Chelsea Gardens opponent seeks to move case to Hartford
The opponent of the proposed Chelsea Gardens botanical garden in Mohegan Park in Norwich is requesting that the lawsuit challenging the project be moved to the Land Use Litigation Docket in Hartford, because the case involves a dispute over alleged violation of land use permits and environmental issues.
Attorney Keith Ainsworth, representing Norwich resident Charles Evans, an abutting neighbor to the 80-acre parcel leased by Chelsea Gardens Foundation, filed the motion Friday in New London Superior Court. The two parties are scheduled to have a telephone conference with Judge Emmet Cosgrove on Tuesday afternoon on Evans' lawsuit that seeks a stop-work order on tree cutting at the project site.
Chelsea Gardens hired a contractor to clear the six-acre area where the first phase of the project would be developed.
The two parties filed other motions Friday and Monday, with Ainsworth objecting to the foundation's request that Evans post a bond for potential financial damages if a temporary stop-work order is approved but the suit later is rejected. Ainsworth also objected to the foundation attorneys' request that the city of Norwich be added as a party to the case.
Foundation attorneys on Monday withdrew a motion that had requested a jury trial be scheduled in the dispute. Ainsworth had objected to that motion as well, citing a state statute that calls for the dispute to be heard by a judge.
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