Opportunity to Testify on Tree Bills

February 24, 2023


 
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Dear Neighbor,
I want to inform you of two bills pertaining to the Dept. of Transportation's tree-cutting and sound management that will receive a public hearing on Monday, February 27, 2023 at 11:00 AM before the Transportation Committee. You can participate and/or watch either on Zoom or at the Legislative Office Building in Room 1E.
 
Thanks to the advocacy of many of you, in response to the drastic tree-cutting along I-95 in Fairfield, I was able to introduce, along with Rep. D'Agostino, these concepts that the committee has now raised. I hope that you will consider signing up to give testimony on the impact that the DOT's current "vegetation management" policy has had on you and why considering sound and sight abatement (as well as the health impacts of trees and management of invasive species) should be considerations for DOT going forward.
  • H.B. No. 6744 will require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop guidelines governing tree removal and vegetation management, including obtaining approval from a certified arborist prior to any tree removal and providing certain notices and disclosures regarding tree removal to neighboring residents. 
  • H.B. No. 6745 will require the DOT to develop and implement a program for the construction of noise barriers along existing highways and require the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to submit a plan to implement a state-wide decibel-level testing program. (Currently, the Dept. of Transportation does not fund sound barriers. Federal policy only funds the construction of sound barriers when there is a qualifying highway expansion project.)

In addition to these bills, I am also resubmitting my state bonding request to fund either noise barriers or the replanting of trees to help mitigate the sight and sound pollution that has occurred from the cutting of these trees. Recently, we received some good news from DOT that they will at least be repairing our existing sound barrier where there have been broken boards.
If you would like to weigh in to support this important legislation for our community, please find instructions for doing so here:
  • When: Monday, February 27, 2023 at 11:00 AM
  • Where: Legislative Office Building (LOB) Room 1E and via Zoom
  • To Testify: You MUST complete the Online Testimony Registration Form by Sunday, February 26, 2023 at 3:00 PM
    • To register to testify by phone, call the Phone Registrant Line at (860) 240-0393 to leave your contact information
    • Speaker order of approved registrants will be listed in a randomized order and posted on the Transportation Committee website on Sunday, February 26, 2023 at 6:00 PM under "Public Hearing Testimony"
    • Written testimony should be submitted using the Online Testimony Submission Form
  • Reminders: 
    • The Transportation Committee requests that testimony be limited to matters related to the items on the agenda 
    • Speakers will be limited to three minutes of testimony
    • All public hearing testimony, written and spoken, is public information that will be made available on the CGA website and indexed by internet search engines

Please feel free to use my office as a resource if you need help signing up for the hearing or submitting your testimony. For your reference, I am also providing an example of how to address the Transportation Committee here.

In addition, recently, we had some good news from DOT that, for the time being, they will at least be replacing our existing sound barriers where there have been broken boards.
 
Notice of Road Repair Along I-95 in Fairfield
I also wanted to let you know that DOT has announced that a bridge hanger and conduit removal operation will require the closure of the left lane Northbound and Southbound on I-95 between exits 19 and 20 at the Mill Road overpass in Fairfield. 
The bridge hanger and conduit removal operation will be performed by United Illuminating’s contractor Bond Civil and Utility Construction.

The work is scheduled to occur the night of Monday, February 27, 2023 through the morning of Friday, March 17, 2023. This means that we can expect left-lane closures to occur on I-95 Northbound and Southbound during this time.
 
If you have any questions, please feel free to call my office at (860) 240-8585 or send me an email. Be sure to follow @LeeperForFairfield on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on everything I'm doing at the Capitol.
Sincerely,

Jennifer Leeper
State Representative
 

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