Editor’s Note: HK-Now.com and Haddam Killingworth News are republishing this article “Commercial Operation or Home-Build in Killingworth?” written by Marc Fitch, with permission from Connecticut Inside Investigator, where it first appeared. (www.insideinvestigator.org)
(January 29, 2025) — Residents of Killingworth have raised concerns over a new home being built on ten acres of property at the corner of River Road and Green Hill Road, telling town officials they believe it resembles more of a commercial mining and logging operation rather than a home construction.
Neighbors interviewed by Inside Investigator say they had no problem with a new home being constructed on the property, but were perhaps unprepared for the number of trees being taken down and sand and gravel being processed and shipped off via large trucks, leading to accusations that the land is being used by the owner, Ryan Sweeney, to make money from the sale of sand, gravel and wood.
“It looked like a sand mining operation,” said Warren Johnsen, who lives across from the property. Johnsen says the noise, dust, and vibration coming from tree removal during the summer spurred him to approach the town’s First Selectman. “The clear-cutting operation started in the summer and went on for seven weeks and there was never any traffic control, never any discussion of the level of work, at least to us.”
Shawn Cowper, who lives a about five houses away from the site, says the size of the project and the heavy equipment has caused a lot of concern in town. “They brought in processing equipment similar to what one sees at a gravel pit,” Cowper said. “They’ve been processing the sand. This area is zoned residential, and they do not have a permit to operate a business on the site. They have a permit to build one house and a septic system.”
Johnsen and Cowper said their concerns have nothing to do with having a new neighbor, but rather protecting the land in Killingworth, which has a history of being stripped and used for sand excavation dating back to the 1950’s during the construction of I-95. The size, scope and amount of equipment on the property makes them fearful that history will be repeated.
“One of the things we wanted to protect against was somebody coming in and raping the land and removing all of this good outwash sand that they’ve been mining from the site and then abandoning the property,” Johnsen said.
Concern was enough that it was raised during a December 9, 2024, Killingworth Board of Selectmen meeting, during which First Selectman Eric Couture remarked that video of traffic issues taken by neighbors was “a bit alarming,” but said that ultimately there was little they could do other than sending a letter to Sweeney requesting flagmen be on site to direct traffic.
“At some point, this insanity has to be addressed,” said Rachel Berwick, who is married to Warren Johnsen, during the BOS meeting. “I’m not a lawyer, but I looked through the ordinances and clearly it is a commercial operation.”
A little more than a week later on December 17, 2024, residents’ concerns were brought to a meeting by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Property owner Ryan Sweeney and his wife attended to answer questions and assuage concerns. Planning and Zoning Chairman Paul McGuinness reminded residents that this work is only temporary and that some may be reading the ordinances and regulations incorrectly.
During the meeting, Sweeney denied accusations that he was profiting off selling the sand and gravel, but based on a transcript of the proceeding, few appeared convinced. Several other community members spoke out, insisting the project was a “commercial operation,” and calling on town officials to do something.
“This is clearly a commercial operation in all respects,” said David Sack, according to meeting minutes. “It’s a violation of the code. It’s up to the Board to enforce. It’s a commercial operation. 250 triaxles have been taken out of there. There’s nothing to prevent the applicant from raping the land and then walking away.”
“I’m just trying to build a house,” Sweeney said when reached for comment by Inside Investigator. “It’s not a commercial operation; I’m building a house. You use large pieces of equipment to cut trees down and move material. There’s really nothing on site there that’s different from any other construction site you would see building a house.”
Inside Investigator visited the site and saw a long, graded driveway, some backhoes, and a large hole dug for the foundation, but no work was being done at the time; everything was quiet. At the time of our interview, Sweeney said he was waiting for the foundation to be poured, but he says claims that he is selling the sand and gravel at the site as part of a commercial operation are false, and that he is not being compensated for the sand and gravel.
“The sand and gravel have to be removed, per the plans that I submitted,” Sweeney said. “That’s it. Just like any other job site. If there’s excess, it needs to go and that’s all I care about – getting my site done.”
A December 31, 2024 legal analysis performed by Halloran Sage agreed with Sweeney’s assessment, noting that excess material is typically sold and that some noise and vibration at a construction site is normal.
The analysis by Mark K. Branse listed six land use complaints filed by Killingworth residents and two emails that contained numerous claims that Sweeney’s operation violated ordinances and regulations, along with the concerns about commercial activities. However, Branse noted there was no appeal filed to Sweeney’s zoning permit within the thirty-day time frame and therefore “the zoning permit is final and cannot be revoked or modified.”
The analysis also found that some of the violations alleged by neighbors were incorrect, while other complaints as to the size and extent of the construction activities – including the amount of dust and whether the construction zone ran afoul of wetlands – were within the purview of the Zoning and Inland Wetlands Enforcement Officer’s authority, but she was not obligated to take action.
“The law is very clear that you are never required to commence enforcement action,” Branse wrote. “The Town does not have unlimited resources and you, like any enforcement officer, must allocate those resources as you think best under the circumstances.”
Killingworth First Selectman Eric Couture says he has certainly heard numerous complaints about work on the property, but that Sweeney has all the necessary permits and approvals to do the work and, as far as he can tell, has not violated any town ordinances. Couture says that part of the reason why it’s a “touchy subject” again relates back to the history of mining sand in the area.
“It really does seem like a lot residents are upset at the work that was done. We’ve gotten multiple different reasons why,” Couture said. “It’s going to be a single-family home. The town is pretty antsy about any development. It’s understandable that people are concerned about seeing another development go in or what have you. It was just a bit of a shock when trees started going down and he started working on his house,” Couture said, noting that another property owner in town has taken down a much larger area of trees.
“He’s stayed out of wetlands, he’s done all the proper permitting,” Couture said. “Are there some minor technical violations? Yeah, of course. But that’s any project. You’re not going to be perfect on anything. At the end of the day, the guy is building a house, it’s going to come to an end, and there will be another house in the area.”
Couture says he’s found no validity to concerns that the property is being used for commercial purposes, echoing Sweeney and the legal analysis that the sand and gravel has to go somewhere. But, he says, this is not a long-term issue; it is a short-term issue as this house gets built.
For his part, Sweeney says he’s heard the complaints, but says they mostly amount to people thinking he should have done things differently; but he had an idea of his house in his mind, bought the property, and moved forward with making it happen, regardless of others’ concerns.
“The town has been extremely helpful, and I’ve been asking their guidance the whole time, trying to make sure I do everything correctly and by the book so that things like this would not happen,” Sweeney said. “People don’t like change and that’s unfortunate.”
“They’re entitled to their opinion, but again, it’s my lot of land and I’m going to build the house that I want to build that approved and allowed,” Sweeney said.
Photos provided by property’s neighbors