The first night of the Ridgefield Inland Wetlands Board (IWB) public hearing on Eureka's wetlands permit application went extremely well for ROSA, and we thank those of you who helped by making statements or writing letters opposing the application.

ROSA was very well represented by our attorney, Peter Cooper, and our soil scientist, Cynthia Rabinowitz during the hearing. Peter submitted a statement to the record on our behalf, and presented our legal arguments against the application very effectively. Cynthia made an excellent presentation, criticizing the "piecemeal" approach to the wetlands impact of their proposal. She specifically pointed out to the IWB that many developers are watching this application to see if such an approach to environmental review will work in Ridgefield. She told the members of the IWB that they would be setting a very dangerous precedent if they approve this application as submitted.

ROSA was also very effectively represented by some of our members: Scott Sharlow, Sarah Felice, Eric Kristoffersen, Debby Mandelbaum and Al Baker. All of these individuals gave excellent presentations which addressed a variety of environmental concerns.

Ridgefielder (and Wilton Environmental Affairs Officer) Pat Sesto wrote a strongly worded report on the Eureka application, pointing out the significant flaws and omissions in Eureka's efforts to construct their network of roads. Soil Scientist Mary Jaenig (who previously worked on the property in connection with the IBM Stewardship report) submitted a report, and ROSA member Eric Kristoffersen was able to use her data to clearly demonstrate the errors made by Eureka in their wetlands delineation. Other highlights of the evening included letters from BHC, which expressed serious concerns about the application and indicated it was incomplete, and from DEP Wildlife Biologist Julie Victoria, who pointed out that the property may be habitat for the state endangered and federally threatened bog turtle. We also received help from the 4th grade classes at Farmingville and Scotland Schools, both of which wrote letters opposing the permit application!

We were very pleased with the turnout for the public hearing - we counted 70 members of the public in attendance. We believe that ROSA made a significant impact with our efforts on Tuesday night, if the demeanor of the Eureka's representatives is a good indication - they left the hearing looking pretty grim. The IWB clearly listened to our arguments, and we feel they will look at the application very carefully in the context what they heard and saw on Tuesday night. Long-time board member John Katz commented at the end of the evening that it was the most cogent public presentation he had seen in his 21 years on the Board. We're very pleased that Mr. Katz viewed our presentation as compelling and relevant, as we worked very hard to make it so.

The public hearing has been continued to Tuesday, January 25 - this battle is not yet won. Please plan to attend if possible.

Happy holidays-


Ellen Burns
Ridgefield Open Space Association