Just a quick reminder to mark your calendars for a few upcoming important events
Friday, June 30, 2023
Monday, June 26, 2023
MIDDLEBURY FIRST SELECTMAN GOES TO ANOTHER TOWN TO FIND SUPPORT
Published in the Rep-Am on 6/24/23
MIDDLEBURY FIRST SELECTMAN GOES TO ANOTHER TOWN TO FIND SUPPORT
How interesting that Middlebury First Selectman Edward B. St. John has to go to Beacon Falls, where First Selectman Gerard Smith claims the state is interfering with local business “as usual,” to find support for his outrage against Rep. Bill Pizzuto, R-Middlebury.
Let’s look at the property we assume Mr. Smith identified as suffering from the “ripple effect” that would limit economic development in his town. The Republican-American identified it as “a 30-acre parcel on Lopus Road in an industrial zone.” Using the area tool on the Beacon Falls GIS website (with wetlands soil overlay) shows the property in question to have just about 2.5 acres of wetlands on the 30.9acre parcel. If this is an accurate depiction of the wetlands on the property, there is no ripple effect in Beacon Falls because the new provision applies only to properties with five or more acres of wetlands (that are also less than 150 acres total and within two miles of an elementary school).
If a wetlands mapping study has been properly done, and if the property does have more than five acres of wetlands, well, then perhaps Beacon Falls parents don’t want a 300,000-square-foot warehouse right next door to fields where kids play. The parcel directly borders the Beacon Falls Recreation Complex at 100 Pent Road.
Middlebury sure doesn’t want heavy industrial development this close to sensitive environmental receptors, and Middlebury residents thank the state for stepping in to protect our children’s health and our semi-rural, small-town way of life. The state stepped in because local officials refused to be accountable to the will of the people. That’s the beauty of democracy: the local authority given to towns for zoning and wetlands regulation comes from the state. What the state giveth, it can taketh away when this power is abused or ignored at the local level.
And, what the people giveth, that too can be taketh away at the next election.
Jennifer Mahr
Middlebury
The writer is president of the Middlebury Small Town Alliance
Friday, June 23, 2023
Important News Flash from the Middlebury Tax Assessor
“The Pizzuto text has rendered the (Timex) property worthless because the owners now can’t maximize the property value. The owners could appeal their current assessment so they can lower their property taxes due to the loss of property value.”
All Middlebury residents can now file assessment appeals because we too can’t tear our homes down to build distribution facilities and maximize our property values. Or, file an appeal because you can’t afford to paint your walls with gold paint, so that affects your future home value. While you’re at it, there’s no drive-thru in town, so that has definitely affected your property values because economic development has been driven away from town.
If a distribution facility IS eventually built, a Middlebury town official has confirmed that residential property values will be affected and we can all file appeals then.
This absurd logic would mean any vacant lot, or really any piece of property, should always be taxed at the maximum potential future value (using the most expensive, luxury materials) even if nothing is built on it or the current use is somehow less lucrative than a possible future use.
Thursday, June 22, 2023
As seen in the June 21st Edition of Voices: Middlebury Needs Long-Term Vision
Middlebury Needs Long-Term Vision
Jun 21, 2023
To the Editor:
Jun 21, 2023
To the Editor:
It is both astounding and disturbing that Middlebury’s elected leadership and appointed commissions failed to heed its residents’ well-articulated, vehement objections to the proposed gargantuan distribution center that would irreparably debase the character of the town to the detriment of the people who live here and most especially, to the residential neighborhoods that surround the proposed site.
Bill Pizzuto’s timely action has at least momentarily saved us from a cruel fate, and we should always be grateful. And Mr. Pizzuto saved the Planning and Zoning Commission from taking a vote on a project that contradicts P and Z’s goals, as stated in the Plan of Conservation and Development, namely to “maintain its semi-rural character.”
Even so, Middleburians should be prepared for the proposers, and others, to mount a vigorous effort to overturn the law because it imposes statewide zoning restrictions ahead of local control.
Little known is that the Middlebury Economic Development Commission passed a resolution earlier this year encouraging the Planning and Zoning Commission to reject the proposed use, stating that the existing use as a Light Industrial Zone is a “sensitive and consistent approach to development that was in concert with the adjacent residential development that occurred over time.” The same cannot be said for the unsuitable monstrosity planned as a substitute use. It simply does not belong here.
Whatever the immediate outcome, there are lessons in this experience for all of us who call Middlebury home. If we have no vision for our town’s long term economic development, we’ll always be susceptible to monied interests having their way with us.
Let that be a call to action for all who envision a bright future for our town. Bill Pizzuto bought us time, now we must take action to control our destiny.
Jim Smith
Middlebury
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Proud to partner with and showcase a Middlebury Small Business!
This fundraiser will run until the end of July. Please order directly through the tscalligraphy shop on Etsy and include MSTA in the notes section at checkout. Examples of work and the link to the shop are in comments. Ornaments are hand drawn and lettered.
Friday, June 16, 2023
In case you were wondering about budget bill impact...
In case you wondered how the recent provision in the budget bill could positively affect the relationship between smaller towns and nearby larger cities, the MSTA offered this opinion to the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments Executive Committee during its meeting this morning (First Selectman Ed St. John is a member of this committee along with all the other mayors/first selectmen in member towns).
A copy of this letter was sent to all of the CT General Assembly leadership: Speaker Matt Ritter, House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, Senate President Martin Looney, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, and Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly as well as Middlebury's delegation (Senators Joan Hartley and Eric Berthel and Representative Bill Pizzuto).
Monday, June 12, 2023
Thank you to Governor Lamont and the General Assembly for protecting small towns like Middlebury
With the signing of today’s budget, we wanted to say thank you to Governor Lamont and the General Assembly for protecting small towns like Middlebury. The budget includes a provision that sets a maximum size of 100,000 sf for warehouses and distribution centers in towns with a population of 6-8K per the last census (with certain conditions).
Representative Pizzuto also extends his thanks for the overwhelming support from his constituents over the last few days.
What’s next?
1. The Conservation Commission appeal continues…
2. Save the Date for a Planning and Zoning Public Hearing on 8/3 for our Proposed Moratorium on Distribution Facilities in Middlebury.
Thank you to everyone in Middlebury for your support and strong voices that helped bring about today’s good news.
THE NEW SIGNS ARE HERE!!
As many of you saw recently, the distribution facility's developers said they won't walk away. We don't intend to walk away either because WE LIVE HERE !
Reach out to our email to get yours!
middlebury.small.town.alliance@gmail.com
Sunday, June 11, 2023
Friday, June 9, 2023
Thursday, June 8, 2023
Heard Around Town
A strange new talking point has come to our attention claiming that “many people” in town support building a 670,000 sq ft distribution facility on the Timex Property at 555 Christian Rd. To quote Conservation Commissioner Bosco, let’s “rely on the science” to evaluate the truth of this statement.
Our methodology: we headed to Town Hall, and looked at the official record for the Southford Park application (also known as the Conservation Commission Application #490 - 555 Christian Rd/764 Southford Rd). We also checked the minutes of the January 5th Planning and Zoning Public Hearing. Here’s what we found:
At the January 5, 2023 P&Z Public Hearing:
• 90 residents signed a petition OPPOSING the proposed text amendments to allow distribution facilities in the LI-200 zone
• Dozens of additional OPPOSITION emails were acknowledged by ZEO Curt Bosco (exact number not listed in the P&Z minutes but should be available in the file at Town Hall)
• 18 residents spoke AGAINST the application during the public hearing
• The rest of the residents who wanted to speak but were cut off at 9pm signed a sheet documenting their opposition (exact number not known but should be available to look at)
• One letter from the owner of the Middlebury Racquet Club was IN FAVOR of the text amendment (plus an additional request that a proviso specifically adding the wording “Commercial Health Club Facilities and any Special Exception uses permitted under Section 42.4 not to exceed fifty (50) feet”
Conservation Commission file for Application #490:
• 139 citizens sent in written correspondence OPPOSED to the application
• One of these letters spoke for 138 residents at Ridgewood, all OPPOSED to the application
• 15 members of the public spoke AGAINST the application at the 3/28/23 public hearing
• 50 members of the public spoke AGAINST the application at the 4/3/23 public hearing
• 4 members of the public spoke AGAINST the application at the 4/18/23 public hearing
Additional Data:
• Hundreds of residents showed up wearing OPPOSITION RED during the nine meetings the Conservation Commission held between January 31 and May 10, 2023
• The Conservation Commission meetings had to be moved to the Pomperaug High School Auditorium to accommodate the number of OPPOSED residents attending meetings
• The 100-person limit on ZOOM was exceeded for multiple meetings and had to be upgraded to 500 people
• Multiple major news sources reported on the OPPOSITION: NBC, WFSB, WTNH, Hartford Courant, CT Mirror
• 350 OPPOSITION lawn signs were given out
• 260 donors gave more than $60,000 to fund the OPPOSITION
• Dozens Marched for Middlebury on April 30th
• Pies and Pub fundraiser - given 10% of profits (P&P made $4000, MSTA got $400)
• Time and expertise donated: graphic design
In summary, there is only one recorded instance of someone supporting this project between January 5th and now. There are hundreds of data points demonstrating OPPOSITION in multiple ways. If it is true that “many people” support the project, where have they been? How would you recognize this support? Where are the signs or letters or official color or comments on the record at public meetings? Where is the Facebook Group or posts on the Middlebury Facebook Group? Show us the “science,” because we truly believe that everyone has a right to express their opinion. In fact, we invite everyone (either FOR or AGAINST a distribution facility) to the August 3rd Planning and Zoning Public Hearing at 7pm for the MSTA’s Proposed Zoning Regulation Amendment, a Moratorium on Distribution Facilities of any size and Warehouses in excess of 100,000 square feet. (Application #23- 26Z). The purpose of the application is to give everyone in Middlebury an opportunity to weigh in on what we want our future to look like. If you want this for Middlebury, then say so and let’s talk about the pros and cons. Otherwise, the data proves Middlebury overwhelmingly OPPOSES a distribution facility in our town.
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
Fingers Crossed
“House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, also confirmed the section targets the Drubner project.
While House Republicans have objected to the insertion of other provisions unrelated to the budget in the budget package, he said there are no objections to this provision.
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