A stop-work order still hangs over the proposed Cranberry Hill Estates, but the developers will meet with city officials Thursday afternoon to discuss the final steps to getting it lifted.
The stop-work order was issued by the city in May, after more than 40 trees on the Armstrong Road site were mysteriously cut down one night.
The order prohibits Bridgeport-based developer John Guedes from starting work on a 40-home single family subdivision on the land until a plan for more trees is approved and implemented.
That tree-replacement plan has morphed over the past couple months as it hit various city boards for approvals. The Planning and Zoning and Inland Wetlands commissions both gave the thumbs up recently, with minor changes to the plan.
The latest rendition – which calls for about 50 new trees and another 50 bushes to be planted – may change again after Thursday’s meeting, said Rick Schultz, the city’s zoning administrator.
Schultz said the draft is still waiting for approval, which may come after Thursday’s meeting.
(Click play to see Shelton’s Conservation Commission site walk of the area.)
Concerns
Some people interested in what gets planted weren’t 100 percent satisfied with the tree-replacement proposals.
“It’s not really fully adequate,” said neighbor Irving Steiner, who has hired an attorney in the matter. “Naturally, they took down 40-inch-trees and they’re putting up 3‑inche-trees … They can do better than 3‑inch-trees.”
The Conservation Commission, which was asked to weigh in on the proposal by the Planning and Zoning Commission, said there should be more “native-species” trees in the plan, which help local animals that only eat local plantings.
“It’s a good start,” said Shelton’s Conservation Agent Teresa Gallagher. “The (Conservation) Commission would have preferred to see some larger and better plantings.”
As part of the development plan, the city will get about 6.5 acres of open space. The developer is working out a plan to give more land to the city as part of the tree-replacement plan.
Gallagher said personally, she hopes the final plan will include a fence or stonewall that lets homeowners at the new development know where their backyards end and the open space begins.
That helps people who want to go in the open space feel more comfortable and helps make sure growing plants in the open space aren’t accidently cut down by a homeowner tending to a yard, Gallagher said. The last she had heard, a fence was part of the plans.
Guedes, who couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday, has been accused by some of cutting down the trees, but has vehemently denied having anything to do with it.
Proposed Trees
As of Wednesday afternoon, the plan included the following trees and bushes: (Schultz said these details may change after Thursday’s meeting.)
16 Rep Maples
7 Shadblow Serviceberry
7 Sweetbay Magnolia
9 Norway Spuce
16 Pin Oak
14 Summersweet
14 American Holly
18 Spicebush
12 Highbush blueberry
