Groton — The Town Council is seeking public feedback on two topics: a potential ban on smoking or vaping cannabis on public municipal land and a potential property swap in Noank.

A public hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Groton Senior Center and via Zoom, and it also will be shown live on Groton Municipal Television. To sign up to speak through Zoom, people can call the town manager's office at (860) 441-6630 or email Council@groton-ct.gov.

Town Manager John Burt said the council is seeking input on the possibility of prohibiting smoking or vaping of cannabis on public municipal lands, but there is no draft ordinance at this time.

Burt said that towns “already had the legal authority to regulate activities deemed harmful to public health, including tobacco smoking, on municipally-owned property,” and Public Act 21-1 broadened this authority to include property that a municipality controls but does not own, such as sidewalks, parks, beaches, and municipal land and buildings. The new law also specifies that this regulatory authority applies to smoke or vaped tobacco or cannabis, and other types of cannabis use.

The council also is seeking initial public feedback regarding land on Riverview Avenue in Noank.

Burt explained that a property at 0 Riverview Ave. "had historically been used for public parking, but it has recently been found that a portion of the property is privately owned,” and the owner “subsequently placed boulders along the street to block public parking.”

Burt added the title history shows that the town has rights to cross the property per an easement, but the location is yet to be defined.

Burt said the owner has made an offer to the town to swap some adjoining properties.

Other options would include leaving the land "as is" while defining the existing access, or going to court to try to obtain broader access to the property than the existing easement would likely allow.

k.drelich@theday.com