|
Printed From Acorn-Online.com Wilton Bulletin
That was the message of some 50 residents who spoke out at a meeting on the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development at Wilton High School on Monday. The meeting started with a series of workshops, asking residents to mark on aerial maps of the town the places where they lived, the things they were most proud of and those that they were sorry about. A fourth table was set up with boxes marked with various traits of the town, from open space and natural resources to community facilities and transportation. Each resident was given $50 in fake money — a twenty-dollar bill, two tens and two fives — and asked to “spend” the money on the things most important to him or her. It was not possible to make change, so people had to decide what was most important to them when spending their $20 bills. The residents in attendance chose open space as their top spending item, shelling out $435 in that box. Town character came next, with $325, followed by Other Transportation at $270, Natural Resources at $220, and Housing Needs at $205. Traffic and Circulation earned $185 of support, Business Development came in at $175, Village Enhancement at $170, Special Resources at $145, Community Facilities at $115, Utilities at $70, and Residential Development at $70. Glenn Chalder of Planimetrcis, the consultant hired to help the Planning and Zoning Commission craft a new plan — a state-mandated effort every 10 years — said the plan was an “aspirational document” that is “intended to indicate the most desired uses of the land” in town. The commission will be working on crafting the document in the coming months, using the comments from the public, and from other town officials and boards and commissions, to determine in what direction the town should head over the next 10 years, he said. Ending the workshop session of the meeting, Mr. Chalder revealed the completed maps, showing the green stickers of “prouds” spread throughout town, over locations like Ambler Farm, Weir Farm, the schools, and the Norwalk River. “In our experience, if I ask you what we should be in the future, or what Wilton should do, you’re not prepared to answer,” said Mr. Chalder of why the workshops were necessary and the sticker locations so telling. “In a sense, this is a map of the type of things people would like to encourage in the future,” he said of the green stickers, adding they provided a “sense of the culture of the town.” “They’re the things that, if we’ve been away on a trip, let us know that we’re home.”
Dislikes When Mr. Chalder showed the map covered in red stickers, indicating “sorrys,” a ripple of laughter went through the crowd. The vast majority of stickers were nearly in a straight line, essentially running the length of the Route 7 corridor, with another cluster over Wilton Center. Of the red sticker map, Mr. Chalder said, “these are the things, perhaps, that we’d do differently if we had to do them over again.” He asked residents what they were saying when placing their stickers, what were they sorry about in town. “Cheesy development,” said one resident. “The lack of planning in Wilton Center,” said another. “Total lack of scale,” said another, indicating the various architectural styles in the Center. “I don’t believe everybody likes what has gone on and what is going on” in the Center, said Richard Ziegler. “Everything from the lighting to the style of buildings.” Another woman said the “huge number of office buildings” was detracting from the town’s character. “The truly hideous greeting to anyone coming from the south into town by the Joseph Stalin electric transmission station,” said Mac MacGregor. Mr. Chalder said the response from Wilton residents was similar to that of other towns. When asked what they were proud of, people tend to focus on the “big issues,” commenting on open space, natural resources and the like. On things they were sorry about having, people tend to focus on specific items, the “blemishes, irritants and deficiencies,” he said.
Open space Going through the priorities of the residents — the list of spending items from the workshop — Mr. Chalder asked residents what they meant when they spent money on the idea of “open space.” While it might have seemed the residents simply wanted the town to focus on buying more land, after talking with the residents, Mr. Chalder said, his sense was there were two separate issues brought forward. “It’s that notion of green,” said Richard Dubow. “As we traverse the town and travel over its roads, we want to see more green.” One woman said residential development and the clear-cutting of land was changing the look of the town. “I think what starts to happen is you see these large hillsides developed, which used to be pastoral,” she said. While the land may never have been public open space, the clearing of the properties has taken away from the open, forested look of the town, she added. “I think residential development and open space parks, I think there’s a disconnect here,” said Mr. Ziegler. “I think what the community is becoming ... you see city-like traits encroaching on Wilton. I see it as the Westchesterization of this area.” Mr. Chalder said his interpretation of residents’ comments was that while they supported the continued preservation of open space, a second factor was a sense of a “loss of openness” because of increased development and land clearing on private property.
Character Second on the list of spending priorities was the “community character” of the town. Mr. Chalder said this was a difficult concept to define, because it meant different things to different people, and of those in attendance, there was a debate over whether character was defined more by the physical traits of the town or the members of the community. “The term rural, or semi-rural, ties into this,” said Mr. Ziegler. “If anybody still thinks Wilton is rural, they’re living in the wrong town,” said Toni Lee. “Redding is rural, they have unpaved roads.” Ms. Lee said Wilton’s character was more about “the kinds of things that bring people together,” the clubs and organizations and community events held each year. Robert Faesy said the character of the town was steeped in its history and the preservation of historic buildings in town. He said the changing “scope and scale” of buildings, both residential and commercial, was taking away from that character.
Natural resources After briefly skipping over transportation issues, noting the need for more mass transit and other options like sidewalks and bike trails, residents focused on natural resources, particularly highlighting the Norwalk River, but also the issue of water quality in general. “That river that runs through our town could be the catalyst that brings the ribbon of beauty through the town and meshes together” all the things people like about Wilton, a woman said. “You see it in Europe, every town that has a river celebrates it.” “The river is really the spine of the town,” said Mr. Faesy. One resident said the town, particularly in the Center, “treats the river like a sewer,” and said it should be protected, with a greenway and walking trail set up along its length through town. Shifting to the issue of water quality, many residents tied in the issue of residential development with the damage being done to the natural resources in town. “I had a wake-up call this summer,” said Fred Herot. “One of my neighbors put in about half an acre of sod and installed a sprinkler system. My concern is that increasing movement from 2,000 square feet to 8,000 square feet ... we’re going to see a greater and greater impact on our water resources.” Mr. Ziegler said the region is one giant watershed that is being threatened by increasingly larger homes. “I live in a part of town where somebody is putting up an 18,000-square-foot house,” he said, adding the land around the home had been stripped of trees. “To cut down over two acres of trees for this?” Mr. Ziegler said the land clearing was all done legally and within town regulations, and he would like to see greater protections put in place to prevent future large-scale land clearing in residential areas.
Housing Moving to the issue of housing in town, residents at the meeting said there needed to be a diversity of housing, where young families and older couples could get a foothold in town or downsize as their incomes diminshed. “Having been here for 45 years, I’ve watched people begin to leave here faster and faster,” said Mr. Faesy, adding there weren’t enough options for seniors who might want to downsize in town. Another resident said the town’s population was becoming increasingly transient, with people moving in for a few years before heading on to another town. “You might as well have a town of renters,” he said. Peter Hastings said the lack of affordable housing for those on fixed incomes was a real problem in town. “We have fewer than 100 units, except for some small condos,” for residents over 55, he said, adding there’s nowhere for people to go who want “to move out of our big house,” and they are being forced out of town as taxes continue to rise. And for those looking to move into town to raise families, the options are also limited, residents said. “The starter houses are all being whacked over to make the mega houses,” said Pat Sidas. © Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers |
