LETTER: Town officials engage in scare tactics

Last Updated on Saturday, 10 December 2011 02:04 Written by Jim Urbano
Friday, 09 December 2011 14:20

To the Editor:

The Boards of Finance and Selectmen claim that “Woodbridge tax rates will climb significantly” if townspeople say “No” to Toll Bros. It’s unfortunate that town officials have resorted to scare tactics. The sale is not good for Woodbridge.

Is it smart to sell land for $1.8 Million, yet keep $5.2 Million in debt --or to own the golf course and forfeit $166,000 in property taxes? The massive debt will commit taxpayers to debt service for twenty ears, and dim hope for any future open space protection.

The Conservation Commission, despite misrepresentations by town officials, NEVER endorsed the sale of a piece of the golf course. It advocated for the sale of the entire property, with protective easements on 135 acres, and development rights for 15 acres --one package and one sale resulting in far greater tax revenue. A BOS consultant stated that “there’s always a market for a good golf course.” Yet the town refuses to engage a professional to sell it, and truly reduce debt and increase income.

Who will be next after the precedent is set for spot zoning? (Toll Bros is already eyeing the Hubbell Farm, also in a Residential 1 zone.) What good is our Town Plan of Conservation and Development, drawn to ensure orderly development, if it’s not supported? And why undermine an already-approved 55-and-over development that will produce more than twice the tax revenue? There are just too many fiscal contradictions to the town’s argument.

Taken together with the recent appointment of three political insiders to the Conservation Commission, the town is in trouble. As much a referendum on the Toll Bros sale, Tuesday’s vote will decide whether an independent Conservation Commission will be a watchdog of the town‘s open space, or become the lapdog for a political machine.

James Urbano, Woodbridge Conservation Commission