Upzoning As A Subterfuge

To The Editor:

Sometimes there is a fine line between truth and fiction. In last week’s Letter Hive, a number of letters were published by supporters for the P&Z proposed upzoning regulation. In every case, the letters had distortion of the “facts” that, in most cases, went far over the line and were purely fiction.

All of these good people have made one true and accurate statement: they all are interested in protecting the aquifer and preserving quality water for Newtown residents. It is unfortunate that they are ignorant of the “real” facts or they would not have made some of their inaccurate and misleading statements that ranged from the absurd to totally preposterous. We invite them to attend our next Newtown Property Owners Association meeting on March 20 at 7 pm at Town Hall South. We will listen to them if they keep an open mind and listen to us.

As a matter of information, the area of Newtown affected by upzoning covers two distinctly different types of geography. The first are the properties that lie on top of the aquifer and the second are the lakefront communities, which lie alongside of lake Zoar and have NO aquifer under them.

For the most part, over 90 percent of the 2,315 properties identified by the P&Z to be upzoned have families living in their homes on small lots of less than one-half acre. In the lakefront communities, just about every inch of buildable space was built upon by the end of the 1940s. There is nowhere for these homeowners to expand or grow their lots. They are locked in! To upzone these properties would serve no purpose except for the P&Z’s stated purpose of “Sewer Avoidance.”

For the last 30 years, Newtown has been told to install sewers in these areas by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The state forced Newtown to build an oversized sewer treatment plant to accommodate the needs of, among other areas, the waterfront communities.

Now, Newtown has the excess sewer capacity but doesn’t want to finish the job. The policy of “Sewer Avoidance” means that they are still fighting the experts and state health officials, despite the crying needs of their tax paying constituents.

The P&Z board members should be ashamed about their use of upzoning as a subterfuge for the real purpose of cutting costs at the expense of residents who need the sewers to make their homes secure from the threat of water well contamination from  septic system failure.

Barry J. Piesner

Chairman of the Board

Newtown Property Owners Association

34 Alpine Drive, Sandy Hook                                      March 14, 2000