Demand the Immediate Removal & Administrative Investigation of Building Official Dwight Carlson

Unprecedented Shutdown & Total Dispossession of 26 Local Employees

Without issuing a standard notice of violation or granting a mandatory statutory period for remediation, Chief Building Official Dwight Carlson placarded 95 Granby Street, Bloomfield, CT. Instead of standard enforcement, Carlson implemented an extreme order banning the property owners from entering their own building under threat of immediate police arrest. Two thriving businesses — ‘Dough Boys Bakery’ (commercial wholesale production line) and ‘All4Less’ (furniture retail) — were forcibly closed overnight, casting 26 local workers into immediate unemployment over routine, easily correctable building code adjustments common to industrial properties.

Encroachment on Private Property Rights & Vehicle Tow Warning

Demonstrating an escalating pattern of personal harassment, local police acting at the direction of municipal code enforcement placed an aggressive notice of intent on a private vehicle parked legally within private property boundaries at 95 Granby Street, threatening impoundment and encroaching on basic private property rights.

Escorted Walkthrough as a Display of Intimidation

Dwight Carlson descended upon 95 Granby Street accompanied by six (6) armed local police officers for a property walkthrough. Carlson conducted this heavy-handed sweep without issuing a single formal code violation citation prior to or following the walkthrough. Security footage captured this excessive display of authority, intended purely to intimidate property owners and signal neighborhood criminality where none existed.

Administrative Catch-22: Gridlocking Architectural Progress

In an effort to comply with demands for updated building plans, property owners sought authorization for a licensed architect to inspect the premises. Dwight Carlson formally denied the architect entry, decreeing that the owner must fully ‘retain’ the professional via executed contract prior to any preliminary site evaluation — a commercial impossibility, as design professionals cannot scope or contract work without inspecting the site first. This engineered bureaucratic catch-22 stalled progress for weeks.

Reputational Destruction & Severe Property Devaluation

Seeking to escape relentless municipal profiling, the owners listed 95 Granby Street for sale. However, prospective buyers submitted low-ball offers at less than 50% of market value. Real estate brokers confirmed that the perpetual presence of police cruisers and unannounced municipal raids tarnished the property’s public image, driving away legitimate buyers out of fear of official retaliation.

Legal Action: Cease and Desist Demand Issued to Town Officials

Faced with persistent warrantless entries, legal counsel representing the property owner issued a formal Cease and Desist demand to Town Manager Alvin D. Schwapp, Jr., Town Attorney Andrew R. Crumbie, and Police Chief Paul Hammick. The letter explicitly cited Fourth Amendment constitutional violations, warning that municipal inspection authority does not grant unrestrained, warrantless access to private property.

Submission of Initial Architectural Remediation Plans

The first complete set of architectural stamped plans was officially submitted to Dwight Carlson, establishing a clear pathway toward full code compliance and business reopening.

Interference & Resignation of Four Consecutive Design Professionals

An alarming pattern emerged: after accepting the project, four consecutive licensed design professionals (Bob, Mark, Lorri, and a 4th engineer) abruptly resigned immediately following direct telephone discussions with Dwight Carlson. Engineers disclosed off-the-record that Carlson exhibited ‘passionate personal interest,’ making unreasonable demands — such as re-evaluating 3-year-old previously approved and inspected wall fire-ratings — and signaling that project approval would be weaponized. Formal complaints sent to Town Manager Schwapp and Town Attorney Crumbie regarding this interference went unheeded.

Violation of Cease & Desist: Warrantless Police Entry

Disregarding the formal legal Cease and Desist notice, two police officers operating under municipal direction entered the empty building through an unlocked door without authorization or warrant, continuing the pattern of Fourth Amendment infringement.

Town Manager Intervention & Fee Waiver Offer

Acknowledging the extraordinary administrative friction, Town Manager Alvin Schwapp convened a joint meeting between property owners and Dwight Carlson. To offset the clear hardship, the Town Manager offered municipal fee waivers to assist in reopening. However, despite repeated follow-ups from February through September, the permit fee refund was never issued, and inquiries were left completely unanswered.

Statutory Non-Compliance Under C.G.S. § 29-263

Following the resubmission of wet-stamped plans on February 24, 2026 by a 2nd retained architect, over 40 days elapsed without official action. Under Connecticut General Statutes § 29-263, building officials are legally mandated to approve or reject permit applications within 30 days. When confronted in writing, Carlson offered no statutory justification for the illegal delay.

4th Review Cycle & Endless Revision Demands

Now on the 3rd architect and 4th review cycle, Carlson rejected updated plans once again, sending drawings back for further minor edits despite full integration of all prior comments by the design team.

Formal Petition to Bloomfield Town Council for Financial Relief

With businesses closed for 8 consecutive months and property taxes continuing to accrue, owners submitted a formal petition to the Bloomfield Town Council requesting property tax abatement and administrative intervention. The Town Council failed to respond or grant relief.

Submission of Revision 6 & Continuing Delay Tactics

Revision 6 of the building plans was hand-delivered to the Building Division. In each subsequent review, Carlson introduced entirely new requirements never raised during earlier comment rounds, moving the goalposts continuously.

Unprecedented Administrative Escalation to Criminal Prosecutor Subpoena

The administrative process escalated dramatically when Building Official Dwight Carlson initiated an inquiry regarding the authenticity of an architectural stamp, which resulted in a criminal prosecutor issuing an official subpoena to our architect of record. Rather than resolving a simple stamp verification through routine administrative communication, the matter was channeled into a formal prosecutorial inquiry. Facing the severe legal weight and unexpected financial overhead of responding to a criminal subpoena, the architect retained legal counsel and subsequently resigned from the project, leaving our architectural plans completely stalled. Formal notices sent to town leadership regarding the disruptive impact of these escalating actions went unaddressed, leaving our permit facing prolonged delays and further severe financial strain.

Surveillance Footage Captures Continued Unauthorized Municipal Entries

Security cameras recorded Dwight Carlson entering on the private grounds of 95 Granby Street, violating the active Cease and Desist order once again without citing any building violation or providing prior notice.

13 Months, 5 Architects, 11 Reviews: Legally Unfounded Rejections

13 months after the initial shutdown, after retaining 5 separate architects and submitting 11 complete plan revisions, Building Official Dwight Carlson issued yet another denial. In this eleventh review, Carlson exceeded his statutory jurisdiction by demanding custom mechanical specifications for bakery machinery and conveyances — which are explicitly exempt from local building official jurisdiction under State Building Code and OSBI guidelines — while improperly enforcing handicap accessibility mandates on active industrial production floors where heavy manufacturing operations are performed. This ongoing obstruction demonstrates a clear pattern of regulatory overreach designed to obstruct facility reopening rather than enforce legitimate code compliance.

Open Defiance of State Authority & Escalated Administrative Resistance

In the wake of the November 8th plan rejection, our project architect sought technical clarification directly from the Office of the State Building Inspector (OSBI). On November 9, 2026, State Technical Services Building Official Robert D. Walsh issued explicit written guidance overruling Chief Building Official Dwight Carlson’s key assertions. The State Inspector confirmed that under IEBC § 306.7 / 306.7.1, accessibility upgrades are capped strictly at the mandatory 20% alteration cost limit, and that commercial production machinery is explicitly excluded from building code construction cost valuations. Furthermore, OSBI clarified that IBC § 3004 applies solely to electrical connections rather than demanding exhaustive, custom manufacturer specifications for existing used factory machinery.

Despite receiving direct, written clarification from the highest building authority in the State of Connecticut, Chief Building Official Dwight Carlson took the unprecedented step of openly rejecting the State Building Inspector’s determination. In a formal email response on November 10, 2026, Carlson stated: “I respectfully disagree with Bob’s interpretation as it applies to the scope of work currently proposed.” He insisted on enforcing his own contradictory rules — demanding full accessibility compliance, requiring custom technical specifications for used dough conveyors, and attempting to artificially inflate project valuations to encompass non-regulated equipment.

This outright refusal by a municipal official to abide by state-level code interpretations demonstrates an ongoing pattern of regulatory conflict and administrative gridlock. By dismissing state authority while 95 Granby Street remains shuttered for over 13 consecutive months, Carlson continues to enforce requirements directly contradicted by the state, exhibiting no sense of urgency to assist in safely reopening a local business he forcibly closed over a year ago.

Administrative Silence & Abandonment by Town Leadership

Despite initial acknowledgment of the extraordinary hardship caused by the 13-month business closure — including an unfulfilled offer of fee waivers made during earlier joint discussions — Town Manager Alvin D. Schwapp Jr. progressively withdrew from communication, ultimately abandoning all efforts to enforce administrative accountability or assist in resolving the gridlock.

As documented by the unreturned evidentiary email record, property owners made repeated, good-faith attempts to secure intervention and administrative oversight as Building Official Dwight Carlson’s review tactics escalated:

• April 21, 2026RE: 95 Granby St. – Delays Occurring by Building Official and Permit Fees Q.Escalating concerns regarding mounting review delays left unaddressed.
• June 25, 2026Request for Clarification on Approved Permit Fee Waivers and Recent Zoning Hearing Issues – 95 Granby St.Follow-up regarding previously promised municipal fee adjustments and procedural blocks.
• July 5, 2026URGENT: Statutory Violation Notice – Permit BP-25-814 (Dough Boys Bakery)Direct notification concerning ongoing statutory non-compliance.
• July 7, 2026RE: URGENT: Statutory Violation Notice – Permit BP-25-814 (Dough Boys Bakery)Further urgent appeals for executive intervention.
• July 11, 2026Meeting RequestA final direct outreach to re-engage town leadership, which was met with complete silence.

Across months of critical operational paralysis, Town Manager Schwapp failed to respond to a single message, demonstrating a total indifference to the survival of two local family businesses and the livelihoods of 26 displaced employees. This systemic breakdown in municipal leadership left the property owners entirely unprotected against unchecked bureaucratic overreach.