Conservation Commission v. Baum, No. Cv98 035 59 76 S (Oct. 2, 2002)

2002 Conn. Super. Ct. 12421
CourtConnecticut Superior Court
DecidedOctober 2, 2002
DocketNo. CV98 035 59 76 S
StatusUnpublished

This text of 2002 Conn. Super. Ct. 12421 (Conservation Commission v. Baum, No. Cv98 035 59 76 S (Oct. 2, 2002)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Conservation Commission v. Baum, No. Cv98 035 59 76 S (Oct. 2, 2002), 2002 Conn. Super. Ct. 12421 (Colo. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This case is unpublished as indicated by the issuing court.]

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION
The defendant, Winthrop Baum (Baum), acquired title to the premises known as 500 Papurah Road in Fairfield in 1981. The defendant, Stafford Higgins Industries (Stafford), acquired their interest in the property in October of 1990 by virtue of a Certificate of Foreclosure. That property first came to the attention of the Wetlands Agency of the Conservation Commission of the Town of Fairfield in the fall of 1993 when Mr. Baum brought in a contractor without a permit to do some cleaning and grubbing of a portion of his back yard which was located in a wetland area. Apparently, a piece of construction equipment got stuck in an area of Carlisle muck and another large piece of equipment was required to pull it out. The resultant activity created a small pond that did not previously exist.

As a result of this activity, the plaintiff, acting through its Wetlands Compliance Officer Donald Nolte, sent a letter to Mr. Baum dated September 15, 1993, setting forth the Notice of Violation (plaintiff's exhibit E) of the Town's Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Regulations. Apparently, the parties met on November 11, 1993, and a restoration plan was agreed upon. Despite repeated delays in completing the work, the parties agree that compliance was finally made in 1995. The purpose of this evidence was to demonstrate knowledge on the part of the defendant Baum of the Town's Wetland Regulations and the fact that his property or some of it existed in a wetland.

The area of the 1993 and subsequent claimed violations of the wetland regulations was designated by the initials CE on the wetland maps known as "Carlisle Muck" and is described as wet, shaky and loose soil. The major limitations of this soil for community development are wetness, a high water table, ponding, and the instability of the organic materials.

In September of 1996, Mr. Nolte again reviewed the subject property concerning new problems. On October 3, 1996, the Commission wrote Mr. Baum complaining of the construction by him of a shed and greenhouse on CT Page 12422 or adjacent to the wetland, that the wetland soil had been cleared of natural vegetation in the area of the previous restoration, and new materials such as logs, topsoil, chips, and Belgian blocks had been deposited in the wetland, all without permits. (Plaintiff's exhibit O.) Subsequently, on October 28, 1996 (plaintiff's exhibit P), Mr. Nolte on behalf of the Commission issued to the defendants an Order to Restore Wetlands and an Order to Appear at a Show Cause Hearing. The Commission claimed that there were violations of the restoration plan agreed upon in 1994 as well as construction of a shed and greenhouse without permits and the deposit of large amounts of logs, soil and wood chips to create a pathway through the wetland to other upland property of the defendants.

A hearing was held on said order on November 7, 1996. At said hearing the previous Order to Restore dated October 28, 1996, was tabled for 60 days to allow Mr. Baum to file an Inland Wetlands Permit Application for the shed, dock, greenhouse, path to the uplands and the alleged overfilling. Acting upon that application, on May 15, 1997, the Commission granted Conditional Approval for Permit Application 97-1. (Plaintiff's exhibit V.) In that document, the Commission provided a lengthy history of the wetland area on the Baum property, a description of the character of the regulated area, and the present violations. In his application, Mr. Baum was asking to establish a 10 foot wide nature walk through the Carlisle muck, a distance of approximately 480 feet, to access his property in the rear. Mr. Baum's application proposed the creation of a farm, garden areas to harvest crops, the conduct of a nursery, and otherwise farm his entire property, much of it in the regulated area.

Plaintiff's exhibit V further goes on to describe the anticipated impact of Mr. Baum's proposed activities, all of which the Commission determined to be regulated activities. All of these activities the Commission concluded will have a significant and adverse impact on the wetland. (See pages 6 and 7 of Plaintiff's exhibit V.) The Commission imposed as a condition of approval that the existing path be removed by removing the logs, fill and chips that created it, by replanting those area with native vegetation and the construction of an elevated boardwalk above the wetland. Several other alternatives were discussed. The Commission further ordered the restoration of runnels, as well as relocation of the greenhouse. The dock and shed were allowed to remain as long as the wetland was fully restored. The balance of the exhibit details the Commission's Finding of Facts, its Decision and the Specific Conditions of Approvals, all of which envisioned the filing of a new plan within 30 days. Mr. Baum was required to sign and accept to this proposal within 20 days. He did not. CT Page 12423

Mr. Baum ignored the conditions of approval and continued to pursue his own plan. He testified that he considered the Commission's proposal "onerous."

On May 1, 1998, the Commission wrote Mr. Baum (plaintiff's exhibit W) advising him that a hearing would be conducted on May 7, 1998, to consider the revoking of permit no. 97-1 for his failure to comply with numerous Standard and Specific Conditions of that approval. On that same day, the Commission issued a Cease and Desist Order and an Order to Appear at a Show Cause Hearing to Mr. Baum. That document indicated that there had been no new violations since October of 1996, but that no effort had been made to alleviate the violations that were present at that time. The document also included a lengthy Suggested Finding of Facts.

On May 13, 1998, the Commission wrote Mr. Baum that Inland Wetlands' Permit No. 97-1 had been revoked at its meeting on May 7, 1998, and in a second letter (plaintiff's exhibit BB) issued a Cease and Desist Order (with requirements for restoration)

Mr. Baum testified concerning the earlier 1993 and 1994 problems and stated that he had fully restored the property in accordance with the Town's restoration plan. As far as the pathway he constructed through the Carlisle muck to the north of the pond in his back yard, he claimed it was all accomplished from materials found on the property. He claims he regarded the Town's requirement that he construct a wooden ramp over the entire length of the Carlisle muck to be onerous. He further claims that he spoke to several outside experts, and on the basis of those discussions, he did not believe that his path through the wetlands would adversely impact the wetland. He presented no testimony from any expert and their reports were excluded by the Court on hearsay grounds. He described the path, how he built it, that he had no permit to do so, that the same plants that are growing in the wet areas to the right and left of the path also grow in the path, that water does flow under the path from side to side and that the water table on both sides of the path are the same.

At the request of the parties, the Court made a physical inspection of the property. The site looking down 75 feet from the back of the defendant's home is simply breathtaking. The site visit did give the Court the opportunity to see the objects on the land and the size and character of the path through the wetland. The property looks lush, especially at this time of the year, and there did not appear to be any obvious contamination or discoloration of water. The path is reasonably solid and is clearly above the level of the water and swamp on either CT Page 12424 side of it.

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Related

§ 22a-44
Connecticut § 22a-44(b)

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Bluebook (online)
2002 Conn. Super. Ct. 12421, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/conservation-commission-v-baum-no-cv98-035-59-76-s-oct-2-2002-connsuperct-2002.