HuntHrld 2007Jan5 UI Buddington Road proposal

The Huntington Herald does not retain articles for archive purposes, for benefit of my commentary (shown in ++ and red within it), I cut/paste the article here. The original article can be found at: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17674701&BRD=1346&PAG=461&dept_id=434928&rfi=6

Year-old land swap proposal still on table
ED HARRIS, Editor
January 05, 2007

The Board of Aldermen has appropriated funds to purchase a parcel of land on Buddington Road owned by United Illuminating Co. But it has not turned down a proposed land swap with Blakeman Construction.

++ I don't mean to be picky, but the Board of Aldermen "appropriate" money to the Open Space Trust Account via the budget process. Appropriate comes from the Latin "appropriare" meaning to set apart for specific purpose. The vote of the BOA on Dec14 was to "fund" the purchase from the Open Space Trust Account.

It appears a make-or-break decision on the land swap might come later this month during a Conservation Commission meeting.

++ The Jan3 CC meeting resulted in a consistent opinion to that which we have held regarding this parcel going back to the Open Space Plan of 1992. It is a valuable piece of property as an addition to the City's Open Space inventory.

Aldermanic President JohnAnglace said the aldermen asked the Conservation Commission to be their agent. "They'll explore what [Blakeman] is willing to do for the city," he said.

++ You can personally view a walk thru of the property and understand what we are evaluating. The video online and pictures online include occasional cuts to a map for orientation.

The land in question is the 10.85-acre UI property. The city exercised its right of first refusal a little more than a year ago when the Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to purchase the property as open space.

The city already paid a holding fee of $12,000 to UI Dec. 8 and must close on the deal before February. Corporation Counsel Tom Welch drew up paperwork to close even sooner in an effort to avoid any potential setbacks due to the holidays.

++ Again, to be picky, the parcel is 10.96 acres. The $12,000 was a deposit made on Dec 7 (ck#207822 if you want to be really detailed). The closing is set (as I write this on Jan5) for MonJan15.

The money for the purchase is coming out of the open space trust account. City officials first entertained the land swap proposal from Blakeman Construction LLC, which wanted to purchase the land to develop it, last September. The site lies between two Blakeman-owned parcels, a 3.9-acre plot to the north and a 6.74-acre plot to the south.

++ The informal request from Blakeman Construction was for Shelton to not execute it's right of first refusal. Currently being considered is a formal proposition, that is much the same as what was stated informally in the past. Blakeman Construction is asking that Shelton not complete its purchase of the property from UI.

If the city were to go through with the swap, Blakeman would donate 11.85-acres, from pieces of all three parcels, as open space, free of charge. However, this land would incorporate more wetlands than the acreage the city would acquire without the swap. Blakeman plans to propose a planned residential district with 12 single-family homes on the site.

++ Basically correct, although without drawings in front of me, I couldn't state what any subdivision application would require for open space dedication under the regulations. I don't recall if there were any wetland flags done on the property, that usually requires access permission and a soil scientist - two components that I don't think have been pursued. That should not infer any dilution on the sincerity with which Blakeman Construction is making the proposition.

Neither James Blakeman nor Monty Blakeman returned calls for comment.

The Conservation Commission pushed to purchase the land last year. However, Chairman Tom Harbinson scheduled time last month to revisit the issue, correctly assuming the aldermen would request additional comment.

The commission failed to receive a memo Blakeman handed out to the aldermen during a mid-December meeting, necessitating a second review. The memo outlines six direct benefits Blakeman believes the proposal would provide for the city. According to the memo, it would offer a financial benefit of $717,000.

++ The ConsComm had the Blakeman memo, but had not been requested by the BOA to review it (formally). Thus we deferred to discuss it from our Dec6 meeting. At the Jan3 ConsComm meeting, we felt it would be possibly damaging to allow any process to progress without our comments. Thus, dispite not receiving formal request to do so, we gave our comments in the form of a letter. The financial benefits to the City are questionable, and I'll let the letter speak for itself other than to say the Conservation Commission is consistent in it's actions.

The monetary allocation includes the reimbursement cost to purchase the UI property, extend sewer and water mains to the area and construct a recreation path."He's raised the issue," Anglace said. "It's something we should explore."

The only noticeable difference between Blakeman's recent proposal and one from September 2005 is the improvement of about 4,600 lineal feet of a nearby hiking trail to make it handicapped accessible.

++ The hiking trail mentioned is what will become the main backbone access to enjoyment of the Shelton Lakes Greenway corridor - the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path. The first segment fully constructed is from Meadow Street to the Intermediate School campus. There are other segments in various stages of completion from simple hiking trail, to cleared 12ft wide path corridor. This is a long term project that has involved various grants contributing toward its completion. The proposition proposes improving the segment within the Huntington Woods subdivision from it's current walking trail to a foot-path of 6ft wide crushed stone. No construction standards however are presented.

Members of Shelton's Trails Committee said there already was a wooded hiking trail through the property. They said the Blakemans had offered to assist in converting it from a walking trail to a recreation path. This would entail cutting and filling in portions of the existing trail. The committee has indicated there are other options to complete the trail, should the deal not go through.

++ Blakeman Construction developed the Huntington Woods subdivision. The RecPath location requirement greatly affected the open space dedication within the original application. Additionally, $50k was deposited with the Planning & Zoning Department to be used for Open Space needs in that vicinity, mainly RecPath design and construction. Parts of the RecPath have been improved by Eagle Scout projects, volunteer groups, Parks & Rec staff, and outside contractors. All were funded via a mix of budgets, donations, and grants.