Don’t Expand Sandy

Hook’s Business District

To the Editor:

On July 6th several concerned Sandy Hook residents attended the Newtown Planning & Zoning Commission meeting.  An application to rezone the west side of Washington Avenue from Residential to the Sandy Hook Design District (SHDD) was submitted for approval. Sandy Hook Center is currently undergoing a much-needed renovation. From the buildings to the shops, a future laundromat and apartments, Sandy Hook Center is coming to life once again. The question we need to address is: Do we need to expand the business district from Sandy Hook Center to the Route 84 overpass?

Approval of this zone change would dramatically increase traffic in the area.

Approval of this zone change would allow commercial properties to be built on wetlands.

Approval of this zone change would allow commercial properties to be built on land located in the Aquifer Protection District.

Approval of this zone change would compromise the historical presence that dates to the 1700s.

Approval of this zone change would bring 21 one bedroom apartments to Sandy Hook Center.

Sandy Hook Center is growing and improving as outlined in the SHDD Neighborhood Business Hamlet.  Webster’s Dictionary defines a Hamlet as a small village.  Expanding the SHDD up to a half mile from the center of town does not maintain the integrity of a Business Hamlet as outlined by the director of community development in 1997.

Twenty six property owners along Washington Avenue and Crestwood Drive have petitioned the Planning & Zoning Board to protect our right to a residential neighborhood and deny this application.

A final thought to ponder is that if this can happen in my residential neighborhood, it could happen in your residential neighborhood.

Richard Spillane

15 Washington Avenue, Sandy Hook      July 13, 2000