A public hearing date of Tuesday, February 10, 2009 (8 PM at the Town Grange Hall) has been set by the Planning and Zoning commission (PZC) to hear public input on the Morgan Estates application. As mentioned elsewhere in this blog, this is an 8-lot subdivision that threatens to fragment and harm sensitive wetland and box turtle habitat, as well as impacting the character of the Landing Hill area. If you live in the Landing Hill area, between the villages of East Haddam and Moodus, or are concerned about the continued suburbanization of our rural community, you are urged to attend the public hearing and speak out.
Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes. The deeper inappropriateness of residential home construction in the midst of the current economic crisis, as well as environmental crisis and emerging peak oil scenario deserves to be aired and considered in a public forum. It is common knowledge that home construction is not real economic development; it does not produce net revenue for the town. Instead, it is an old idea that people that own land should be able to anything they want with it, even if it is bad for the community. The times demand that we rethink this approach to community wellness. Unfortunately, like the Inland Wetlands Commission, the PZC is securely stuck in the old paradigm and will only review the application on its face value and ability to promise to meet current zoning regulations. The ideals needed to steer our town on a better course will not be considered - unless we demand it.
Every time these developments come up for public comment it is an opportunity to speak truth to power where grassroots folks can ask that the town watch out for the best interests of the community and not the profit motive of developers. During the recent motion filed by the town and the developer to dismiss an appeal of the Inland Wetlands Commission decision to allow this development, both the town and the developer were on the same side arguing for a dismissal. Despite that fact that prior rulings established a clear record of case law on the matter, the town and developer joined together to waste tax payer money on a frivolous motion. Rightfully, the motion was dismissed, but not without first creating additional legal bills for all parties including the town.
The scenario in which town and developer, and their respective lawyers, gang up on taxpaying landowners is important to be aware of. The old paradigm does not protect the town or the towns people and it is up to us to demand change. Yet still we see these commissions succumbing to old ideas about perceived but false revenue generation and land rights. It is imperative that the rights of the land itself and the other creatures living on the land be acknowledged by our actions - through the execution of properly constructed regulations.
As described in our experience with the Wetlands Commission, despite reasonable regulations, the process to implement and enforce them is woefully inadequate. We should not let this practice continue - the PZC public hearing on the 10th is a great place to have your voice heard!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Dr. Seuss Tells All
If you haven’t read Dr. Seuss’ book, The Lorax, you should. And then, we suggest, passing it along to a young person! Here is a cute review we found on the Amazon site, written by a fellow East Haddamite.
There’s not much to say, so many things to write
About this book by Seuss, a zinger with a theme that’s less than trite
As usual he invents words and things and animals to delight
There’s no stopping his inventiveness, his genius gives me to fright
But read on I must, and so must you
For he offers a commentary on the world around too
It isn’t so sweet really, and the kids would do well
To learn this early instead of thinking all’s swell
The trees of Truffula offered fruit divine
Until they were all chopped down by a capitalist swine
He doesn’t really say that, I phrased it myself
Forgive the intensity from this young scribe elf
But you see, just recently I had this vision
Of a culture that’s driven
Past the red line
I tried to convince the local middle school principal, yes I did
To simply show to a film to our kids
A film called The Story of Stuff, it’s really quite stunning
And not a stone’s throw from Seuss’s moral funning
But he said no and I learned convincingly
That our attachment to the status quo is practically instinctual
This book, and yes the film too I’m happy to say
Try to raise the bar
To admit that our growth economy has gone a bit too far
No he would not show the Story of Stuff
The kids might get upset, it would be too tough
To affect their belief in Santa Claus
And all that he stands for
Oh but that’s just one example of many
For me, a silly parent, a concerned ninny
So yes, Seuss does it well, surely better than me
He starts with a book about a simple tree
And then there are thweaters or something equally funny
Things you can wear when sleeping or running
They are most needed, we couldn’t be without them
So they cut all the trees and made enough for all, no doubt then
‘Cept a funny thing happened they didn’t expect
The water turned black and the air smelled like heck
The birds flew away, the animals fell ill
The price for the tweaters (or whatever they’re called) was a bitter pill
You get the gist - its an important message
Enjoy the education, take steps to unsuppress the suppressage
Whether with the books you read, like this one
Or the causes you champion, like challenging curriculum
Its for the kids I say this, for the kid’s future
We’ll all be better off - with the help of ideas Seuss help nurture
There’s not much to say, so many things to write
About this book by Seuss, a zinger with a theme that’s less than trite
As usual he invents words and things and animals to delight
There’s no stopping his inventiveness, his genius gives me to fright
But read on I must, and so must you
For he offers a commentary on the world around too
It isn’t so sweet really, and the kids would do well
To learn this early instead of thinking all’s swell
The trees of Truffula offered fruit divine
Until they were all chopped down by a capitalist swine
He doesn’t really say that, I phrased it myself
Forgive the intensity from this young scribe elf
But you see, just recently I had this vision
Of a culture that’s driven
Past the red line
I tried to convince the local middle school principal, yes I did
To simply show to a film to our kids
A film called The Story of Stuff, it’s really quite stunning
And not a stone’s throw from Seuss’s moral funning
But he said no and I learned convincingly
That our attachment to the status quo is practically instinctual
This book, and yes the film too I’m happy to say
Try to raise the bar
To admit that our growth economy has gone a bit too far
No he would not show the Story of Stuff
The kids might get upset, it would be too tough
To affect their belief in Santa Claus
And all that he stands for
Oh but that’s just one example of many
For me, a silly parent, a concerned ninny
So yes, Seuss does it well, surely better than me
He starts with a book about a simple tree
And then there are thweaters or something equally funny
Things you can wear when sleeping or running
They are most needed, we couldn’t be without them
So they cut all the trees and made enough for all, no doubt then
‘Cept a funny thing happened they didn’t expect
The water turned black and the air smelled like heck
The birds flew away, the animals fell ill
The price for the tweaters (or whatever they’re called) was a bitter pill
You get the gist - its an important message
Enjoy the education, take steps to unsuppress the suppressage
Whether with the books you read, like this one
Or the causes you champion, like challenging curriculum
Its for the kids I say this, for the kid’s future
We’ll all be better off - with the help of ideas Seuss help nurture
Friday, January 2, 2009
Motion to Dismiss: DISMISSED
Update to the appeal. In late December, the judge that heard the motion to dismiss ruled in favor of the Plaintiffs - those that have filed the appeal of the wetland decision. In his decision, the judge ruled that the arguments presented by both the town and the developer asking that the appeal be dismissed because it was filed too late, did not hold sway with him. Given that there was more than one newspaper that carried the public notice, both are equally valid and both start the clock ticking with regard to the time period in which an appeal must be filed. The second notice, published in the weekly paper, the Regional Standard (and its free version, Regional Express), in effect, extended the time period for the filing of the appeal.
It is interesting to note that during this hearing, the town and the developer were clearly on the same side. That does not say much for the rights of taxpaying residents! Unfortunately for everyone involved, the motion to dismiss was simply a costly waste of time. Poor judgment, perhaps, by both the town and the developer's attorneys given that there already was clear legal precedence established for the simple issue of whether a public notice printed in a subsequent publication has any binding effect. The judge was careful to note that his decision was intended to give the benefit of the doubt to those people - taxpaying residents - that are so greatly affected by decisions made by the land use commissions in town. This seems appropriate and, unfortunately, not the normal sense that one gets when dealing with the process of land use decision making.
Good advice for the town might be that they stop confusing the issue by printing notices in more than one paper, decide which paper is the official vehicle for notifying the town folks, and then make this clear to those folks. That would be in the spirit of service to the town taxpayers.
It is interesting to note that during this hearing, the town and the developer were clearly on the same side. That does not say much for the rights of taxpaying residents! Unfortunately for everyone involved, the motion to dismiss was simply a costly waste of time. Poor judgment, perhaps, by both the town and the developer's attorneys given that there already was clear legal precedence established for the simple issue of whether a public notice printed in a subsequent publication has any binding effect. The judge was careful to note that his decision was intended to give the benefit of the doubt to those people - taxpaying residents - that are so greatly affected by decisions made by the land use commissions in town. This seems appropriate and, unfortunately, not the normal sense that one gets when dealing with the process of land use decision making.
Good advice for the town might be that they stop confusing the issue by printing notices in more than one paper, decide which paper is the official vehicle for notifying the town folks, and then make this clear to those folks. That would be in the spirit of service to the town taxpayers.
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