We had a good turnout again for the third night of public hearings on the petitions submitted by Eureka V. LLC.  Approximately 150 people attended and listened to 15 speakers who were uniformly opposed to Eureka's plans for the property.   Highlights of the topics addressed by the various speakers included:

ROSA Attorney Frank Cochran indicated that the age-restriction provisions included in the Eureka proposal are both unenforceable and illegal, and discussed alternatives which must be considered by the Commission in addition to the proposed MUCD (mixed use) zone and their so-called "as of right" commercial development.

James Warner of Wilton raised the possibility of the presence of the rare and endangered bog turtle on the property and indicated a search for the turtle should be done prior to approval of any development plans.

Lillian Willis, President of the Norwalk River Watershed Association presented a statement in opposition to the petitions due to their concerns for the condition of the Norwalk River.

Dick Harris, Director of Water Resource for Harbor/Riverwatch wrote a letter which disclosed the results of some of his water quality testing of the Norwalk River.  These results show that the river does not meet the quality of a Class B river, which is the rating presently given the Norwalk.  Mr. Harris believes that the effluent released by the Ridgefield and Georgetown sewage treatment plants may be significant contributors to the degradation of the water quality of the river.

Diane Warden, Program Coordinator and Senior Naturalist from the Nature Center for Environmental Activities at Westport spoke against the petitions due to the importance of protection the Norwalk River from further deterioration, and to preserve the Saugatuck River as a drinking water supply.

Bill Montgomery of the Swampfield Land Trust in Danbury supported the preservation of the property as open space due to its location adjacent to Wooster Mountain State Park and Pine Mountain Hemlock Hills open space preserves.

Other members of the public very effectively addressed issues of traffic, impact on private wells, school crowding, and the importance of preservation of open space.

Following the completion of the public comments, Chairman Gelfman then asked the Commissioners if they had any questions for the Eureka representatives.  They indicated that they did not, and therefore Dr. Gelfman adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m. and announced the continuation of the public hearing to Wednesday, July 7 at 8:00 p.m..  Apparently Eureka has requested additional time to prepare their rebuttal, and chose not to present it on Wednesday night.

Since the public hearing is still open, it is our understanding that the public still has an opportunity to speak or have letters read into the record.  We feel that an excellent case against the petitions has already been made during the three nights of hearings, and redundancy may only serve to irritate the Commissioners at this point.  However, if you have anything new to add to the record, please feel free to do so.

That being said, we truly hope that all of you will attend the fourth hearing to be held on July 7.  A show of significant public concern will encourage the Commission to do the right thing and vote the petitions down.  We hope you will be able to attend.

Ellen Burns,
President
Ridgefield Open Space Association