Conservation commission recommends deed restrictions as council advances sale of 480 Loftus parcel

The town's Conservation Commission presented a revised report on Sept. 23 recommending deed restrictions to protect the watershed and riparian corridors for the parcel identified as 480 Loftus Wellfield, which the council is considering for sale.

Mike Morelli, chair of the Conservation Commission, urged inclusion of an agricultural-use deed restriction and a separate riparian buffer or conservation easement to protect the Mystic River watershed and wetlands along the parcel. He cited Connecticut statutes and state conservation policy and said narrow vegetated buffers "provide multiple functions and values" including erosion control, habitat protection, and water-quality benefits.

The land sale motion forwarded by the Land Use and Public Works committee proposed selling the roughly 11.46-acre parcel to Kevin Blackard/Bradford for $150,000 for agricultural purposes, with conditions that the buyer prepare legal documents removing a prior water-utility restriction and place a permanent agricultural deed restriction at the buyer's expense. The prospective buyer, who identified himself in the meeting, said he is committed to farming but expressed reservations about an additional easement that would impose ongoing third-party enforcement obligations; he favored working with agricultural land trusts for permanent protections.

Councilors agreed to forward the recommendation to the next step of public review; several asked staff and the buyer to provide clearer language on buffer width and enforcement mechanisms before final sale approval.