Newtown Bridle Lands Association has a longstanding and rich history in town. While horses may be a big part of the lives of NBLA members and their mission, for nearly half a century the group has also played a significant role in many other forms of recreation that benefit residents with various other interests.
Learn how Newtown Continuing Education’s Summer Academic Enrichment program helped students shine through academic morning lessons and special enrichment activities this summer.
Botsford Fire Rescue is well into planning for its annual Botsford Bash, a community BBQ and fundraiser returning to the company’s firehouse. Organizers recently added to more locations where the public can purchase tickets for the raffle.
The 2025 Tuesday Tunes Concert Series, an annual offering presented by Newtown Parks & Recreation and Friends of The C.H. Booth Library, has been offering free weekly midday concerts at Dickinson Park since early July.
Bruce’s letter paints a picture of runaway development, but the real story is the collapse of local cooperation — not the rise of §8-30g. That law has been on the books since 1990. For decades, towns and developers worked together to shape projects that made sense: added sidewalks, deeper setbacks, fewer units — genuine compromise.
What’s changed isn’t the law, it’s the politics. A loud social media mob has made any compromise politically toxic. The “no growth” crowd demands nothing be built anywhere, ever, and bullies anyone who suggests otherwise. Planning and zoning boards no longer negotiate; they hunker down, hoping to appease the Facebook comment section.
But here’s the irony — when compromise dies, developers stop compromising too. Once a project triggers §8-30g, the town can fight it, but state law ensures the developer will eventually win. So instead of working out a reasonable design, everyone heads to court. The developer doubles the unit count to pay for the lawyers, and the town burns taxpayer money trying to lose more slowly.
That’s how we end up with the very projects the NIMBY mob fears — because they made reasonable development impossible.
If people truly care about Newtown’s character, they need to stop the performative outrage and start engaging in real planning again. Screaming “no” to everything isn’t preservation — it’s self-sabotage.
I’m honestly surprised Bruce had to look up what an “agreement in principle” means. After years of business experience and managing 200 people, I would have expected that term to be familiar by now. Hard to believe it’s a new concept at this stage in his career. Although rest assured Newtown, vote row A and when times get tough, we have Google to help the selectman.
I asked AI what does agreement in principle mean
An "agreement in principle" is a preliminary, non-binding understanding reached between two or more parties that outlines the fundamental terms of a future contract. It is considered a stepping stone toward a formal, legally enforceable agreement.
This type of agreement is used to establish mutual intent and a basic framework for negotiations before the parties commit to a detailed, final contract.
