Residents of a neighborhood cul-de-sac in Canton have raised concerns over a proposal by a large landowner who serves on the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission to utilize town-owned land for a paved access road into his forested property that surrounds former state senator and newly elected Canton First Selectman Kevin Witkos’ home.
The proposed access point would utilize a “paper road,” or a road that only exists on paper owned by the town on Shallot Meadow Road — part of a proposed residential development that never got off the ground and was deeded to Canton for the future creation of a road.
The landowner, Lansford Perry, is a commissioner on Canton’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which forwarded his proposal for the 66-acre property at 160 Bahre Corner Road to the Board of Selectman for approval.
Perry owns numerous businesses and additional properties in Canton, making him one of the top ten taxpayers in the town, according to the town’s fiscal year 2021-2022 report. Perry abstained from voting on sending the matter to the Board of Selectmen. Perry currently has two driveways to access the land, one of which is a shared driveway with Witkos.
Witkos removed himself from the BOS meeting on November 21, according to meeting minutes and recordings, but residents are raising concerns over a possible conflict of interest because of Perry’s position on the Planning and Zoning Commission and his shared driveway with Witkos. They also question what Perry intends to do with the property, according to a letter sent by residents of Shallot Meadow Road to elected leaders.
During the November 21 meeting, Matthew Loparco of Shallot Meadow Road voiced his position and questions to the BOS, after apologizing to newly-elected Witkos for having to raise his conflict of interest in the matter after he was just elected.
“The questions that we have are yet to be answered by anybody on the Board of Selectmen, on the Planning and Zoning Commission or Mr. Perry, himself,” Loparco said. “And I think before any decision is rendered, we need answers to these questions.”
“He hasn’t provided any compelling reasons or circumstances to justify that need,” Loparco continued. “What prompts the board to grant Commissioner Perry’s request for constructing a private driveway on town property without Commissioner Perry first submitting formal building plans or filing any form of documents with the town? In my opinion, it’s putting the cart before the horse.”
Lori Ciuca, another resident of Shallot Meadow Road, said she also opposes the access road and doesn’t believe she and her neighbors are being heard. “I highly encourage you and request that you think hard and listen to what we’re asking of you and make the right ethical and legal decision on this matter.”
However, Perry says the paved access to his property would provide “a legally-compliant access for possible future residential uses,” according to an email from Perry to Inside Investigator.
According to Perry, the other access points do not offer “usable access” due to swamps and wetlands, and the driveways already have two homes on each, which is the maximum allowed under zoning regulations. He indicated he would likely be denied using these access points because of the wetlands and existing homes.
“CT is in a housing crisis and anything that can help improve the likelihood of future diverse housing is in the best interests of the state,” Perry wrote. “It is a simpler and safer way to get to my property at 160 Bahre Corner Road. It also offers legally-compliant access to a future building lot if one were needed by family members or others.”
Perry called the ethics concerns “unfounded” with the intention of stirring up a “media circus.”
Perry also indicated that there may be some personal issues at play, having had a previous confrontation with Loparco over trees on his property that Loparco cut down, according to a letter Perry sent to Canton Chief Administrative Officer Robert Skinner and former First Selectman Bob Bessel, which painted Loparco as aggressive and hostile.
In that letter, Perry does point out that he may harvest the timber in that land in the future, part of his farming business as state-certified forester, but that the trees grow back, and that the property was owned by his family 286 years ago.
In an September 12 emailed response to Perry’s letter, Loparco paints the opposite picture of his confrontation with Perry, saying Perry was aggressive and denies making any threats. Loparco wrote the trees in question were dead and had fallen partially or entirely onto his property.
He labeled the accusations in Perry’s letter as “exaggerated, false, and libelous claims in an attempt to intimidate or extort me to attempt to gain access to Town-owned land.” In a follow-up email, Loparco asked that Perry issue a retraction or he might take legal action to protect his reputation.
“Matt (Loparco) et al seem to want to prevent my use of the Shallot Meadow access point as a way to exclude me and anyone I might invite from that neighborhood despite the fact that I’m already their neighbor,” Perry wrote in his email. “I view them as kind of tragically caught-up in a spiraling serotonin-inducing hate fest toward me in which facts don’t really matter to them.”
During the November 21 Board of Selectmen meeting, Skinner said he spoke with the town attorney who said the paper road is open land and Perry “does not have frontage on a road.” The attorney said the town could grant an easement, lease or license to Perry, place restrictions on the request or just deny it. The board ultimately decided that a public hearing should be held so that residents could voice their concerns.
Selectman Steve Sedor, who took over handling the BOS meeting when Witkos recused himself, said during the meeting that he has read the letters from Shallot Meadow residents and reviewed Perry’s request and believed a public hearing should be held.
“My personal view on this is we should should hold a public hearing before we do anything,” Sedor said. “I want to make sure everybody is treated the same but I also – I’m also getting the distinct feeling from the people on Shallot Meadow don’t feel their voices are getting heard and want to make sure that they do.”
Former State Representative and current Canton BOS member Timothy LeGeyt also voiced support for a public hearing, “to avoid the appearance of impropriety”
“We want to make sure the light is turned on in every corner of this issue,” LeGeyt said.
According to the BOS meeting minutes and video, Skinner indicated that Perry has no obligation to answer the questions from residents, but the selectmen agreed to make their best effort to get relevant answers from the appropriate sources to residents’ questions about the proposal, before voting to hold a public hearing.
The residents of Shallot Meadow Road also indicated in their letter that Perry proposed a zoning amendment during an October 4 Planning and Zoning meeting ahead of the BOS meeting that would grant access to rear lots as cause for concern.
“We urge the Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of Mr. Perry’s proposed amendments and the motivations and justifications behind them,” the letter states. “It is essential to determine whether these proposed changes genuinely serve the best interests of the community or are primarily intended to benefit one individual, Mr. Perry himself.”
“When they calm down I’ll greet them cheerfully and seek to enjoy life together as abutting neighbors,” Perry said.
The public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, December 13 at 7pm in the Canton Community Center.
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