The Con Comm will meet tonight to deliberate (and possibly decide on) 47 Spy Pond Lane from 7:45 until 8:15 at the Town Hall Annex. A resident of Kelwyn Manor was recently a victim of a serious act of vandalism,  where significant quantities of fire accelerant were poured on the front lawn of their property.  This happened twice.   The crimes were allegedly committed by the owner of 47 Spy Pond Lane, in retaliation for the victim's involvement in the public hearing process.  The alleged perpetrator will be arraigned on Sep. 10 on felony charges, including witness intimidation.

At the 11th hour,  Town Counsel just released this public memo,  indicating that the Con Comm, from a legal point of view,  doesn't have the authority to allow the acts of vandalism to influence its decision.  The reasoning is that the applicant is technically the developer, and not the property owner.   There's no evidence linking the developer to this crime, and therefore it's considered to be disconnected.  This means that in effect, the owner of the property can commit crimes of retaliation and intimidation against members of the public and still get financially rewarded for their behavior, in addition to potentially violating the Town's environmental protection bylaws.

A quote from the letter:  "The [regulations] are oriented towards evaluating the impact on wetland resource, not evaluating the character or the conduct of associates of applicants...".

The regulations may not say it, but it should be a given that character and integrity do matter.  Seaver Construction, rather than distancing themselves from criminal activity, appears to be unphased by their connection to the alleged perpetrator and potentially contributing to this individual's financial gains, and they continue to press forward as if nothing happened.   We must consider whom we allow to build and develop places in our town, and whether they should be held to a common standard of decency, and applying those standards to all around them.

The public hearing is technically closed at this point, so any comments sent to the Con Comm would be disregarded.  However, we still encourage people to show up to the meeting. 

If a decision is made this evening to approve the application, it will not be possible to change it.