Applicants withdraw plan to excavate 9,500‑sq. ft. pond at 676 Laurel Road after commission presses for more analysis

Applicants for 676 Laurel Road withdrew their proposal July 21 to excavate a 9,500‑square‑foot pond and remove 11 trees in a wetland corridor after members of the New Canaan Inland Wetlands Commission raised questions about the project’s short‑ and long‑term environmental effects. Alexandra Mok, the soil scientist and landscape designer representing the applicant, asked the commission to allow the withdrawal so the team could address commissioners’ concerns.

Why this matters: The proposal would convert a functioning wet meadow and stream corridor crossed by Poorhouse Brook into a standing pond and include excavation of roughly 1,407 cubic yards of material for the pond plus about 47 cubic yards for a plunge pool. Commissioners said that converting the existing wetland structure to a pond, and the temporary in‑wetland excavation and equipment access required, raised questions about flood storage, downstream effects and habitat…