By Sarah Opdahl

At their Wednesday, June 4 meeting, New Fairfield’s Zoning Commission (“Commission”) approved a special permit for an in-home cottage bakery on Sunswept Drive. Owner Ms. Rachel Dommermouth explained that the business will primarily run on a pre-order, pick-up basis once per week, though some overflow may be sold on a pick-up stand outside of her home, which will only be near the street on specific days and times.

Dommermouth plans to bake and sell a variety of baked goods, “including sourdough loaves, cinnamon buns, cookies, and other shelfstable baked items, with full compliance with State and Local cottage bakery laws.” There was widespread support for her efforts, with one concern raised and assuaged regarding possible traffic if two customers picked up at the same time. Dommermouth was reminded that the stand needs to be placed back at least twenty feet from the shoulder of the road to allow for proper sight lines and that there is a separate permit for signage, if she ends up deciding to pursue that.

Commission  members also heard a proposed use case for a residential property for a Connecticut Wildlife Rehabilitation License holder, which will entail a Shortwoods Road home operating a private bird rehabilitation facility on what was described as “a heavily wooded 0.9 acre non-conforming lot.” The facility would not be open to the public.

Ms. Amanda Czudak explained that she is working toward her Connecticut Wildlife Rehabilitator License in the 2025 to 2026 timeframe, and her Federal Migratory Bird Rehabilitator License in the 2026 to 2027 timeframe. She said, “I would like to plan for pre-release enclosures that are intended to temporarily house healthy, able-bodied, rehabilitated wildlife in the short period before they are released back into the wild, to rehabituate them to the outdoor climate, and allow them to regain strength to navigate in their natural habitat.”

Czudak detailed the volunteer role, which falls under Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and, after lengthy internships, “in order to earn that secondary license, I need to have pre-release enclosures that are approved by DEEP.” After healing indoors, the birds would be moved to outdoor enclosures before release. There will be two 10’x10’ and two 10’x20’ enclosures within the proper setbacks. Czudak went on to describe privacy screens, which will minimize the enclosures and keep the birds from seeing each other, plus measures to secure the animals. Furthermore, she said, “I would not be releasing them on my property. They would be going back, as per the guidelines, some of which are state law, that certain animals have to be released within a certain radius of where they were found.” Commission members were intrigued by the proposed use, supported her efforts, and asked her to return to the Commission with a site plan for the enclosures when she is ready.

There was a charged exchange between Mountain View Cemetery’s Ms. Charlotte Maher, who shared that she has run the cemetery since 2011, and Commission  Chair Mr. John Moran, when she raised a hand to speak mid-meeting. The matters she raised  were two-fold, first regarding the word “crematorium” that was used at previous Commission  meetings in reference to a State application that was completed by the cemetery, rather than a “columbarium,” which she clarified is what the cemetery has applied for with the State. The second issue she commented on was in reference to Commission members calling out previous inaction regarding permits for a large amount of fill that was received on the cemetery’s property during the school construction projects. Having heard from a client about the comments that were made at the meeting, and the article that followed similar to this one in the Town Tribune, Maher expressed concern about public perception regarding the cemetery for stated inaction regarding the lack of permits for both the crematorium/columbarium and the fill.

Moran was frank in his response to Maher, stating, “you took a tremendous amount of fill from wherever you got it from, that’s the point. I don’t know who thought, or who told you, that you could have that fill and not get a permit. It wasn’t 10 yards. It was a phenomenal amount of fill that you took…You should have gone to zoning and asked for a permit, and it should have been a special permit, but you never did.” He questioned if the cemetery was approached by Town officials, school staff, or O&G regarding the fill, but Maher deflected and said, “her son handled all of that” and that she was unaware of a need for a special permit. Moran pointed out that no lots can be sold in the area created post-fill until a special permit is approved, and Maher explained that she is working to complete the application.

Regarding the columbarium, Zoning Enforcement Officer Mr. Evan White stated, “I’m going to have to look into and reach out to legal counsel, and I do apologize, Charlotte, about the miscommunication between a crematorium and columbarium.” He went on to clarify, “But under 8-2, State statutes for zoning …crematory means a building or structure containing one or more cremation chambers or retorts of cremation of dead human bodies or large animals, meaning cattle or sheep, goats, swine or similar commonly kept livestock.” He emphasized that, under State statute, “by definition, a crematorium still means a building or structure containing one or more of the cremation chambers or retorts of cremation, regardless of where it was burned.” He added that the columbarium would need to be placed at least 500 feet from abutting properties.

Housing Opportunities Committee (HOC) Chair Ms. Anita Brown spoke with the Commission about current HOC efforts, showing them a series of lovely completed affordable projects throughout Litchfield County, and sharing that their committee hopes for many similar, well-executed projects in New Fairfield. She explained the relationship between the HOC and the New Fairfield Housing Trust and their hopes for the future. Commission  members said that they will keep the HOC work in mind as they continue to rewrite regulations.

The next regular Zoning Commission meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 2, 7:30 p.m.