Clearing up any confusion about the latest rendition for a technology park off Commerce Road, the sketches revealing a “commercial condominium” concept of buildings clustered around a shared driveway are “out of the category of contingency, and something we’ve seriously got to consider,” he explained.

Why? Officials have recently agreed for several reasons that a through road connecting Wasserman Way to Commerce Road is not a possibility.

Topping the list is general opinion. Referring to the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Conservation Commission members, Mr Rau said, “They think it’s a good plan. Legally, as the EDC learned in a meeting on March 17, a road is not a possibility. A road also would have to cross Deep Brook and possibly connect to the deteriorated portion of Trades Lane that runs uphill from the brook and into Wasserman Way, or cut across fields near the Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard.”

A letter to the EDC from town attorney David Grogins addresses roughly 21 acres buffering Deep Brook stated: “The deed to the town contains a revisionary clause which causes the property to revert to the state if the town uses the property for anything except ‘open space’ or for ‘recreational’ purposes. Therefore, the parcel cannot be used for a road unless the State of Connecticut consents.”

Similarly, Mr Rau said this week, “The state’s attitude toward farmland has changed considerably … they don’t favor farmland for economic development; since we need the state’s approval, our plan now does not allow for a through road.”

Mr Grogins’s letter also notes that despite prior interests to include a right of way connecting to Wasserman Way, the most recent Tech Park plan “was received favorably.” Other favorable points include the idea of renewable energy for a portion of the Tech Park parcel. Mr Grogins wrote, “Solar generation adjacent to the sewage treatment plant is of great interest.”

Unlike past plans that took two 30-plus-acre parcels intended for open space and economic development respectively, and blended them, the most recent plan clearly reserves one portion for undeveloped space. The town attorney’s letter to EDC favors this decision. Mr Grogins noted that the solar farm and preserved meadow space along Deep Brook “are considered major steps forward.”

The “commercial condominium” plans sketch in fewer and smaller buildings that prior Tech Park renditions, showing the a cluster of buildings segregated to only half of a roughly 70-plus acre swath of land off of Commerce Road. The plan may come closer to an answer that the town seeks. “It has become more of an option,” Mr Rau explained.

With conservation and planning officials in mind, Mr Rau said, “We want to find a way to develop [the site] to provide revenue for the town, but also recognize the responsibility to maintain open space.”

A Military Twist

What about a military base? The US Army has requested the purchase of 13 acres, possibly on the Tech Park site. (See related story in this issue and at the NewtownBee.com). Contemplating the military’s recent interest, Mr Rau recalled First Selectman Joe Borst’s request recently for the EDC to consider the proposal. “I told [Mr Borst] that we have to know more about what they want to do.” Posing questions echoed by land use officials, Mr Rau asked, “What’s the benefit to the town?” Noting that he would like to “clarify” the economic upside to a military training base in town, he said, “We can certainly think of some negatives. The military doesn’t pay taxes.”

The Technology Park and the military base cannot both occupy the space. “If they’re there, that leaves little land left,” noted Mr Rau. Could a base displace the Tech Park? Blunt in his reply, Land Use Director George Benson said Tuesday, “It would probably scrub the whole project.”

Also, the Army does not need to adhere to local  or state regulations, Mr Benson noted. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), however, would take notice of federal guidelines protecting sole source aquifer zones, of which the Tech Park parcel is one.

Is the sole source aquifer designation a problem for the military? “We believe it is,” Mr Benson said.