Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has admitted to playing a role in hiring a landscaper who illegally cut down hundreds of trees and bushes on a property behind his Greenwich home. The governor, along with a neighbor and a neighborhood organization, has been accused of removing trees in protected wetlands to improve their view of a pond. Lamont claims that the trees were damaged in previous storms and that the plan was simply to clean up the area. However, he acknowledged partial responsibility for inadvertently cutting trees on someone else’s land, stating that the contractor hired by himself and the neighborhood group went beyond the scope of work.
Lamont stated that he believed the landscaping company would have obtained any necessary permits from the town of Greenwich and that he was unaware of the need for local permission to remove what he considered dead trees. After a cease-and-desist order was issued in November to stop the tree-cutting, a property manager for another undeveloped piece of land where some of the cutting occurred reported hearing the sound of chainsaws. Documents from the Greenwich Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency indicated that the tree-cutting exceeded the destruction of wetland vegetation, suggesting a more extensive operation.
Fred Jacobsen, property director of the land owned by INCT LLC, which used to belong to the Rockefeller family, described the “massive cutting effort” that took place over multiple days. He witnessed more than 10 workers cutting and clearing trees and bushes, with access to the site provided through property owned by Lamont’s neighbor, Alexander Vik. Jacobsen reported that the workers quickly fled the area upon his arrival, indicating a deliberate attempt to avoid detection. The town could potentially fine Lamont and his neighbors for their actions, with efforts now focused on determining the best way to replant the property.
At a special meeting of the Inlands Wetlands and Watercourses Agency, members discussed the need to reach an agreement on how to restore the property, with Jacobsen emphasizing the importance of restoring the site as closely as possible to its previous condition. He confirmed that 186 trees were cut down during the illegal operation. Despite criticism for his lack of public explanation regarding the incident, Lamont remains out of state and has been described as being ‘in a dispute between the homeowners association and one of the neighbors.’ House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora expressed disappointment in the governor’s handling of the situation, suggesting that a more proactive response was necessary given the seriousness of the matter.
