BETHEL — Residents living near Mount Hope Estates questioned during Wednesday night’s Bethel Town Board meeting whether land clearing underway at the property had received the necessary permits and approvals, prompting town officials to defend the review process and assure residents the project remains under regulatory oversight.

A man speaking on behalf of the Horseshoe Lake Preservation Association and the surrounding Horseshoe Lake community said neighbors were shocked when demolition and land clearing began earlier this week at the property on Mount Hope Road.

“We’re surprised that this project is proceeding so rapidly,” he told the board. “We were under the impression that certain procedures and approvals would need to be made before this kind of construction.”

The speaker said residents were unable to determine whether the required permits had been issued after attempting to contact the Building Department and reviewing documents available online. He questioned whether traffic studies, site disturbance plans and erosion control measures had been completed before clearing began.

Plans for the property include 37 housing units and a package wastewater treatment system, raising concerns among nearby residents about potential impacts to Horseshoe Lake and surrounding waterways.

“We’re extremely concerned about this whole situation,” he said. “We’re going to be watching this project very carefully.”

Other residents echoed those concerns, saying they feared runoff could eventually affect the lake. Lori Horowitz, president of the Horseshoe Lake Preservation Association, said she and her husband purchased approximately 70 acres surrounding Horseshoe Lake to help preserve the area.

“The last thing that we want to see is this area destroyed,” Horowitz said. “We did not purchase this land to build. We purchased it to protect it.”

Town Supervisor Daniel Sturm said he had reviewed the concerns with the Building Department before the meeting and maintained that the work currently underway falls within approvals already granted.

“My understanding is that they’re doing test wells,” Sturm said. “They’re allowed to do test wells.”

Sturm said the developer has obtained a driveway permit to access the property from the town road, well permits and Planning Board authorization to conduct test wells. He emphasized that the project has not yet reached the construction phase and that future elements, including the proposed wastewater treatment system, will remain subject to additional review.

“There’s no construction,” Sturm said. “This is what I’ve been led to believe, and there’s no shortcuts.”

Several residents disputed the extent of the clearing, arguing that far more land had been disturbed than would be necessary for well drilling. Another local resident said approximately 60 acres had been cleared, a characterization Sturm rejected.

“You keep saying that,” Sturm replied. “That doesn’t make it true.”

Building Department consultant BJ Gettel, participating remotely, also defended the work, explaining that clearing is necessary to allow heavy well-drilling equipment to access the test locations identified during the review process.

“They have to do the well testing,” Gettel said. “In order to go into the property, yes, they’ve got to do clearing. A well truck is not as skinny as a regular car or regular truck.”

Gettel said the location of the access road and well sites had been reviewed as part of the Planning Board and Department of Health process.

“How do they know if the project’s going to be viable if they can’t get water?” she said.

Some residents also questioned Gettel’s role in the Building Department, noting that she now works remotely from Florida. After the meeting, Sturm said Gettel serves as a Building Department consultant and is paid for two hours per day, five days per week.

Sturm said Gettel reviews projects, responds to emails and directs the department’s code enforcement staff, while day-to-day field operations are handled locally by Joseph Smith and the town’s code enforcement officers.

Sturm pointed out that neighboring property owners were notified before the test well work was approved.

He added that the town will continue monitoring the project as it proceeds through the Planning Board review process.

“Anything that needs to be done with this project will be done,” Sturm said. “One hundred percent.”