Wednesday’s public hearing on the fate of 188 trees on the campus of Central Middle School was well attended, with about 50 attendees on Zoom, and there were no protests against removing the massive rock outcropping and the many trees on and around it.
There are plans to demolish the school which dates back to 1958 and replace it with a building that accommodates the middle school team model. The building committee is eager to adhere to a strict timeline.
On Tuesday, the BOE chair Karen Kowalski asked the committee to sort out their leadership transition promptly, noting that the chair Tony Turner had announced his intention to step down as chair but remain on the committee.
Last week there was good news that the House delegation was able to secure a reimbursement of 20%, a percentage exceeding all expectations. “We hope with this grant commitment in place the town can now focus solely on the task of providing a new middle school in the heart of Cos Cob,” said Representative Arzeno, who represents the CMS catchment area.
At the last BOE meeting, the board voted unanimously in favor of a SOMR for a “full and complete removal of the rock outcropping.”
Dr. Gregory Kramer, who is superintendent of parks and trees and tree warden for the town of Greenwich, hosted Wednesday’s tree hearing.
Dr. Kramer posted the trees for removal back on April 24, 2024. He noted that a complaint was registered, which triggered the hearing.
The project design team and building committee shared a presentation featuring landscaping plans that focus on clear sight lines, with attention to details including path of car headlights with respect to neighbors.
Building committee vice chair Clare Kilgallent described the project as having been designed from the inside out, as a state of the art student experience, with strict adherence to the Board of Education Ed Specs as required by the State Dept of Education. She noted it was a public project with a public budget.
The plans include a significant investment in landscaping design in order to satisfy Planning & Zoning regulations for buffering the neighbors.
Police Chief Jim Heavey spoke about the importance of removing the rock outcropping.
He said he and Sergeant Thorm, the department’s physical security expert,had met with the building committee on multiple occasions and notwithstanding concern for the environment, it was necessary to remove the rock outcropping to comply with state requirements for building safe schools.
Steve Martocchio from SLAM Collaborative, said School Safety Infrastructure Council “SSIC” at the state level required good sight lines.
“We recognize the number of trees there, and replaced them with more tree canopy and some under-story,” he said.
The consultants said the placement of the new school will allow students to have access to wooded areas and take part in walks for science classes and other learning opportunities.
The existing school entrance from Indian Rock Lane will be preserved, which will spare some trees. They promised a new prominent location for Maria Fareri Garden. They also pledged to take care of the trees that will remain, and minimize disruption to root systems.
As for the rock outcropping, building committee chair, Tony Turner spoke of a risk-reward scenario.
“There would be additional costs to keep the rock outcropping, even a portion of it, because the idea of costs to naturalistically landscape it and a possible delay in the timeline of the project which we simply cannot afford …nor the additional costs,” Turner said. “Community wide, the risk we see is significant from a safety standpoint.”
Dr. Kramer said he’d learned a lot from meetings with the building committee, particularly the state criteria the project had to meet.
Ms Kilgallen explained that the entire project was reviewed by the state, including issues of security.
“To put a fine point on it, if we don’t meet any of the criteria at the state level state criteria they could deny the design and not allow us to go out to bid,” Kilgallen said.
At the close of the hearing he said his decision would be announced in three business days, and anyone objecting to it would have the ability to take the matter to state superior court.
BET chair Harry Fisher who is on the CMS building committee said, “I heard that you say other schools have similar features, but this is a new project and really needs to conform to SSIC. I think the entire outcropping should be removed. The safety issues raised are overwhelming. ”
Laura Kostin, a BOE member who is on the building committee, said, “There is no natural feature on the site that outweighs student safety.”
Shiro Nogaki from 219 Orchard Street asked about the procedure should additional trees be proposed for removal.
Dr. Kramer said they would be posted and the same process with possible hearing would take place.
Another neighbor, Michael Lulkin, noted many trees will be removed to locate the new school into a wooded area, and said the committee was giving “lip service to northern neighbors.”
He was disappointed about the proposal to cut down 188 mature trees in exchange for 300 “much smaller” trees.
“I live much higher up than where the fields are and I know when the school is built I’ll be looking at a giant roof and there is no concern for my home,” Lulkin said, adding that his view would be of an “industrial” roof with “dark reflective solar panels.”
“Every time you see a graphic from the architect, they show massive gorgeous foliage, but most of the time there are not leaves on the trees,” he said. “I request evergreen trees to mitigate sight issues. I don’t want to be looking at the equivalent to a vast factory and vast roofscape.”
Brent Reeves, the interim director of safety for Greenwich Schools said there were disadvantages to leaving the rock outcropping in place, notably that it creates line of sight issues both for first responders.
Also, he said, “Rolling up on a scene, it’s important to have a clear line of sight to make critical decisions immediately. From the school to the fields, the rock outcropping would prohibit that. Lastly, the rock outcropping is a hazard itself to remain with the new school design because of the children being curious in nature will want to climb on that and jump. I’d hate to see a catastrophe that could have been prevented. A rock is not as valuable as our children. I’d like to see the rock removed.”
CMS principal Tom Healy said he had also been a CMS student himself. “The only thing we’ve used (the rock outcropping) for is to shout at students to tell them to get off it.”
Kate Dzikiewicz from the Greenwich Tree Conservancy, said she understood wanting to remove the rock outcropping where there are numerous trees. But, she urged careful consideration regarding tree removals outside the footprint for staging areas.
“Preserving health trees should take priority over staging areas,” she said.
Dr. Kramer said he would announce his decision in three business days, and that anyone aggrieved by the decision could appeal it in Stamford Superior Court.
Large rock outcropping on the CMS 22 acre campus.
