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
