Editorial: A perfect opportunity

Thursday, 29 July 2010 00:00

The town’s new Land Use Task Force is off to a rocky start. In addition to some public criticism over its makeup, one member has already resigned, citing a potential conflict of interest, before the group even received its mission statement on Monday night.

But the town can easily turn this into a positive move, by taking this opportunity to assuage the controversy surrounding this group and appoint a scientist and/or environmentalist in Louis Taffera’s place. Unfortunately, the Republican majority on the Town Board, including Town Supervisor Charles Duffy, a Conservative, will not add a replacement, further exacerbating the disagreement that will surround this group for a long time.

It’s not the people serving on the task force who are being called into question. This group appears to consist of upstanding citizens who will likely represent a certain viewpoint well, and with integrity. But it is not diverse, made up entirely of lawyers and engineers, most of whom have ties to developers, and all with some connection to the Republican Party. This group will have a major influence on how the town’s wetlands and land use regulations are shaped, and therefore should have members that represent most individuals in town, not just one party or perspective; remember that Lewisboro’s voter roll is almost split in thirds, among registered Republicans and Democrats, and unaffiliated voters.

But that may get in the way of what the board majority clearly wants: sweeping change to the town’s wetlands and land use regulations to favor developers and homeowners who want to build on their property. They even believe that’s why they were elected, even though they ran an anti-tax campaign that resonated with voters facing financial turmoil while suffering under one of the largest tax burdens in the country. Defining a wetland’s size was not on their minds when they pulled the lever in November.

There is a simple fix. Add someone with a scientific and environmental background to potentially offer a separate but equal voice on the task force, instead of simply seeking advice from consultants. The eventual changes to the land use laws, whatever they may be, will certainly impact the environment. It is absurd that someone who specializes in that field is not on this task force.