Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Monday, January 30, 2023
TOWN UPDATE: New Meeting Information this week 1/31 & 2/2
The town is hearing our collective voice! Let's show up to the meetings (wearing red) so everyone knows we are united.
In response to requests from Middlebury residents who wish to participate in the ongoing Land Use Commission proceedings, the following accommodations have been implemented:
Both meetings will be held at the Shepardson Community Center Auditorium.
Conservation Commission Meeting, Tuesday, January 31, 2023, 7:30 pm.
Planning and Zoning Commission, Thursday, February 2, 2023, 7:00 pm.
Both meetings will be available via ZOOM.
Conservation Commission link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
83582864100?pwd= bk11QTJwRG9jRldDcE9lazFiV2tqQT 09 (Meeting, not a Public Hearing). Planning and Zoning Commission link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
84868021279?pwd= WkVocFg0ek5obWhQd2diK00wTzFZZz 09 (Public Hearing).
The Shepardson Auditorium will have a sound system monitored by sound and video technicians to accommodate both the Commissioners and the public participants. The Commissioners will have microphones as will the podium.
The main Auditorium will have the Panel of Commissioners seated on the stage as to provide optimal seating on the floor for 150 audience members.
The adjacent dining room will be void of tables and be arranged with additional seating and audio/video feed.
Room 26 will have additional seating and audio/video feed.
A shuttle bus service will be available for overflow parking at both the Library and Town Hall. The Shuttle bus will traverse the parking lots of the Library, Town Hall and Shepardson commencing one half hour prior to each meeting. It will be available for the duration of the meetings and after the conclusion for the safety and convenience of the participants.
Commuters are asked to remain in their vehicles with flashers on to alert the shuttle driver for prompt pickup.
Police and Fire Officers will be on hand to insure the safety of the public.
Additional measures will be implemented as deemed appropriate.
Curtis Bosco
CZEO
Middlebury Planning and Zoning
1212 Whittemore Road
Middlebury, CT 06762
(203) 577-4162 Ext 2
Good News! Presenting the case at the Conservation Commission meeting
The Middlebury Small Town Alliance has been invited as an "intervener" to present its case at the Conservation Commission meeting tomorrow, 1/31, at 7:30pm in Shepardson Auditorium. Our civil engineer expert witness will be testifying.
A huge thank you to everyone who donated to make this possible!!!
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Meeting instructions for 1/31 and 2/2
Conservation Commission meeting - Tuesday, January 31st @ 7:30pm, Shepardson Community Center Auditorium
- Wear something RED to show your opposition to destroying wetlands on the Timex site
- Plan to arrive early to ensure you can find parking and a seat
- Here’s the meeting agenda: https://www.
middlebury-ct.org/sites/g/ files/vyhlif6871/f/agendas/ 013123_0.pdf - If you can’t attend, email your comments to the Wetlands Officer, Debbie Seavey at dseavey@middlebury-ct.org
by Tuesday, 1/31 at 4pm. - If you can’t attend, the meeting will be available to watch on Zoom. Here’s the link: http://us02web.zoom.us/j/83582864100?pwd=bk11QTJwRG9jRldDcE9lazFiV2tqQT09
Planning and Zoning public hearing - Thursday, February 2nd @ 7pm, Shepardson Community Center (room TBD)
- Wear something RED to show your opposition to adding Distribution facilities as a permitted use in the LI-200 zone
- Plan to arrive early to ensure you can find parking and a seat
- Meeting agenda is not yet posted, will be here: https://www.middlebury-
ct.org/planning-zoning- commission - If you can’t attend, email your comments to Curt Bosco at cbosco@middlebury-ct.org
If you try to attend either meeting and are turned away because you can’t find a place to park or you can’t get into the building, please email middlebury.small.town.
Good news! The Economic Development Commission (EDC) meeting minutes (amended unapproved) of January 23, 2023 have been updated to include the Commission's unanimous vote FOR the following resolution
The Economic Development Commission (EDC) meeting minutes
(amended unapproved) of January 23, 2023: https://www.middlebury-ct.org/
MINUTES - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Monday, January 23, 2023
Page 4
RESOLUTION FOR A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT
WHEREAS, the Economic Development Commission (the "EDC") is constituted to encourage balanced smart economic development in Middlebury, review architectural consistency, and recommend tax incentives where appropriate.
WHEREAS, the Town of Middlebury Planning and Zoning Commission is considering a proposal that would change the zoning ordinances as follows: January 5, 2023 Meeting: Application for text amendments of Sections 9.1 Definitions to add Distribution Facilities, 42.1 Permitted Uses to add Distribution Facilities as a permitted use, 42.2.4 Height of Buildings adding warehouses and distribution facilities not to exceed fifty feet to the current language.
WHEREAS, members of the Economic Development Commission (the “EDC”) have been contacted by a wide array of Middlebury property owners, homeowners, residents and constituent electors and taxpayers of the town regarding the proposed text change that would benefit one property in a commercial zone immediately adjacent to several neighborhoods; the proposed change would intensify the use of the commercial property and conduct of business beyond what is currently provided in the existing commercial zone.
WHEREAS, the new use would strain the local road infrastructure and impact the peaceful enjoyment of the residents of the immediate neighborhoods and the general conduct of life in town.
WHEREAS, the existing former use was a sensitive and consistent approach to development that was in concert with the adjacent residential development that occurred over time. This reality cannot be dismissed solely based on a permitted zone and simply adding provisions to increase intensity of use.
WHEREAS, the Planning and Zoning Commission should also respect that the town has other zones that will not impact neighborhoods in the same way and are better suited to accommodate the commercial intensity, infrastructure needs, and traffic attendant to the proposal currently under consideration.
WHEREAS, the Commission should consider that such a text change may result in other unintended consequences in similar commercial zones elsewhere in town.
WHEREAS, the Economic Development Commission (the "EDC") maintains that as the town's growth continues the EDC must recognize not just the desire for economic development and added value to the grand list to occur in such zones, but that such development needs to occur with a comprehensive approach and understanding of other residential and commercial development as it has evolved to date in such areas.
THEREFORE,
the proposal currently before the Town Planning and Zoning Commission
should be rejected in favor of other areas within town that are better
suited for such development. Consistent with this recommendation the
Commission should immediately proceed to the re-examination of our
commercial and industrial zones to consider designations where such uses
will not radically alter the enjoyment of other development that has
occurred in immediately adjacent neighborhoods and the local and state
road infrastructure is conducive to such developments.
Friday, January 27, 2023
Visualize a huge Distribution Facility, nestled between residential neighborhoods
What is the potential loss in tax revenue due to a 10-20% loss in home values within a 1 mile radius?
Why accept the health risks of jamming a High Pollutant Load Site in-between residential neighborhoods?
This project is larger that the entire Avalon Farms neighborhood, and those light blue dots to the west represent approved-but-not-yet-built homes in Benson Woods. Who wants to move there?
Tuesday, Jan 31st - Conservation Commission, 7:30pm @ Shepardson Community Center
Thursday, Feb 2nd - Planning and Zoning Public Hearing, 7pm @ Shepardson Community Center
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Why Can’t the Town just Vote NO???
January 27th is the one-month anniversary of an informational meeting hosted by the Avalon Farms HOA Board for its members with Curt Bosco, Middlebury’s Zoning Enforcement Officer, and First Selectman Ed. St. John. The purpose of the meeting was to answer questions about the Southford Park proposal (meaning the site plan before the Conservation Commission as well as the text amendments before the Planning and Zoning Commission). Several other Middlebury residents were invited to the meeting, including neighboring HOA board members and private landowners close to the Timex site.
Since that time,
opposition to the idea of a 750,000 sq ft distribution center in
Middlebury has grown immensely. However, the same question keeps popping
up: why can’t we just take a town vote and vote no?
Unfortunately,
CT state law gives the sole authority to Planning and Zoning
Commissions to make these kinds of choices. There is a process to
follow: someone applies with an idea, the idea is considered, the answer
is yes or no depending on several factors, the most important being
what right is conferred in the regulations. Essentially, if the rules
say something is allowed as long as the applicant meets all stated
requirements, the application can’t be denied if it meets all stated
requirements. This is what right-of-use means: If you want to put a
pool in your yard, the town can’t say no as long as you follow all the
rules for putting in a pool.
Because the
Planning and Zoning Commission is solely responsible for making all the
rules about what can go where, there can’t be another authority that
interferes with this process. As much as we all want to VOTE NO, we
can’t take a vote that would compel P&Z to do anything. We could all
sign a symbolic petition, but that would waste time and energy on
something that doesn’t really advance the cause.
What
does advance the cause? The upcoming Conservation Commission meeting on
January 31st at 7:30pm at the Shepardson Center is a key milestone in
the process. There is no public comment scheduled for the meeting, so no
one can speak opposition during the meeting. However, you can email it
in ahead of time to the Wetlands Officer - dseavey@middlebury-ct.org - and you can attend the meeting and watch the Commission discuss the
application. You could even quietly hold a sign that says: Opposed - Do Not Destroy Wetlands.
This
brings us to the heart of the issue before the Conservation Commission:
the destruction of wetlands. Per the Clean Water Act of 1972, all
parties seeking to construct projects that will have an impact on
wetlands must take all reasonable measures to avoid such impacts, to
minimize unavoidable impacts, and to provide mitigation for the
remaining unavoidable impacts.
Here’s the key: you can’t just skip to option #3. You must first take all reasonable measures to avoid such impacts.
Application #490 is using 19.1% of the allowed 20% usage of 111.9
acres. It’s basically shoving all the building it can onto the combined
properties at 555 Christian Rd. and 764 Southford Rd. It’s asking to
fill 15,608 sf of “isolated wetlands” so it can create 32,000 sf of
other “mitigation” wetlands elsewhere on the property. But the only
thing driving the filling of wetlands is the size of the building and
the surrounding access, parking and loading areas. Furthermore, the CT
Audubon reports that “many mitigation sites in Southern New England have
a high failure rate because they fail to meet performance standards
(Minkin and Ladd, 2003).” In other words, it’s expensive to build
mitigating wetlands correctly, and most developers don’t have the skill,
patience or desire to spend money on doing it correctly. Plus, who’s
really watching once the permits are issued and the project is approved?
In
this case, the mantra shared at the December 27th meeting was as
follows: “It’s just science. There’s not enough of an impact to wetlands
plus they are adding back twice as many, so it’s fine. The Conservation
Commission didn’t call a public hearing because it wasn’t a very
significant impact.”
The real science
is way different: filling wetlands is the very definition of
unreasonable impact. One is supposed to design a project in such a way
as to AVOID such destruction. Reducing the overall building size and
corresponding parking/loading areas would be an easy way to avoid filing
wetlands. This site is asking for 750,000 sf of building because it
maximizes the developer’s profit, not because it’s the best choice for
the surrounding environment.
It’s not a total
sum game either: what occurs naturally often isn’t replicated
artificially very easily. Sure, you can get an artificial arm after you
lose yours, but does it really function the same way? Likewise, the
random creation of new wetlands does not add value back to the original
system in the same way the original wetlands did. Add to this discussion
the fact that this proposed use is categorized a High Pollutant Load
Site by the CT DEP Storm Water Quality Manual “2004 Manual” and you
have a recipe for environmental disaster. The civil engineer hired by
the Middlebury Small Town Alliance to review the site plan submitted to
the Conservation Commission (Application #490) found 8 pages worth of
reasons why the site plan doesn’t comply with CT regulations on storm
water management. It wasn’t just one area of non-compliance, it was
piece after piece after piece of the design that was either not best
practice, designed incorrectly, or just flat out not the way it should
be done.
What do we conclude from all this?
Had someone not caught wind of what was happening around the holidays,
this application would have snuck right through the Conservation
Commission and Planning & Zoning with very little resistance and
little to no embedded protections for Middlebury residents. It’s not
just a simple text amendment before P&Z, it’s a request to change
the very nature of the LI-200 zone from a light industrial use (meaning
the affects of the use of the zone - pollution, noise, traffic, etc.) to
a heavy industrial use (heavy traffic, heavy pollution, heavy noise).
It’s asking us to put our children’s health and our own on the line
(asthma rates within a mile of a warehouse are at 55% and heart issues
are at 9.1% according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District
for the area encompassing LA, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino
counties) It’s asking us to shoulder all the negatives for what
positives? Some tax revenue that we might see way in the future once all
the tax abatements cease and property taxes rise so the other side of
town can compensate for the 20% loss to property values within a mile of
the project?
It’s just not worth it. Even the
Economic Development Commission doesn’t support this project: it voted
to send a resolution saying as much to the P&Z Commission at its
January 23rd meeting, and then was threatened the next day by the First
Selectman and Town Attorney with a Middlebury Code of Ethics violation
for sending an "unsolicited opinion" to another town committee. The
draft copy of the meeting minutes were altered to remove the language of
the resolution and the result of the vote. Not only is this a blatant
Freedom of Information Act violation, but it’s probably a federal civil
rights violation too.
We don’t have to take
any of this. Not the proposed zoning changes, not the “mansplaining”
away of important environmental issues, and certainly not the bad
behavior by our own officials. Please - this affects all of us, and not
just in Middlebury. The regional traffic pattern changes will trickle
out towards Southbury, Woodbury, Watertown and Oxford too. We’ll all pay
the cost, and we won’t be able to do a darn thing about it if
distribution facilities become a right-of-use in the LI-200 zone.
At
the beginning of this article, I said taking a town vote was a waste of
time and energy...that was a ploy to suck you into my article (hope it
worked) and to allow me to make my final point. You actually can vote.
You can vote with your body by attending the Conservation Commission
meeting on January 31st and the Planning and Zoning Meeting on February
2nd. You can vote with your mouth by sending emails to dseavey@middlebury-ct.org (
So let’s vote, and let’s take back our Town!
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Flyer - Middlebury Small Town Alliance
Feel free to print your own and distribute to others who would be impacted by a large distribution facility coming to Middlebury.
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Intervention application with the Conservation Commission... What is it and what does it accomplish?
Why did the Alliance file an intervention application with the Conservation Commission? What is it and what does it accomplish?
According
to the CT Office of Legislative Research, CGS § 22a-19 established a
general right of intervention in administrative proceedings involving
the public trust and other natural resources. “The
stated purpose of the bill was to provide a right of action for
declaratory and equitable relief for the protection of the air, water,
and other natural resources of Connecticut.” The full history of the
bill is here: https://www.cga.ct.gov/PS97/rpt/olr/htm/97-R-1481.htm
Common
law recognizes the right of an abutting property owner to sue
a neighbor for polluting, but parties without this standing had no way
in intervene against someone who unreasonably polluted the environment.
Intervention, then, is really about creating a legal right to be part of
the process.
In
this case (#490 – 555 Christian Road/764 Southford Road), the
Conservation Commission did not schedule a public hearing when it
accepted the applicant’s site plan. All the minutes say is “The members
of the Commission agreed that a Public Hearing was not required.”
The minutes of that meeting are here: https://www.middlebury-ct.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif6871/f/minutes/11292022_minutes_cc.pdf
The
filing of wetlands during a construction project is the very definition
of “adverse effect” on wetlands, and the applicant offered no feasible
alternative to this filling (like a smaller building footprint). While
the plan proposes to create other wetlands elsewhere on the property,
the one is not a direct replacement for the other, and it does not
relieve the burden of considering feasible alternatives to the
destruction of the original wetlands.
Filing
an intervention application with the Conservation Commission allows the
Alliance to present expert testimony on the site plan’s compliance with
the State's storm water management guidelines (spoiler alert: it
doesn’t comply). The proposed use is classified a High Pollutant Load
Site by the CT DEP 2004 Storm Water Quality Manual “2004 Manual” (Table
7-5, page 7-8), and so the plans have to demonstrate how this higher
pollutant load will be handled (spoiler alrert: they don’t).
The
irony in this story is that the Conservation Commission has the right
to ask for this expert analysis as part of its consideration of the
proposal, and the applicant would have had to pay for it. Instead,
Middlebury residents are paying for this expert analysis to make sure
that their town isn’t unreasonably polluted. Go figure.
Signs, Signs, Signs!!!
We got our signs in!
We are trying to prioritize high traffic areas for visibility if possible. This definitely includes areas in town that are further away from the current Timex site, as the zoning amendments, if passed, would allow distribution centers in LI-200 zones town-wide. Please keep signs 10 ft from the road on your own private property.
They will be available for pickup at Dunkin' from 5-6pm today (1/24/23). Depending on availability, we will have future times with more notice.
The signs cost the Middlebury Small Town Alliance $6 each.
Monday, January 23, 2023
Voices - An unsent letter to the editor (due to 300 word cap)
A Stitch in Time saves nine…
The origin of this proverb has been credited to ‘Gnomologia: A Collection of the Proverbs, Maxims, and Adages’ by Thomas Fuller in 1732, but Benjamin Franklin quoted it in Poor Richard’s Almanac and made it famous on this side of the Atlantic. Being the practical New Englanders they should be, I suggest Middlebury’s P&Z Commissioners consider this ancient wisdom as they ponder the proposed text amendments to add Distribution Facilities as a permitted use in the LI-200 zone in Middlebury. The right decision now will save the town of Middlebury a whole lot of anguish in the future.
Middlebury’s Plan of Conservation and Development prioritizes maintaining the “semi-rural, small town character of Middlebury” as its #1 Overall Goal. Middlebury’s First Selectman, Ed St. John, was quoted by Voices on June 6, 2001 in opposition to the Towantic Energy Power Plan in Oxford: “When you’re driven to increase tax revenue with something like this, you’ve lost your vision.” St. John was also quoted (again, in Voices) on November 15, 2000 as noting that “traffic could potentially damage Middlebury’s small-town character" (in reference to truck traffic though Middlebury for the power plant’s water and fuel requirements).
In case you don’t see where I am going with this, Voices quoted St. John on Dec 9, 2006 at a public information meeting on the State’s plan to purchase and demolish 71 homes in the Triangle Boulevard neighborhood: “there is a place for the creeping of industrial footprints, but that place is not in the backyards of a neighborhood.”
Yet here we are, staring right at a proposed 750,000 sq ft, 106 tractor trailer, 66 loading bay threat to Middlebury’s semi-rural, small town character, and all indications suggest that Middlebury’s town officials have changed their minds about what this means. The Conservation Commission did not schedule a public hearing on the site plan application for 555 Christian Road/764 Southford Rd (the Timex Headquarters property) despite the proposed use being classified a High Pollutant Load Site by the CT DEP 2004 Water Quality Manual, .35 acres of wetlands being destroyed, and no feasible alternatives proposed by the developer. The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on January 5th, but the room could not accommodate all the residents who wanted to hear the proceedings or give their comments, there was no microphone, the police turned people away from the filled Shepardson Center parking lot and thus the public hearing, and the hearing was limited to 2 hours despite the many residents who still wanted to speak. And, there was no copy of the proposed text amendments on file in the Town Clerk’s office 10 days before the hearing. Finally, the Economic Development Commission wasn’t even asked if it thought this proposed use would support its long-term development goals for Middlebury.
There are two housing developments and an elementary school in the immediate vicinity of this project, plus a high school with new drivers at the intersection of 188 and Judd Rd. Distribution facilities are linked to higher rates of asthma, hundreds if not thousands of truck trips daily, noise and light pollution, and the utter destruction of the peace, quiet and dark, star-filled night skies associated with a semi-rural small town.
The P&Z Commission has the sole and absolute authority, granted by CT state law, to approve or deny the application to add Distribution Facilities as a permitted use in the LI-200 zone. No applicant can come into our town and demand a right to a change we do not want, no matter how much money he/she might have. This should have been, and still could be, a careful, considered and fully involved conversation with the entire town involved in the conversation.
Let’s hope the P&Z Commissioners are willing to make that stitch in time, or all Middlebury residents (and Southbury parents with children at PHS and LMES too) will suffer an unrepairable tear to the fabric of our small town.
Feb 2nd - Planning and Zoning Public Hearing, 7pm @ Shepardson Community Center (at least for now)
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Middlebury Small Town Alliance - Suggested Actions Week of January 23-27
- Attend the Economic Development Meeting: Monday, Jan 23rd at 6:30pm, Shepardson Center Room 26
- Agenda is here: https://www.middlebury-
ct.org/sites/g/files/ vyhlif6871/f/agendas/edc_ agenda_2023-01-23.pdf - Public Comment is allowed at the end of the meeting: Voice your opinion —> do distribution facilities (and buildings 750,000 sq ft large) belong in Middlebury?
- Attend the Board of Education Meeting: Monday, Jan 23rd at 7:30pm, PHS Media Center
- Agenda is here: https://drive.google.
com/drive/folders/ 1M2b0SN6IJevYUUBjiaV45R1xCZUW3 GfM - A key item on the agenda is an update on the Bond Proposal
- Public Comment is allowed towards the end of the meeting: Voice your opinion —> should Region 15 hire appropriate staff to maintain small class sizes at the elementary/middle school level?
- Write Letters to the Editor
- Voices (Limited to 300 words, letter must include name, address, phone number and signature of the writer, and be faxed or dropped off in person at 55 Heritage Rd, Southbury by 4pm on Fridays for publication the following Wednesday. Anonymous letters are not considered.)
- Bee-Intelligencer: Letters to the editor may be emailed to mbisubmit@gmail.com or mailed to Middlebury Bee-Intelligencer, P. O. Box 10, Middlebury, CT 06762. Letters to the editor run as space permits. Please limit letters to 500 words, avoid personal attacks and understand letters will be edited. For verification purposes, please include your name, address and daytime telephone number. Only names and towns will be published. Anonymous letters will not be printed.
- Mark your calendar for February 2nd: Planning and Zoning continued Public Hearing at 7pm. Location presumed to be Shepardson Center. Might want to come early to get a parking place and a seat in the room.
- If you can’t attend, email your comments to cbosco@middlebury-ct.org fo
r inclusion in the public record. - If you experienced any difficulties attending the January 5th P&Z Public Hearing (couldn’t hear or see what was going on, not being able to speak during the hearing, being turned away from the parking lot, etc.) it is very important that you document these difficulties into the public record. Simply send an email to
- cbosco@middlebury-ct.org, give your name and address, and list your complaint.
- Support the Alliance financially: https://www.
gofundme.com/f/middlebury- small-town-alliance - We've raised $5,895 from 37 donors online and have another $2,000 that was donated in cash. Our fundraising total as of 7pm on 1/22 is $7,895!
- Thank you! We’ve raised what we need to cover the Civil Engineer expert witness expenses, and now we need to focus on our lawyer’s fees.
- If you would prefer to mail a check, checks should be made payable to Middlebury Small Town Alliance and sent to PO Box 1073, Middlebury, CT 06762
- Our incorporation costs were graciously covered by a donor, so our only current costs are the yard signs we ordered, the expert witness, and the lawyer.
- Reach out to your neighbors and friends: ask what they think about distribution facilities coming to Middlebury, and encourage them to participate in the process to have their opinions included on the record at Planning and Zoning. Now is the time to have your voice heard.
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Update on the legal front
Yesterday afternoon, the Alliance had its attorney file for intervener status at the Conservation Commission, and we asked for a public hearing to present expert testimony on the adverse impact of destroying wetlands on the Timex property. We also hired a civil engineer to review the site plan and to present findings to the Conservation Commission on the deficiencies of the site plan’s storm water management plan.
We understand there are some questions about what we mean by “legal fees,” and we are happy to explain. The civil engineer expert witness will cost about $6,000-$8,000: he’s reviewing the applicant’s site plan, analyzing it for its compliance with state regulations/best practices, and then will present those findings in person at the public hearing. The lawyer is $450/hr: he already met with us to review our options to oppose this project, and he prepared the filing with the Conservation Commission. He will attend the public hearings for both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Conservation Commission. His fees will easily reach the $15,000 -$20,000 range in a short period of time.
Our best chance to defeat a distribution facility in Middlebury is right now, when it is just an idea before the Conservation Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission. It is not a permitted use currently, and P&Z has wide discretion to deny the application because it is not right for Middlebury. Once P&Z votes to change our zoning regulations to allow distribution facilities in the LI-200 zone, there is little that can be done to stop the project or any other follow-on project because a right-of-use will have been established.
What it boils down to is this: we either pay some now to stop a bad idea from becoming reality, or we will pay a lot forever for the consequences of that reality. Middlebury will change if this project goes through, and no amount of “stipulations” by P&Z on the site plan will be able to mitigate that change. The town you know and love will be gone.
If you’re OK with that, then you can go back to your life, do you, and move on. We’re not OK with it, and we are going to do everything we can to ensure that P&Z makes their decision with all their neighbors and friends watching. There is no amount of theoretical future tax revenue that can compensate us, Middlebury residents, for the loss of how it feels to live in Middlebury. We’re a semi-rural, small town, and we’d like to stay that way. We shouldn’t be forced to change our minds because someone throws money at us to do so.
Please join our cause. We need everyone’s help in whatever capacity you can offer: time, money, attending meetings, writing Letters to the Editor, putting a sign on your lawn, talking to your neighbors, etc. All efforts, big or small, collectively will make the difference in the end.
(Plus, we’re looking forward to meeting all of you and making new friends!)
Friday, January 20, 2023
Welcome to the Middlebury Small Town Alliance!
We have gotten organized, started an LLC, and are off to the races for broader communication and donations!
Our mission is to protect and promote the semi-rural, small town character of Middlebury, CT. We are a group of Concerned Citizens who care about the decisions Middlebury town officials make about the future of our town.
Our Blog Website: https://middleburysmalltownalliance.blogspot.com/
Our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089737323095
Our Email: middlebury.small.town.alliance@gmail.com
Our GoFundMe Donations: https://www.gofundme.com/f/middlebury-small-town-alliance
Get Email Notifications: https://follow.it/middlebury-small-town-alliance?leanpub
Upcoming Events: https://middleburysmalltownalliance.blogspot.com/p/upcoming-events.html
- This is an exercise in citizen participation in the democratic process... and we need your help!
What else do I need to know?
- The Middlebury Small Town Alliance, LLC organizers are your neighbors and volunteers
- No donations will compensate organizers for the time they give to this cause
- Funding will go towards:
- Legal Fees
- Sign Printing
- LLC Setup
- Other Incurred Expenses
- All organizers will attempt to respond to all inquiries in a timely fashion
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Yard Signs
Our yard sign campaign will be underway soon! Will update everyone on how to get a sign as soon as we can.
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Jan 17th - Board of Selectman Meeting Turn Out
Timex Site Distribution Center struggle:
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Selectman Meeting!!!
Great points all around. Feel free to share them in the comments
Sunday, January 15, 2023
Board of Selectmen Meeting is this Tuesday, Jan 17 at 4pm in the Town Hall’s conference room
Timex Property Development:
The next Board of Selectmen Meeting is this Tuesday, Jan 17 at 4pm in the Town Hall’s conference room (not in the Shepardson Center). We need people there.
If you can’t make the meeting, please send an email by end of day tomorrow, January 16th to all the Selectmen. Your email subject should say something like “For inclusion into the public record for the 1/17/23 Middlebury BOS meeting.”
Feel free to share your feelings about lack of availability for town meetings in general (not televised or on zoom, no mic, not enough seating, standing outside, no parking, etc) and that this project would tank property values, affect our school system, and ruin the semi-rural, small town feel of Middlebury.
Plus it puts our children at Long Meadow Elementary School and Pomperaug High School in harm’s way (100s of truck trips per day, increased air pollution for asthmatics, etc.)
Here’s the email addresses:
Ed St. John - firstselectman@middlebury-ct.org
Elaine Strobel - estrobel@middlebury-ct.org
Sunday, January 8, 2023
Zoning Amendments - Help on Next Steps!
Zoning Amendments - Help on Next Steps!
- Email Region 15 Board of Education and attend Jan 9 BoE Meeting at
7:30pm in the PHS Media Center (Tomorrow): "As Middlebury residents and
representatives to the region, please represent the collective community
to oppose LI200 Zoning changes and the building of a large Distribution
Facility close to our schools. The proposed use is incompatible with
the current use of the zone" (Region15BOE@Region15.org)
- Mark calendars for the next Zoning Meeting on Feb 2nd
----> Email Curt Bosco to ask for a larger venue with a mic to allow all voices to be heard (cbosco@middlebury-ct.org)
- Call / email Ed St John: "Middlebury is a semi-rural small town, and
there is no place for a distribution facility of this size at the
proposed location. The proposed use is incompatible with the current use
of the zone" (firstselectman@middlebury-ct.org 203-758-2439)
- Message me directly if you would like to take a larger role supporting the cause
- Talk to your friends and neighbors to get the word out
- Stay tuned for more information!
Thursday, January 5, 2023
Amazing job, Middlebury!
Amazing job, Middlebury! Police had to manage traffic, and we ran out of parking spots!
The Zoning Hearing is still Open (good thing) - it means we need to mobilize again on February 2nd to make sure all voices are heard!
The Town had over 90 opposition forms submitted prior to the meeting, and needed a cardboard box to contain them all at the meeting!
Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Jan 5th Middlebury Planning & Zoning Hearing
For tomorrow’s Middlebury Planning & Zoning hearing for Distibution Facility zoning amendments, there are 6-7 planned speakers to kick things off, and ask that individuals please speak after.
The public Planning & Zoning hearing is Thursday Jan 5 @ 7:00 at the Shepardson Center. It has been moved to the larger auditorium to accommodate the expected number of people.
It is important to be physically present even if you choose not to speak.
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