https://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Couple-loses-again-in-dispute-over-outdoor-kitchen-12871722.php
Couple loses again in dispute over outdoor kitchen
Updated 8:09 pm, Saturday, April 28, 2018
NEW FAIRFIELD — A hot tub, patios, stairways and portions of a fireplace at celebrity chef Donatella Arpaia’s home overlooking Candlewood Lake must be dismantled, according to a ruling Friday by the state Supreme Court.
The justices upheld lower court rulings that Arpaia and her husband, Mount Sinai heart surgeon Allan Stewart, built structures on land owned by the FirstLight Hydro Generating Company, which owns the lake.
The couple had argued that the boundary line between their property and that belonging to First Light was uncertain, and that the company failed to clarify it until the outdoor amenities were built. But the utility countered that the construction work was done in violation of permits and that the couple essentially trespassed on its property.
According to court filings by the company, permits were taken out to build a stone planter, a set of stairs and a stone patio that was to replace a worn-out deck left by the previous owner. But the company claims the project went far beyond the scope of the permit to include additional patios as well as a hot tub, a fireplace and several staircases.
Officials also took issue with water intake lines and drainage lines into the lake, which were also ordered removed, according to court documents.
During a segment on Open House, a television show on NBC about home renovations and design, Arpaia described the work on the house, including an outdoor kitchen and water fountain.
“We bought the house six years ago, and I immediately fell in love with the view,” she said during the segment that aired in November. “As important as it is to have an amazing indoor kitchen, I live on a lake and I wanted to create the ultimate outdoor kitchen.”
“The Connecticut Supreme Court made the right decision in this case,” said John Shue, the president and CEO of FirstLight said in a prepared statement. “FirstLight works diligently with our neighbors to accommodate requests to build structures within our federal property boundary, but there are strict rules that govern what we can permit and what we can’t. In this case the defendants blatantly ignored our repeated requests to halt construction, and now they’ll rightly be required to remove what they’ve built.”
Arpaia and her husband, however, argued during a trial in Danbury Superior Court several years ago that the boundary line - often referred to as the 440 line - was vague.
In a brief filed with the court, the couple claimed that they were building the structures above the 440 line and that the company never told them otherwise. A representative of the company even told them where to locate the fireplace, the brief states.
