The Pressure To Develop

To the Editor:

I applaud the recent decision by the Legislative Council to remove $2.8 million from this year’s Capital Improvement Plan, which was requested by the Economic Development Commission to develop a tech park on agricultural land near Commerce Road and Deep Brook. And kudos to George Benson and Rob Sibley of the Land Use office for stating plainly and publicly that the EDC has been pursuing this project without public input, and to Conservation Commission members and Julia Wasserman for pointing out that for over two years the EDC has relentlessly pushed for plans that had met with their preliminary disapproval.

Although EDC members claim to have been trying to meet conservationists halfway, their plans have continually shown disregard for the natural systems of this property, which contains prime agricultural soils as well as numerous wetlands. The EDC also has not responded to suggestions for alternative kinds of economic development, such as community-supported agriculture or renewable energy.

The sort of development the EDC is proposing is much like what we have on Commerce Road and elsewhere in Newtown, not to mention in cities throughout the state and country. In this day and age I would hope that business and community leaders would push themselves to think more innovatively and creatively, particularly when planning to develop land with so much natural beauty and ecological significance. This particular property is also iconic, representing the New England agricultural tradition and evoking the character that so many of us treasure about Newtown.

In addition, EDC has not shown any real data/analysis or proof of an actual “market” or particular businesses willing to locate there, nor an appropriate fiscal cost/benefit study so that our community could weigh the options before going ahead.

The real problem here is not “emotions” of the conservationists vs “dollars,” as Kim Danziger phrases it. This latest battle in Newtown is rooted in our tax structure, a problem faced by communities across the country. Because municipalities rely so heavily on property taxes, they feel pressure to develop open land so that it can bring in more tax revenue.

On April 5 there will be a conference focusing on these problems and the ways communities can begin to address them. Called “1,000 Friends Citizen Activist Summit on the Property Tax and Smart Growth,” this conference will be held at the Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, from 11 am to 4 pm. See www.1000friends-ct.org for more information on this event and the organization.

I urge members of the Legislative Council, EDC, Conservation Commission, the Land Use office and all of the selectmen to attend this conference, as well as anyone in the community who has felt the squeeze of our ever-rising property taxes. And I urge the EDC to function with transparency and a genuine spirit of cooperation so that what ultimately gets developed on this tract has wide support from the citizens of Newtown.

Sarah W. Middeleer

7 South Main Street, Newtown                                    March 20, 2008