New Canaan Wetlands Panel Reviews Two Active Violation Cases

Inland Wetlands · Meeting of September 14, 2026

New Canaan wetlands panel reports two active tree-cutting violations and a court win. Director Kathleen Holland told the Inland Wetlands Commission that work continued at a six-acre 533 North Wilton Road property even after a cease-and-desist order, saying, "We have video evidence and photographic evidence of continuation of activities." A separate case at 494 Ponus Ridge, where the owner paid a $1,000 citation, is headed toward an October mitigation application. The commission also learned Judge Claudia Bail affirmed its approval of a St.

Luke's School athletic-field permit in the long-running Sarah Pierce lawsuit, finding the decision "supported by substantial evidence" and procedures "fundamentally fair." Members debated pushing the state legislature to raise the $1,000 statutory cap on wetlands fines, with Director Holland and Commissioner Dan Stepanek assigned to research comparable town fine structures. The commission approved its July 20 minutes 5-0 with two abstentions and recognized its 2027 meeting calendar by consensus.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,151 words

Source: the Inland Wetlands meeting of September 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

Roll Call and Agenda Amendment

The Inland Wetlands Commission convened at 7:02 p.m. in the Town Hall Meeting Room and via Zoom, with Chair Angela Jameson presiding. On the roll call, seven of the panel's regular members answered present: Jameson, Sandy Redden, Dan Stepanek, Philip Williams, and three others were marked absent — Beth Bernali, Don Mastronardi, and Beth Sanford. Because the commission was short three regular members, Jameson seated alternates Tom Collingham and Katie Owsley as voting regular members for the evening; alternate Adam Ramirez was also present. Jameson moved to amend the agenda to add a briefing on a recently decided lawsuit, Sarah Pierce et al. v. Inland Wetlands Commission of the Town of New Canaan et al., which Redden seconded; the amendment passed unanimously by voice vote.

New Applications and Site Visit Scheduling

The question before the board was procedural: whether two newly filed applications were complete enough to schedule for the commission's October 19 regular meeting, and when to conduct the required site visit. Application 26-18, filed for 17 Turtleback Lane West by Wiley and Lauren Scherr, proposes excavation for stream armoring along an existing brook and installation of two 20-by-15-foot sediment forebays to control water flow. A second application, numbered 27-38, involves erosion-control work along a riverbank and dredging a small portion of a pond to remove recently deposited sediment, with restoration of all disturbed areas upon completion. Holland told members the site visit had to be pushed to mid-October and offered two dates, October 14 or October 15, both starting at 7:30 a.m. After members weighed schedules, the commission settled on Wednesday, October 14, at 7:30 a.m., with Jameson noting the early hour still allows daylight and should accommodate members who work.

494 Ponus Ridge: A Violation Moving Toward Resolution

This case returned to the agenda after the commission first discussed it in July, when a citation and notice of violation were issued. The question before the board was whether the property owner was making adequate progress toward a required mitigation plan ahead of a September filing deadline. Holland reported that the owner, identified in the violation notice as Nikas, retained Corey Jerkinson of Wesley Stout's office as agent, who in turn subcontracted soil scientist Steve Danzer to reflag wetlands across the site. Holland said she met with Jerkinson in her office on August 27 to review a preliminary restoration plan, after the two had exchanged updates since an August 18 meeting. The site's disturbances have been surveyed and documented, Holland said, but the soil scientist's report was still being finalized; Jerkinson told her in an email he expected to deliver it by the end of the week.

"They didn't make the deadline," Holland told the commission, but she said Jerkinson did not anticipate problems with the restoration concept: stabilizing the site for winter, then completing restoration activities in spring. She said she expects a full application in October, a commission hearing in November, and a site visit in early November. Separately, Holland confirmed the $1,000 citation tied to the case was paid on July 27. No member raised objections or follow-up questions on the case, and the commission moved on without further discussion.

533 North Wilton Road: A New, More Serious Violation

Unlike the Ponus Ridge case, this item was new to the agenda and involves what Holland described as unusually aggressive noncompliance. The question before the board was informational: what happened at the site, what enforcement steps had been taken, and what comes next procedurally. Holland's staff report, which she said included site photographs, documents that a roughly six-acre property — divided into a four-acre lot and a two-acre lot, both vacant and subdivided since 2000 — is owned by an LLC called High Point New Canaan, with Arnold Karp identified in state records as connected to the entity; Holland said other principals may also be involved but full documentation was not yet available.

Two citations, a first and second, were issued because work continued after the town and the Planning and Zoning Department both issued cease-and-desist orders. Holland said she first observed tree cutting at the site on September 1 and confirmed the cease-and-desist was issued that day and again by Planning and Zoning, but that additional machinery and tree work occurred on September 2. Asked directly by a member whether the contractor kept working after being told to stop, Holland was unambiguous.

"No, they were unable to complete it, but they absolutely continued. We have video evidence and photographic evidence of continuation of activities," Holland said. She added that town staff physically intervened to pull the contractor off the site: "We were able to flag from the right away to pull the contractor out of the site to say, there's no permits here, you have to stop." The contractor complied once notified, she said, though work was not finished.

Holland said the town has engaged Lenny D'Andrea of D'Andrea Engineering in Greenwich, identified as the project's engineer of record, to develop a temporary soil erosion control plan for the most immediately affected area, ahead of a full mitigation application the owner will eventually be required to file with the commission. She said her department currently has no legal authority to walk the site because no permit or application is pending, and that she has asked the owner's agent for permission to access the property, particularly once erosion control work begins. Both the town attorney and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have been notified, as required. Asked by a member whether an application might arrive in October, Holland said it remains "to be determined." A member also asked whether a second lot might carry its own citation; Holland said that determination awaits further mapping confirmation.

Administrative Permit: Pool Addition

This was a brief, low-stakes item. Holland reported that a wetland permit was issued administratively for a gunite pool addition to an existing house near, but not within, wetlands on the property. The applicant, Hoffman Landscapes, has not yet begun construction and only recently resolved a drainage-related delay in obtaining other municipal permits. Holland said the wetland permit itself has been issued, though the applicant has not yet pulled all necessary building permits. No member raised concerns, and the item required no vote.

2027 Meeting Calendar

The commission reviewed a proposed 2027 meeting schedule, which generally follows the panel's practice of meeting the third Monday of each month, shifting to the fourth Monday in January and February to avoid holiday conflicts. Holland noted that Connecticut statute and commission practice do not require a formal vote to adopt the calendar; absent any objection, the commission recognized the schedule by consensus.

Ordinance Recommendations and the Push to Raise Wetlands Fines

This was the meeting's most substantive policy discussion. The commission first debated updates to New Canaan's wetlands ordinances at its July meeting, and Holland reported she has since forwarded revised recommendations to Hilary Ormond and Eric Toonham, chair and vice chair of the Town Council's ordinance subcommittee, respectively, along with the full Town Council, First Selectman Tucker Murphy, and commission members. Holland cautioned that the Town Council is not expected to act immediately; she said the council plans a broader review of all town ordinances in 2027, a process that will require budget approval.

The core substantive question, raised by a longtime member who said they had served on the commission more than 30 years, was how far the commission can push to raise wetlands violation fines. Holland and other members clarified that Connecticut General Statutes currently cap the fine the commission may impose at $1,000 per violation, a ceiling the commission cannot unilaterally exceed. Raising that cap would require action by the state legislature. Members debated whether to recommend a specific new dollar figure or simply request an increase without naming a number.

"I don't think we want to recommend a level that is so high that the legislature, and particularly legislators from other parts of Connecticut, will just say, no way," one member said, arguing the commission risked losing support for any increase if its ask was too aggressive. Another member pushed back that the deterrent value of the existing cap is minimal: "Just raising it $500 or $1,000 is not going to curb anybody from doing what they do." A member suggested the commission avoid acting alone: "I would suggest that we don't do this in a vacuum, that we talk to other commissioners or staff and inland wetlands, at least in our immediate area." Members discussed writing a joint letter with other Fairfield County wetlands commissions to New Canaan's state legislators, noting the town is represented by more than one legislative district, and floated using regional associations of wetlands commissions to build broader support. One member said the state legislature's next session begins in early January, which several members treated informally as a deadline for drafting any letter, though no vote was taken to commit to that timeline.

The commission also briefly noted that the Planning and Zoning Commission operates under a different statute governing its own fines, which one member said made a like-for-like comparison difficult without more research. No formal action was taken. Holland and Commissioner Dan Stepanek agreed to research how comparable towns and boards structure their fines and report back, with a letter to state legislators to follow depending on that research.

Sarah Pierce Lawsuit: Final Judgment in the Commission's Favor

This item was added to the agenda by amendment at the meeting's outset because a decision had just come down. The question before the board was purely informational: what did the court decide, and what does it mean going forward. Holland told the commission she received notice from the town attorney on Saturday, September 12, that Judge Claudia Bail had ruled in Sarah Pierce et al. v. Inland Wetlands Commission of the Town of New Canaan et al. Holland read the court's conclusion into the record: the court found the commission's decision "was supported by substantial evidence in the record" and that "the commission's procedures were fundamentally fair," affirming the commission's approval and dismissing the plaintiff's appeal. Holland explained the underlying application, taken up by the commission around 2023, involved an athletic field over a parking garage at St. Luke's School. No further commission action was required; Holland said she asked Jameson to place the item on the agenda solely to notify members that the litigation is now final.

Adjournment

Before adjourning, Jameson reminded members to notify Director Holland promptly about their availability for site visits and meetings, saying a reliable quorum is essential to transacting business. A motion to adjourn was seconded by Philip Williams and approved unanimously by voice vote.

Angela Jameson, Chair, present Sandy Redden, Member, present Dan Stepanek, Member, present Philip Williams, Member, present Tom Collingham, Alternate, seated as a regular member for the evening Katie Owsley, Alternate, seated as a regular member for the evening Adam Ramirez, present (role not specified in the meeting) Beth Bernali, Member, absent Don Mastronardi, Member, absent Beth Sanford, Member, absent Kathleen Holland, Director, staff to the commission, present and delivering the agent's report

Corey Jerkinson, agent for the 494 Ponus Ridge property owner, of Wesley Stout's office, referenced in Holland's report but not present Steve Danzer, soil scientist retained for the 494 Ponus Ridge mitigation work, referenced but not present Lenny D'Andrea, engineer of record for the 533 North Wilton Road property, of D'Andrea Engineering in Greenwich, referenced but not present Arnold Karp, identified in state LLC records as connected to High Point New Canaan LLC, owner of 533 North Wilton Road, referenced but not present

Wesley Stout's office — landscape/planning firm employing Corey Jerkinson, agent for the 494 Ponus Ridge mitigation plan D'Andrea Engineering, Greenwich — engineer of record for the 533 North Wilton Road erosion-control and mitigation work High Point New Canaan LLC — owner entity for the six-acre 533 North Wilton Road property under citation Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection — notified of the 533 North Wilton Road violation as required by state law New Canaan Planning and Zoning Department — jointly issued a cease-and-desist order at 533 North Wilton Road and is coordinating on the required soil erosion control plan Connecticut General Statutes — cited as the source of the $1,000 statutory cap on wetlands violation fines the commission is seeking to raise Sarah Pierce et al. v. Inland Wetlands Commission of the Town of New Canaan et al. — lawsuit challenging a commission approval for a St. Luke's School athletic-field application, decided by Judge Claudia Bail affirming the commission St. Luke's School — applicant in the approximately 2023 permit application underlying the Sarah Pierce litigation Hoffman Landscapes — contractor for the administratively permitted pool addition discussed at the meeting