Letter: Fairfield Cherry Tree Removal Violated Procedure

To the editor,

On Tuesday, April 27, Superior Court Judge Barry Stevens heard the complaint by Fairfield residents seeking an injunction against the removal of four cherry trees in the heart of Fairfield’s downtown. Unfortunately, there is not much that Judge Stevens can do to rectify the situation: The beautiful trees have already been removed. What is most upsetting to me about this debacle is that important FOIA rules were violated by the town and a resident-led appeal was unilaterally ignored. The town was clearly aware that notices were improper and that a legal action was pending. Instead of re-issuing a proper notice for another meeting and waiting for a duly appointed judge to issue a ruling, the town improperly altered meeting notices and authorized the removal of the trees before the judge could make his ruling.

READ MORE: Baldwin: Town Attorney Responds To Cherry Tree Accusations

Fairfield’s tree warden, Jeffrey Minder, held an outdoor public meeting about this decision to remove the three cherry trees on March 22, 2021. The meeting had been improperly noticed on the town website and on the posted meeting agenda as being scheduled for March 19, 2021 (town website) and March 15, 2021 (agenda). These dates clearly differed from the actual meeting date. A Fairfield resident concerned about this faulty meeting notice directly contacted the town attorney, Jim Baldwin, and the first selectwoman, Brenda Kupchick, on March 23, the day after the meeting had occurred. Rather than reschedule a public meeting for the tree warden, the town instead altered the original notice, erasing the mistake on the original agenda. This fraudulent notice was then retroactively posted on the town’s website. This action violates FOIA rules and its impropriety speaks for itself. Although I do not know what the penalty or remedy should be, I do know that it needs to be called out for what it is: An abuse of authority.

Fairfield residents filed an action against the town on April 1. After receiving authorization from town officials, the trees were unceremoniously removed in the pre-dawn hours of April 9. Even if the tree warden’s decision was not technically subject to appeal, authorizing removal while an action was pending and before a state judicial authority could determine whether appeal was warranted was premature and misguided at best, underhanded and contemptuous at worst.

I must admit that I was OK with the tree warden’s ultimate decision. I support giving Kleban Properties some deference on this matter, as they saved the town from what was amounting to blight in the center of our downtown for nearly a decade. But, outcomes should never determine governmental actions. Instead, we put our faith and trust in the process. Here, process was not followed. It was thrown out the window. And the town needs to answer for that abuse.

Jill Vergara

Democratic Caucus Leader

Fairfield RTM Representative, District 7