More Signs

Thanks to a generous Southbury donor, another round of yard signs have been ordered and are expected in the next week or so. We’ll let you know when they arrive and how you can get one.

We continue to be humbled and amazed at the level of financial support many have offered. We have fully covered all legal, expert witness, and other costs associated with the fight at the Conservation Commission, and are now turning our attention to fundraising for the court appeal, which is estimated to cost $10-$12K over the next year. Many have offered other fundraising ideas, and we will be sharing those fun opportunities once they are ready to go.

Please continue to talk to your friends and neighbors. The Conservation Commission was just one of many hurdles this application has to clear, and the fight is far from over or pre-determined. The MSTA will be before the Planning and Zoning Commission on June 1st when it accepts the moratorium application we filed (Thursday, June 1st at 7pm at Shepardson, we requested a September public hearing date).

In the meantime, what can you do while we wait to see what kind of application is filed at P&Z?

• Write letters to the Editor (Voices and Republican-American). Voices in particular has failed to provide any real, in-depth coverage of this issue, especially from Middlebury residents’ point of view.

• Attend Board of Selectmen meetings and get your opinion on the record during the public comment at the end of the meeting. Meetings are held the first and third Mondays of the month at 4pm in the 3rd floor conference room at Town Hall. Since the town recently removed direct email address links from its website, it seems like sending your opinion via email isn’t a preferred method of communication anymore.

• Sign the petition. The online version currently has 526 signatures and we’re starting to receive paper copies people have returned (remember to cross out #3 if you have the original version of the petition).

• Engage in conversation with the Planning and Zoning commissioners you might know. Since there is no application before them at this point, they are free to talk with you about your opinion of what does or doesn’t belong in the LI-200 zone in Middlebury.

• Attend the Republican or Democratic Town Committee meetings (Republicans meet the second Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm at Shepardson Center, Rm 26, Democrats' meeting schedule is not available online, contact Curt Bosco for details). Both Committees control the selection process for people chosen to sit on all town boards and commissions, so if you feel those chosen to represent you aren’t representing you well, the Town Committees need that feedback.

Threatened Litigation

For anyone with a paper copy of the petition, please cross out #3. It came to our attention that the statement made in #3 relied on a factual error. While this was an understandable and inadvertent mistake, Norman Drubner threatened the MSTA with litigation. The MSTA wants this discussion to be accurate, but also wants to stay focused on the great lengths to which the town has gone to push this project despite the public’s wishes. See below for relevant documentation. A new copy of the petition will be published shortly and the online petition has been corrected. 

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For Immediate Release

The Middlebury Small Town Alliance, Avalon Farms Homeowners Association and Gary Kline have filed an appeal with the Superior Court challenging the town Conservation Commission’s decision to issue a wetlands permit for a controversial distribution facility proposed for Christian Road at the former Timex headquarters. “The Alliance is upset at the lengths the Conservation Commission went to rationalize a very unpopular decision”, said Jennifer Mahr, President of the Alliance. “It was clear the site could have been developed without destroying wetlands. The Applicant and the Town seemed to be mocking the whole idea of wetlands protection. It was like a joke to them.”

The facility, a 670,000 square foot distribution facility and trucking center designed for an undisclosed company, is deeply disliked by residents. The many meetings and hearings held on the permit were well-attended by the public, with overflow into other rooms and filling the auditorium at Pomperaug High School. At no time did anyone speak in favor of the proposal, except the Applicant and the town ZEO, Curt Bosco, who is also a member of the Conservation Commission.

“The feasible and prudent alternatives analysis was flawed. The Applicant seemed to be intentionally offering alternative plans that were worse by adding things to the original proposal like housing, not reducing the footprint and then adding in artificial sweeteners to their preferred proposal. It was insulting”, added Keith Ainsworth, the New Haven attorney representing the Alliance, “It was obvious they were sabotaging any plan but the one they wanted and the town went happily along with it.”

The appeal, filed in Superior Court at Waterbury, describes the decision as arbitrary, lacking credible evidence and internally contradictory. “It’s pretty shameful for a wetlands agency to buy into the philosophy that some wetlands are second-class and not worth saving”, Mahr noted.

The lawsuit also faults Conservation Commission chairman, Paul Bowler, for his lack of attendance at the various hearings and for town officials attempting to suppress public comment and free speech through “a contorted reading of the Middlebury Code of Ethics,” characterizing the tactic as “intimidation”.

The MSTA also filed a zoning text amendment application with the town’s Land Use Office, asking for a one-year moratorium on any distribution facility regardless of size and any warehouse use comprising a gross floor area in excess of 100,000 square feet. The purpose of the moratorium is to provide the Middlebury Planning and Zoning Commission with ample time to analyze thoroughly and thoughtfully Middlebury’s Light Industrial 200 (LI-200) District and to determine whether the district is reasonably suited to support “distribution facilities” and large warehouse operations. “A moratorium would allow Middlebury residents the opportunity to participate fully in the decision-making process,” Mahr said. “Even though hundreds of residents have repeatedly told town officials that distribution facilities have no place in Middlebury, all we’ve been told is that the Code of Ethics prevents town officials from sharing their opinions, and that an application ‘has to be approved’ if it meets all regulations. That might be true if we were talking about a site plan application for a currently permitted use in the LI-200 zone, but no one has a “right of use” to fill in wetlands, and distribution facilities are not currently permitted in the LI-200 zone.”

A copy of the appeal will be posted on the MSTA’s website, here: Conservation Commission Appeal

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Meeting with Police Chief Deely

Jennifer Mahr, President of the MSTA, requested to meet with Police Chief Deely this morning to discuss productive ways Middlebury residents can continue to express their opposition to the proposed distribution facility at 555 Christian Rd. Both agreed that residents have every right to speak out against the project, and future MSTA meeting notices will contain helpful suggestions on how the public can participate.

Here are several suggestions on how to express your opinion regarding the Conservation Commission’s decision on application #490 or anything else you’d like to comment on:

• Sign the petition (in person or online, doesn’t matter)

• Call the First Selectman’s office: 203-758-2439

• Email the Board of Selectmen: firstselectman@middlebury-ct.org

• Attend a Board of Selectmen meeting: 4pm on the first and third Monday of the month in the Town Hall Conference Room

• Attend the Democratic or Republican Town Committee monthly meetings. Republicans meet at 7:30pm on the second Tuesday of every month at Shepardson Community Center, room 26. The Democratic meeting schedule is not online, contact Curt Bosco for details. Both committees control the nomination process for town boards and commissions. If you’d like to volunteer to serve on a town board or committee, contact the appropriate town committee for details.

Thank you to all of you who continue to speak out and stand up for Middlebury!

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Resignation Petition

At this afternoon's Board of Selectmen meeting, the MSTA informed the Board that it was starting a petition calling for the resignation of First Selectmen Ed St. John and Conservation Commissioners Paul Bowler, George Tzepos, and Curt Bosco for the following reasons:

1) We have lost confidence in each person’s ability to represent Middlebury citizens’ wishes in matters affecting the entire town;

2) Middlebury’s Code of Ethics has been improperly used to silence town officials’ rights to express a personal opinion on an issue of great public interest;

3) The Town of Middlebury previously approved the development of residential projects adjacent to a Light Industrial Zone but now is inviting in a heavy industrial use that threatens the health, well-being, safety, and property values of Middlebury residents;

4) Chairman Paul Bowler was chronically absent from the many meetings held on Application #490 but appeared in time to vote for the project;

5) A minority (3 members) of the 7-member Conservation Commission approved Application #490 in what appeared to be a rushed vote when the full Commission was not present;

6) Commissioner George Tzepos and Chairman Paul Bowler admitted publicly that they were personally not in favor of the project but voted to approve so the town did not get sued; and

7) Commissioner Curtis Bosco justified his vote for the project based on what he personally wanted to see happen on the property as the Town’s Zoning Enforcement Officer, in direct contradiction to the expressed wishes of Middlebury residents.

Anyone is free to print out the petition, sign it, ask your friends and neighbors to sign it, and then mail it to us at PO Box 1073, Middlebury, CT 06762 or email it to middlebury.small.town.alliance@gmail.com

Petition PDF Link

Online Petition

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