Agriculture Commission about his proposal, noting that the

Historic District Commission, was also meeting this evening at 7:00 p.m. in the

Council Chambers. She also noted that the Agricultural Commission was planning a

Joint Work Session on October 18, 2022 with all of the town’s land use commissions

and that they may be able to help Mr. Moriarty find a suitable location for his Garden

proposal and also provide some guidance regarding the town’s requirements.

Chairman Dombrowski stated he was intrigued by Mr. Moriarty’s Garden proposal;

and that he agreed with Councilor Rodriguez in that he did not believe the Nathan

Lester House was going to be a good location for the Garden for a number of reasons,

which included Councilor Rodriguez’s concern regarding the loss of the overflow

parking lot area. He stated that he also had concerns regarding the following:

· Building a Greenhouse on the Nathan Lester House property.

· Building a Storage Shed.

· Installing Cooling Units

· Using the Nathan Lester House Barn.

· Cost of electricity and water.

Chairman Dombrowski continued by providing a brief overview of the process to use

town property noting some of requirements were as follows:

· Planning & Zoning Commission would be required to conduct an 8-24

Review to ensure the proposal was in-keeping with the Plan of Conservation

& Development (POCD)

· Lease would need to be drafted

· Public Hearing would be required

· Town Council would be required to approve the Lease

Chairman Dombrowski went on to explain that they would also need to consider

whether there were any restrictions on a private induvial using the Historic property

for a business that the town would not benefit from. Therefore, he stated the Historic

Nathan Lester House may not be the right property for Mr. Moriarty’s proposed

Ledyard Garden.

Chairman Dombrowski suggested that Mr. Moriarty may want to consider other

properties that would not impact historic properties, would be close to residential

areas, and would have water and electricity available such as the 1.50-acre parcel on

Village Drive. He noted when Village Drive was first constructed they had a

community well to support the homes in the neighborhood. He stated when public

water came through the area the residents connected to the water line and the

community well was abandoned. Therefore, he stated Mr. Moriarty may want to

consider leasing the Village Drive parcel for his proposed “Ledyard Garden”.

Mr. Moriarty stated his Ledyard Garden proposal was open to what the town would

like to do. He stated the bottom line was that there was currently no food production

in Ledyard. He explained that it was the idea/concept of a Ledyard Garden, that he

was looking to create, stating that he was fine with using a different site and with

donating the food produced by the Ledyard Garden to the Linda C. Davis Food

Pantry, if that was what the town wanted to do.

Chairman Dombrowski stated the town currently leased a portion of the Clark Farm

(1025 Colonel Ledyard Highway) to Mr. Majcher, and that the town could do

something similar for Mr. Moriarty, if they could find a suitable location that would

meet his needs (water & electricity).

Councilor Rodriguez noted that she initially thought the Clark Farm would be a good

site for Mr. Moriarty’s proposed Ledyard Garden. However, she stated she later

realized that the Clark Farm did not have the infrastructure needed to support Mr.

Moriarty’s proposal, noting there was no water or electricity at that site. She noted,

as Chairman Dombrowski suggested that Mr. Moriarty may want to consider the

property on Village Drive or that perhaps a private farmer may be interested in

leasing some land to Mr. Moriarty.

Chairman Dombrowski stated in 2017 The Arc of Eastern Connecticut approached

the Town to lease property for a Community Supported Agricultural (CSA) program

that would involve a Farm Stand. He stated the LUPPW Committee discussed several

properties with The Arc and he noted that most town-owned open space parcels,

including the Clark Farm, were not suitable for the CSA because they did not have

water or electricity. However, he stated during the exercise they identified the

1.50-acre parcel on Village Drive that could support such an initiative, as he noted

earlier this evening, and that they also considered the open field going to the Transfer

Station, however, he stated they ran into the same issues of no water and no power at

that site.

Chairman Dombrowski stated he believed Mr. Moriarty’s proposal for a Ledyard

Garden was a wonderful idea. However, he stated they needed to find a suitable

location.

Councilor Paul stated Mr. Moriarty’s proposed Ledyard Garden was well thought out

and that he liked the idea. He questioned how Mr. Moriarty came up with the Garden

idea. Mr. Moriarty stated the Covid-19 Pandemic got him thinking about the

importance to have food grown/produced locally.

The LUPPW Committee suggested Mr. Moriarty contact Agricultural Commission

Chairman Bruce Garstka, noting that he would be a good resource.

Councilor Rodriguez suggested Mr. Moriarty attend the Agricultural Commission’s

October 18, 2022 Meeting; noting that they would be hosting a joint meeting at

which all Town’s Land Use Commissions would be in attendance. She also noted

that there may be some other young people who would be interested in joining Mr.

Moriarty’s in working to create and operate a Ledyard Garden.

Mr. Moriarty stated his hope was that the Town would be able to put the Ledyard

Garden under the town’s umbrella. However, he stated if the town could not take on

the project and he was going to have to lease land from the town that perhaps he

would just move forward in a different direction and work on growing the Garden on

his own. He thanked the LUPPW Committee for the information they provided and

for talking with him this evening.

Councilor Paul thanked Mr. Moriarty for attending tonight’s meeting.

Mr. Moriarty left the meeting at 6:22 p.m.

COMPLETED

RESULT:

Continued discussion and possible action to periodically review the list of town owned

property; and update accordingly for the “Assignment of Administrative Control”.

Councilor Rodriguez questioned whether the work to update the GIS System has

been completed. Councilor Paul stated he would check on the status of the project

with Land Use Director Juliet Hodge.

NO ACTION

RESULT:

Continued discussion regarding the progress of enforcing regulations to address blight issues.

The LUPPW Committee noted that the Zoning Official would be providing Blight

Reports on a quarterly basis, which would help the Committee determine whether

Ordinance # 300-011 (rev.1) “An Ordinance Concerning Blight and Public Nuisance

for the Town of Ledyard” was continuing to be effective.

NO ACTION

RESULT:

Potential future uses for the 101.80-acre Clark Farm property located at 1025 Colonel

Ledyard Highway.

Chairman Dombrowski stated the Lease for a portion of the Clark Farm with Mr.

Majcher was scheduled to expire in 2026.

Councilor Rodriguez questioned the town’s liability if an Organization such as The

Arc of Eastern Connecticut was leasing town property to grow produce and they had

an issue such as an e-coli breakout. Chairman Dombrowski stated the Organization

leasing the property would bare the liability, not the town.

NO ACTION

RESULT:

Status update regarding security and safety concerns regarding Park on East Drive

Councilor Rodriguez noted although the Parks & Recreation Commission had

planned to hold their September 20, 2022 meeting at the Park on East Drive that there

was a change in plans; noting that the Parks & Recreation Commission would not be

holding their September meeting at the Park.

Councilor Paul, Liaison to the Parks & Recreation Commission, noted at tomorrow

night’s meeting he would ask the Parks & Recreation Commission whether they

planned to reschedule holding one of their meetings at the Park on East Drive.

CONTINUE

RESULT:

Continued discussion regarding Public Act #21-29 “An Act Concerning The Zoning

Enabling Act, Accessory Apartments, Training For Certain Land Use Officials, Municipal

Affordable Housing Plans And A Commission On Connecticut’s Development And Future”.

Chairman Dombrowski reported at their September 8, 2022 meeting the Planning &

Zoning Commission approved the Zoning Regulations Update, which included

Ledyard’s Regulations for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU). He stated the new Zoning

Regulations would become effective on September 28, 2022. He explained by Ledyard

having their own Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) Regulations that the town would be

able to Opt-Out of the State’s ADU Regulations; and it would provide the town with

more flexibility in regulating the Accessory Dwelling Units in our community.

Chairman Dombrowski went on to explain the next step in the process was for the

Planning & Zoning Commission to vote to recommend the Town Council Opt-Out of

Public Act #21-29 (Accessory Dwelling Units). He stated that he would expect the

Planning & Zoning Commission’s recommendation to Opt-Out of Public Act #21-29

to be presented to the LUPPW Committee in the coming weeks. He stated to

Opt-Out of the Public Act #21-29 ADU that it would require a two-thirds vote of the

Town Council.

CONTINUE

RESULT:

ADJOURNMENT

Councilor Paul moved the meeting be adjourned, seconded by Councilor

Rodriguez.

VOTE: 2 - 0 Approved and so declared, the meeting was adjourned at 6:28 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Gary Paul

Committee Chairman

Land Use/Planning/Public Works Committee

DISCLAIMER: Although we try to be timely and accurate these are not official records of the

Town.