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)
