Post by oldetowne on Oct 5, 2007 7:00:24 GMT -5
A year after the referendum approved the bond and less than a month before the election, the Council has FINALLY (i.e., after 15 years) identified a piece of open space to acquire. What a lucky coincidence. Now they can trumpet their "accomplishment" of buying a wooded swamp that will be essentially inaccessible to the residents.
WETHERSFIELD - Almost a year after residents approved a $4 million bond referendum to preserve open space, the town is set to purchase its first piece of land.
The town council will vote later this month to approve the purchase of 5 acres near the entrance to Mill Woods Park from the YMCA for $310,000. The town's planning and zoning commission has signed off on the purchase.
The acreage will remain as open space.
The town's conservation commission identified the land as one of several properties it wants to preserve from development or to extend town parks, said town council member Matthew Forrest, a liaison to the conservation commission.
"This is exactly the direction Wethersfield wants to take," Forrest said. "The commission has been working for the last four years to acquire land."
A feasibility study conducted last year by The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit conservation organization, found that there is very little open space left in Wethersfield.
Mayor Andy Adil said if the YMCA land was sold to developers, about three homes would have been built on the acreage.
What little open space remains in town is mainly farmland and is zoned residential. So when the land becomes available for sale, developers can bid on it, town officials have said.
"We are excited about it," Adil said. "It's the first time since about 1992 that we've added a sizeable amount of land to our open space."
The acreage at Mill Woods Park will likely be used for walking paths to watch birds and for general passive recreation.
Contact Ann Marie Somma at asomma@courant.com.
WETHERSFIELD - Almost a year after residents approved a $4 million bond referendum to preserve open space, the town is set to purchase its first piece of land.
The town council will vote later this month to approve the purchase of 5 acres near the entrance to Mill Woods Park from the YMCA for $310,000. The town's planning and zoning commission has signed off on the purchase.
The acreage will remain as open space.
The town's conservation commission identified the land as one of several properties it wants to preserve from development or to extend town parks, said town council member Matthew Forrest, a liaison to the conservation commission.
"This is exactly the direction Wethersfield wants to take," Forrest said. "The commission has been working for the last four years to acquire land."
A feasibility study conducted last year by The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit conservation organization, found that there is very little open space left in Wethersfield.
Mayor Andy Adil said if the YMCA land was sold to developers, about three homes would have been built on the acreage.
What little open space remains in town is mainly farmland and is zoned residential. So when the land becomes available for sale, developers can bid on it, town officials have said.
"We are excited about it," Adil said. "It's the first time since about 1992 that we've added a sizeable amount of land to our open space."
The acreage at Mill Woods Park will likely be used for walking paths to watch birds and for general passive recreation.
Contact Ann Marie Somma at asomma@courant.com.