The Walmartization of Newtown

To the Editor:

I read with disappointment that the Planning and Zoning Committee has approved the development of a new franchised hardware store on Queen Street. While the approval may be administratively appropriate, it adds to what I perceive as an unwelcome change of our town, a change which was prevented for years by the refusal to allow fast food restaurants to open locally.

I have been a customer of the Newtown Hardware store on Church Hill Road, off Exit 10, and of the paint store on Queen Street. Both have been family-owned and operated and their owners have been a part of the town for many years. They have survived in spite of hardware giants opening their doors in the Danbury-Brookfield corridor. They have provided a courteous, loyal, and professional service and added to the charm and attractiveness of this town.

Allowing an out-of-town franchise to open and cannibalize our own is wrong (even if the law is on the side of the new owners).

I hope the residents of Newtown succeed where the P&Z Committee failed in maintaining the stability and success of those who have made Newtown a unique town in the midst of a world being Walmartized.

E. Kilchevsky

9 Equestrian Ridge, Newtown                                    August 10, 2009