Kent selectmen begin new term with lengthy to-do list

KENT — With a new Board of Selectmen now in office, members are taking up several ordinance proposals left unresolved by the previous administration.

On Monday, Nov. 10, just days before officially taking office, incoming First Selectman Eric Epstein and incoming Selectman Lynn Harrington met with outgoing officials Marty Lindenmayer and Glenn Sanchez, along with returning Selectman Lynn Mellis Worthington, for a transition meeting.

The group reviewed three proposed ordinances that the previous board had intended to bring to a town meeting before the election but could not schedule due to holiday conflicts.

The first, the “Restriction of Commercial Bus Travel” ordinance, calls for banning tour buses from using Bulls Bridge Road and Spooner Hill Road. The measure stems from resident complaints about large commercial vehicles navigating the narrow, winding South Kent Road.

After a New Milford resident raised the issue, New Milford, Kent and state transportation officials have vowed to keep the vehicles — most bound for Club Getaway — off the dangerous stretch of roadway.

The second proposal, the “Placement of Material in the Public Right of Way” ordinance — which Lindenmayer jokingly referred to as the “stuff in the road” ordinance at an earlier meeting — would ban residents and business operators from placing debris or other materials, including leaves and trash, in the roadway unless they are removed immediately.

The third proposal, the “Purchasing Ordinance,” would grant the town sole authority over soliciting bids and contracting for services related to municipal projects.

All three ordinances were the subject of a joint public hearing in September. Since the required two-week period between a hearing and a town meeting vote has lapsed, the new board will need to schedule fresh public hearings if it chooses to advance the proposals.

The officials also discussed the expected passage of a revised statewide housing bill. The original legislation, House Bill 5002, was vetoed by Gov. Ned Lamont in June after sparking sharp debate: affordable housing advocates supported it, while opponents argued it stripped planning and zoning authority from local officials. The revised bill, renumbered 8002, passed the state Senate on Friday, Nov. 14, several days after the transition meeting

Lindenmayer described 8002 as a compromise, though some housing advocates say it lacks the urgency needed to address what the governor has called a “housing crisis.”

With several significant housing proposals before the Planning and Zoning Commission, affordable housing is expected to remain a central issue as the new Board of Selectmen assumes office.