Master Plan Will Allow The Town

To Move Forward

To the Editor:

In considering your vote for the Fairfield Hills master plan, which is the next step in a process that has been evolving for ten years, it is important to remember that this vote is not about authorizing or expending funds. The authorization for funding was already approved by voters in June 2001 and the expenditure of funds will be spread over several years with consideration given to economic conditions.

Approval of the master plan only allows the town to go forward to the next step. Implementation of the plan and the individual aspects of the plan over a period of years will require approval of the Planning & Zoning Commission, with opportunity for further public comment.

The master plan may not be the perfect plan for 100 percent of the wishes of all town residents but it is an excellent plan developed by a committee of very capable dedicated town volunteers with the help of highly qualified consultants. That committee listened to the comments and wishes of many town residents in arriving at a consensus that was unanimously approved. It required compromise on the part of committee members to reach that consensus.

The plan was unanimously approved by the Legislative Council and Board of Selectmen, Republicans and Democrats alike. The operative word throughout for a complex plan for a complex property has been compromise and consensus. It provides controls for amendment and modification as future conditions may require and is flexible by design, particularly for areas where there is no current funding.

If you can support most, if not all, of the aspects of the master plan, I urge you to vote Yes so that we can move this more than ten-year-long process to the next step.

Sincerely,

Herbert C. Rosenthal

First Selectman

45 Main Street, Newtown                                           August 5, 2003