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Norwalk agency approves amended resolution requiring removal of treehouse and restoration at Range Road site
Summary
The Norwalk Conservation Commission/Inland Wetland Agency approved an amended draft resolution for the Range Road application (S24‑64536) that requires removal of a treehouse from the wetland, planting of native shrubs, limits on mulch and mowing, and submission of a revised site plan.
The Norwalk Conservation Commission and Inland Wetland Agency voted to approve a draft resolution, as amended, for the Range Road application (S24‑64536) that sets conditions for restoring wetland and buffer areas and restricting structures inside the wetland.
Under the conditions the commission adopted, “no structures including the treehouse or any footings for the treehouse may remain within the wetland and (proposed) wetland buffer,” and any footings that remain should be cut flush to avoid additional soil disturbance, language added to address field concerns about excavation. The resolution requires planting enhancements in the lower planting bed with Connecticut native shrubs, prohibits addition of new mulch in the planting bed, and establishes that a 4‑foot‑wide meadow may be mowed no more than once per year (preferably fall or winter) with clippings left in place rather than deposited in the watercourse. The revision also requires a revised site plan to be submitted to staff showing the amended buffer line and planting areas and calls for boulders or equivalent markers to demarcate the wetland buffer.
Commissioner Catherine (spoke by name in the record) and staff discussed enforcement tradeoffs about removing footings that are physically in the wetland and agreed that cutting footings flush is preferable to excavation to avoid further disturbance. Staff clarified that the treehouse was installed in 2021 and that the revised conditions were drafted to prevent setting a precedent for play structures within wetland areas.
After discussion and minor edits to special conditions (including specifying the proposed wetland buffer in condition language and limiting mowing frequency), the commission moved, seconded and voted in favor of the amended draft resolution. Commissioners directed staff to prepare the final resolution text reflecting the agreed edits.
The resolution approved at the Feb. 11 meeting will be memorialized in writing and posted with the permit file; staff will verify compliance with the conditions after the applicant implements the required removals and plantings.
