East Windsor ZBA Rules in Favor of West River Farms

https://insideinvestigator.org/east-windsor-zba-rules-in-favor-of-west-river-farms/

A group of angered East Windsor residents and hopeful residents, with the support of Selectman Keith Yagaloff, took to a zoning board of appeals (ZBA) meeting this last week to share their frustrations over the town’s handling of the West River Farms saga, which has left numerous would-be residents housing insecure, and the town embroiled in a lawsuit. Attorney Bridget Gallagher, representing West River Farms, used the meeting to levy hefty accusations against the Town’s First Selectman Jason Boswza, who she characterized as overriding the town’s zoning and planning departments in an effort to force her client to maintain one of the town’s roads.

“They’re strong-arming my client, and it’s a massive overreach,” said Gallagher. “This is an attempt by the First Selectman to bully my client into taking responsibility for this road.”
Gallagher shared with board and audience members alike a nearly 200-page compilation of 28 pertinent documents, citing them in her nearly hour-long testimony in support of West River Farms. Ultimately, the testimony was successful, as the board voted unanimously to move West River Farms’ appeal forward.
“Unfortunately, I think we need to go back to the beginning,” said Gallagher at the beginning of her presentation. “It has a long history, and I ask that you all bear with me, because I do think that it’s important.”

History of the Fiasco

Schanck Road is a small road located on the border of East and South Windsor, which has historically been maintained by a privately owned mechanic’s shop located at the end of the road, South Windsor Auto Parts. In 2015, West River Farms LLC, a subsidiary of Respler Homes, a property development company owned by Jeff Respler, was approved to build and sell 69 units of single-family housing on Scantic Road, located near Schanck Road in East Windsor.
On April 4, 2024, the Town officially notified West River Farms that it would not be releasing Certificates of Occupancy, performance bonds, or other final approvals for the housing until the company completes maintenance on Schanck Road, issuing a violation of its special use permit.
The violation claimed that the developer had violated condition 8, section 2 of its special use permit agreement, which states that “The right of way known as Schanck Rd [is] to be maintained as an access for residents on the road and to access the open space and detention basin.”
Essentially, the crux of the dispute hinges upon the interpretation of this language; the town argues that “to be maintained” puts the onus of infrastructural maintenance and upgrades of the road itself on West River Farms, while West River Farms argues that it plainly states that it only agreed to allow the road to remain accessible to the public during the duration of its development.
“To date, no maintenance agreement has been received by this office, there have been numerous recent complaints about the maintenance of Schanck Rd and lack of proper installation and maintenance of sedimentation and erosion control measures have exacerbated the condition of Schanck Rd,” reads the violation. It concludes by conditioning the release of Certificates of Occupancy on the submission of a maintenance agreement by West River Farms.
“Now, we acknowledge that my client did not ever submit a maintenance agreement for Schanck Road,” said Gallagher. “In fact, my client can’t now, submit a maintenance agreement for Schanck Road, because he no longer owns or controls Schanck Road.”
When West River Farms was approved for its special use permit in 2015, it was required either to pay a fee or donate open space to the town. In March 2017, the company donated 18.5 acres of land, Schanck Road being a part of this parcel, along the Scantic River to the Town of East Windsor, which in turn was given to the Scout Hall Building Committee (SHBC).
In the Town’s approval to West River Farms, a clause maintains that the Town would have the right of first refusal for the 18.5-acre parcel owned by SHBC. In June 2022, SHBC did end up selling the land, but to South Windsor instead. As a result, Schanck Road is possessed by neither East Windsor nor West River Farms.
The documents, which included public meeting minutes going as far back as March 2015, showed numerous instances in which Public Zoning officials, representatives of the Scout Hall Building Committee (SHBC), Town Selectmen, a former Town Planner, and a Town Engineer, all indicated that maintenance of the road would be the obligation of primarily the SHBC, with some varying level of input from the road’s residents. Though the minutes reflected a level of ambiguity to the specifics of how those responsibilities would be divvied up, the absence of West River Farms in discussions over the road’s maintenance obligation for over two years of meetings was notable.
One letter issued by the SHBC, clearly states, “Our goal is that the maintenance of the road will be in its current condition or better and it will be the responsibility of the East Windsor SHBC with the help of the residents.”
Throughout her presentation, Gallagher painted a damning picture of the town’s handling of the situation, essentially depicting the town as trying to pull a fast one on West River Farms in an attempt to pawn Schanck Road residents’ long-term concerns about the road’s maintenance on to the developer.
Gallagher noted the preconditions required by town code to issue special use permits and in regards to the use of open space. The town’s own conditions of approval, Gallagher noted, states that “Executed Deeds for any proposed conservation, access or drainage easements and open space dedication must be approved by the Town Attorney and filed on the land records prior to any permits being issued.” Essentially, Gallagher argued, the town knew exactly what it was getting into before signing off on the special use permit.
“Before my client could get any single permit, before he could do anything on the ground, he had to get those deeds done, he had to submit them to the town attorney for approval,” said Gallagher. “My client has completed houses sitting there, the town obviously issued permits for these, remember, this approval was nine years ago, and just this year, the town decided they’re not giving any CO’s out.”
Gallagher argued that once the town issued its permit, it’s a safe assumption that the “prior conditions for the permit have been satisfied.” Gallagher called then planner Laura Whitten, “very sharp,” and said that she and the Town Attorney both approved the original agreement outlying West River Farms’ conveyance of the easement. Gallagher also cited the fact that the town itself issued a five-year extension of the permit in 2020, with the Board of Selectmen voting unanimously in doing so.
Gallagher argued that at several junctures, the town proceeded to review and accept West River Farms conveyance of the easement’s title, first to Scout Hall, and then from Scout Hall to South Windsor, without any objections being raised. Concern was only raised recently, with Gallagher citing an April 2024 email from the town lawyer, that “basically says, he [Respler] didn’t deed the title over correctly, and we are not giving any more COs.”
Gallagher said that within three days of receiving the letter, Respler met with town officials to try and rectify their concerns regarding sediment and erosion control, as well as discuss the maintenance of Schanck Road. After that meeting, Gallagher said that they received an email on April 11 from Town Planner Ruthanne Calabrese, notifying them that the matter of Schanck Road “was being handled separately” from the discussed sediment and erosion measures, and that no CO’s would be released until it was sorted out. Gallagher said it left Respler “stunned,” and that he then sent an email asking what can be done to sort the issue out.
“Nine years later, 20 houses sold, 11 permits granted, he’s got houses under construction at various stages, several almost ready for CO’s,” said Gallager. “My client never heard a word from the planning staff about the maintenance of Schanck Road, in all that time. It is not normal for suddenly, you to get a letter from the town attorney with no notice from the planning staff, indicating that they’re holding you responsible for some condition that was in the approval that you haven’t met, that is not how it happens. It’s just not a typical situation.”
Gallagher said Respler then had another meeting between First Selectman Jason Bowsza, Town Attorney McCann, and South Windsor Town Manager Michael Maniscalco that “did not go well.” Gallagher said that from that point on, prior to filing suit, she attempted to work out matters with town officials, warning them they would file a suit, and no progress was made.
Gallagher said that she and her staff followed all the proper procedures to file an appeal of the violation once it was issued, but that the Town took every possible step to delay it being heard, which led to it only being addressed now in October.
“There’s been a lot of kicking the can down the road, and trying to delay this, and put maximum pressure on my client,” said Gallagher.
She finally accused First Selectman Bowsza of playing a leading role in the fiasco, citing a site tour that was canceled earlier in the month due to him not being able to make it.
“Why is the First Selectman an essential party to a site visit on a zoning issue? It doesn’t make any sense, and the reason is, is because he’s driving this, he’s making all the decisions related to this; not the planning staff, not the town engineers.”
Regarding the issue of sediment and erosion, Gallagher noted that West River Farms had fulfilled all the town’s requests regarding the erosion measures, making it a moot point. Engineer Dana Steele, who was contracted for the project, also testified in support of this argument.
Gallagher said the town has refused to reschedule the site visit, and that she and her client still do not have a complete picture as to what the town is hoping to accomplish. She said that she suspects the town is attempting to hold West River Farms accountable for maintaining the road in perpetuity, “which is not going to happen, we’ll try the case.”
Gallagher accused Bowsza of strong-arming his staff throughout the entire process and said they have been made to take the fall for him.
“They are taking credit, because they’re all trying to be employed,” said Gallagher.

The Impact of This Saga

Selectman Keith Yaglaoff joined several East Windsor residents to air their frustrations and experience with the drawn-out process which has left many, such as Steve Calliendo, stuck in housing limbo as they wait for their houses to be deemed habitable by the town.
“We expected to close on our West River Farms home in July,” said Calliendo. “Now, three months later, we’ve had to relocate two times to temporary housing, and currently remain in a perpetual state of limbo, as we incur ongoing, unanticipated, unnecessary, rental storage and other monetary expenses, which has created financial personal and emotional stress and hardship.”
Calliendo said he and his wife, “are disappointed to learn of the town’s history and actions regarding the Schanck Road and Town Hall property.”
Pedro Christo, an East Windsor resident who lived many years with his parents on Schanck Road, who still live there, said that the Town has a duty to figure out a long term plan for maintenance of the road. He said that his 75-year-old parents occasionally have to snow blow the road between plows by South Windsor Auto Parts, and that if the business were to close, it would leave residents solely responsible for its maintenance. He argued it should not be the responsibility of a private developer to do so, but rather the town.
“There needs to be a long term strategy, and if people are paying taxes on these properties, they should have at least a road that’s usable,” said Christo. “If the people are paying taxes on the property, why aren’t they allowed a new road?”
Douglas Munson, another Schanck Road resident, and owner of several properties on Scantic Road, said that Boswza held a meeting with Schanck Road residents, in which he offered them $65,000 to assume maintenance of the road.
“$65,000 is not much money, and isn’t going to go nowhere,” said Munson. “That was a pittance, almost an insult. All they have to do is maintain the road!”
Munson also argued that leaving the road without maintenance leaves its residents, many of whom are elderly, in jeopardy.
“If there is an emergency, how are they going to get an ambulance down that road if no one plows?,” asked Munson. “There is a person down there that has to be taken to the hospital on occasion. An ambulance comes in to bring her in for treatment. If we get a big snowstorm, she’s in trouble, she is a goner because everyone is arguing over whose responsibility this road is.”
Selectman Yagaloff, who has been outspoken on the issue in the past, said that it’s wrong for the town to use people’s access to housing as “leverage” against a developer.
“I don’t know why, or how, we got into this situation where you’re sitting here having to make a decision about the fact that COs, certificates of occupancy for buildings that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars are being denied in this dispute,” said Yagaloff. “There’s other ways that this could have been done.”
Another woman who purchased a home, June Notchin, said that she and her husband Joe are now homeless as a result of the dispute. Notchin said they’re living in South Carolina, with “the only family member that would take us.” She said their belongings have been stored in Cape Cod, where the family originally lived.
“We were trying to choose to retire near our daughter, who just had a baby, and we thought we chose a really good town,” said Notchin. “But we just don’t understand why it seems like you just don’t want us, and why you would choose to block certificates of occupancies for people, especially when you don’t know their circumstances.”
Notchin stressed that her husband is a disabled veteran and that both of them are senior citizens, who are “going broke over this.” She pleaded that the town stop holding them “hostage” over the dispute.
Gallagher also noted that the debacle proves to be a net-drain on the town’s taxpayers, as it has simultaneously frozen the addition of taxable property on the town’s assessment rolls, while also opening the town up to increased legal fees and the potential of having to pay damages.
“If I was a taxpayer, I would not be happy,” said Gallagher.
The board voted unanimously to move forward West River Farms’ appeal of the violation. Gallagher explained prior to the decision that this would not impact her client’s suit, though it is unclear at this time whether or not the town has begun its issuance of COs. Inside Investigator was unable to reach First Selectman Bowsza for comment in time for this story, but the story will be updated to include his comment if and when he decides to respond.