Norwich – Several neighbors and one original founding member of the Chelsea Gardens botanical garden project voiced strong objections Monday to the initial five acres of tree cutting in the 80-acre parcel that the private nonprofit foundation leases from the city in Mohegan Park.

Project opponents spoke during the City Council public comment session, saying the private nonprofit foundation should not be cutting trees or starting any work on the project when it has no money to build the planned first phase – estimated at $20 million. The group also questioned whether the foundation’s business plan is realistic in its estimate that when developed, the first phase could bring in 200,000 visitors per year to Norwich.

The foundation reached a lease agreement with a previous City Council in the mid 1990s for 80 acres at the edge of Mohegan Park off Wilderness Drive and Judd Road behind the city’s Rose Garden for the project. The land also abuts Butternut Drive, where a 50-foot buffer between the project and private homes would be maintained.

Acting foundation President Hugh Schnip told the City Council in April that the first phase calls for clearing six acres of trees to create the main access road from Wilderness Drive, a parking area for 61 cars, and an area where the first buildings will be constructed – including a year-round butterfly garden, administration building, gift shop, and a garden school building to be leased to a British garden school.

Butternut Drive resident Chuck Evans told the council there is an online petition with 700 names of people opposing the project. Evans said after 24 years of planning by the foundation, it has taken only two weeks to cut down six acres of trees to sell the timber, but with no real plans to fund the major development.

Several speakers warned that the city might have to take over the project to restore the woods if the foundation fails.

Butternut Drive resident Roberta Clapper said she also is concerned about parking and traffic disruptions to the “peace and serenity” of the surrounding neighborhood if the project is built. She said residents pay high property taxes for that setting.

The foundation envisions applying for public and private foundation grants to get the project underway. Schnip said last month that the tree cutting is costing only $5,000, as the contractor will retain the wood. Schnip said it was crucial for the foundation to show some progress in its attempt to secure major grant and foundation funding.

If a major grant is secured, the group would embark on a local capital campaign fund drive to raise any required matching shares without taxpayer funds.

“You’re not shovel ready unless you have the funds in hand,” Butternut Drive resident Hazel Brown said.

Karen Gilliland, who now lives in Gales Ferry, said she was one of the founders of the Chelsea Gardens project. Gilliland read a lengthy description of the project as originally envisioned.

“I am very much against it right now,” Gilliland said.

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