Open Space Plan - Shelton Weekly Article

The Shelton Weekly newspaper had an article in the Sep26 edition regarding the OSPlan and request for public feedback. Teresa Gallagher and myself spoke with reporter Gabriella Doob. As is my use of this blog, I cut/paste her article with my extra information or comments to better inform the public. Recognize that sometimes online resources are not archived at current and posted URL locations uniformly.

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20139501&BRD=1648&PAG=461&dept_id=11784&rfi=6

City asking for public feedback on open space

By: Gabriella Doob, Editor

SHELTON - The city wants to hear from residents about how open space should be used. The Conservation Commission is requesting input on its draft of an Open Space Plan, a hefty document that defines open space and greenways around town. The draft is an update of a 1993 plan that supplemented the Plan of Conservation and Development. After a period of public commentary, the draft will go before the Planning and Zoning Commission, which will then hold a public hearing before voting on the plan. The Board of Aldermen will also review the document.
** The Open Space Plan is more of a planning document to help land use boards and decision makers understand the spacial recognition and characteristics for land that is currently or could become City Open Space, or otherwise protected from development such as Purchase of Development Rights. The ConsComm is always looking for public input, but officially, the public comment comes during the public hearing held by the PZC as it is their document to adopt.**

Gallagher said that while the plan is similar to the 1993 version, it defines several new greenways, or scenic routes set aside for recreational activity. The Conservation Commission has worked to expand the greenways in town and more clearly establish them through maps. The acquisition and management of open space has become increasingly important and visible in recent years, she added.There are over 1,900 acres of open space land in Shelton, she said.
**Greenways were defined conceptually in the current OSPlan, and they serve more than just scenery or recreation, though those are two components contributing to our community's quality of life. Various acquisitions were made according to their rough layout over several years. This has created actual greenway corridors of protected land along with associated or nearby lands to the corridor that has been developed since the current OSPlan was adopted in 1993. This allows better definition and movement away from simply conceptual greenways, though that is still a consideration.**

Besides delineating the greenways that already existed, the plan reflects the addition of several new greenways including the Long Hill Greenway and the Ivy Brook Greenway, said Conservation Commission Chairman Tom Harbinson. The plan "more formally recognizes the acquisition efforts done in the past," he said. "We've acquired a lot of property in those corridors."
** The Long Hill Greenway is a great example of concepts working to create a reality. As property was acquired along the Housatonic River Greenway in the area of Old Coram Road, some of those parcels had ridge lines that impacted the Housatonic River viewshed but also reached to Long Hill Avenue, linkage was being made to create a corridor from the Housatonic River Greenway to the Far Mill Greenway by acquiring Klapik Farm and Tall Farm, which expanded with the Behuniak and Carrol parcels adjacent to Long Hill School. They all followed the OSPlan in linking Greenways where possible, but collectively have further created a mass of land (>100 acres) that should be given it's own recognition, thus the identity given of Long Hill Greenway.**

Gallagher said the plan will serve as a reference document for city boards as well as for residents. It includes years of research on open space land use, she said. It should also help people make informed judgments about how they would like open space to be used, Gallagher said. For instance, some residents have expressed interest in creating a dog park. The plan would be useful in determining where such a park could be located, she said. Ball fields and hiking areas are other top priorities for those in town, Gallagher added.
** Land use boards refer to the maps and plan when making decisions on development. Fiscal boards refer to the maps and plan when making decisions on acquisition possibilities. Outside agencies refer to the maps and plan when deciding upon awarding grants or contributions toward acquisitions and enhancements of parcels. Public can refer to the maps to better understand what to expect from City properties and judge any impact upon their quality of life. Certain lands are better preserved because the soils are rich in organics for farming, certain lands are conserved for future City needs such as recreation fields. A plan looks up to the future with wide open eyes, it does not look down at a current development application squinting at a map of the moment.**

Gallagher composed the majority of the document herself but the draft also includes extensive maps, Harbinson said. Modern mapping techniques have enabled the commission to visually reflect information about parcels of property, he said. Clicking on the maps allows a viewer to assign certain attributes to properties around town. For example, a viewer could click to see what parcels have open space tags or which have preservation designations, meaning they are owned by the Shelton Land Conservation Trust. Acquisitions and purchases can be easily illustrated through these methods, he said. Harbinson likened this technology to transparencies, which can be overlapped on a projector to visually demonstrate certain realities.
** Teresa Gallagher is the Conservation Agent for the City of Shelton, and working part-time was able to draft the OSPlan document reviewed by the Conservation Commission. The Finance Department had Regis Dognin use the City's GIS system to help create the maps. A GIS (Geographic Information System) is a modern tool where parcel data can be documented and referenced in a spatial way. It is an extremely powerful tool, not yet fully recognized by local leadership for the potential it has to quickly, coherently, and efficiently portray data that brings better decision making. Here is a link to a web interface that examples just a portion of what NYC offers for it's GIS data at a location (100 Park Avenue, Manhattan) where my company worked on the building's facade.**

While the plan hasn't changed much in essence, Harbinson said this new technology has made it a lot easier for viewers to conceptualize the space being discussed."It really behooves people to take a look at the maps," he said. Harbinson said he doesn't anticipate any major concerns from those who look over the plan. Some residents may be distressed to learn that future trails may limit some of the privacy they have enjoyed near their homes, while others may be pleased at the possibilities for accessing trails more readily. "For some people it's a very attractive amenity," he said.
** People that can walk from home to the 15mile trail network within Shelton Lakes are an example of those pleased with trails. However, there can be at times public concern over trails being constructed near their private property. There is a trail network around the state known as 'Blue Dot Trails' that are maintainted by the Ct Forest & Parks Association. They follow some of the oldest footpaths in CT, and are thus are referenced with Indian names. One such trail used to traverse through Shelton from Monroe to Stratford, but has become fragmented via subdivision of parcels and development. One long held goal by the ConsComm is to re-establish some lost Shelton segments of the Paugusset Trail. It has been on our planning documents for years. It was a stated reason why several parcels were acquired along the Housatonic River Greenway. It was the purpose for setting aside a public open space area on certain subdivisions. All of those components take time to assemble and occur. Now accomplished, new residents that had utilized public property for their personal gardens and playscapes for several years were notified of trails being proposed. The contrast between moving sheds, gardens and swingsets off of public property, and opening the area to public walking in space previously viewed as private backyard was jarring, and generated opposition expressed to the resident's Aldermen. The ConsComm presented alternatives, and that has dismayingly had no comment or decision from the BOA for about 2yrs now. An OSPlan with ample opportunity to comment on and review maps, will diffuse such possible conflicts in the future.**

Harbinson stressed how important it is that residents have this information at their disposal. "I'm a big proponent of transparency," he said. "People can see what we're doing and if they have comments, give us those comments." The current plan is available online at http://sheltonopenspace.googlepages.com and more information can be obtained by calling Conservation Agent Teresa Gallagher at 924-1555, ext. 315.
** Blogging of news or my comments on them, publishing communications among the ConsComm live as they happen, maps online, every agenda and minutes from our meetings, photos and videos of what our agent sees in the field and communicates to commissioners : all offered to the public in the hope that they can make better judgement and contribute better input to us on the ConsComm who are charged with making the comment and advice to decision makers on agencies such as the BOA and PZC.**

Open Space Plan - letter to editor

The Mayor was adamant that the Open Space Plan receive great emphasis on public involvement, especially for those people who live nearby a greenway corridor and should be made knowledgable about possible acquisitions or passive recreation use conceived for property already acquired.

To that end, I have talked to reporters who have written information about upcoming review/update to the Open Space Plan in articles about the CFPA award. I have also have writeen letters to the editor (identical) that have been printed in:

Connecticut Post: http://www.connpost.com/letters/ci_10531744
Huntington Herald: appeared in print Sep24. Does not offer letters in online venue.
New Haven Register:

Letter to the Editor:
There has certainly been a great deal of interest in the city of Shelton's proposed charter revision, and while that is important, there are also other planning or guiding documents on which the public will soon have opportunity to offer input, which have impact not only on the lives of residents, but also on visitors to and workers in Shelton who simply enjoy its suburban environs.

A short time ago, the city of Shelton completed its Plan of Conservation and Development, sometimes referred to as the Master Plan. It laid out several tasks to be accomplished to support the plan's goals. One of those tasks was for the Conservation Commission to update Shelton's Open Space Plan, which they have been drafting. That work is now entering the public comment period.

The Open Space Plan for Shelton was last updated more than 10 years ago, and the draft update does not stray from its core principals, which have served the community well during that time. The rewarding "greenway" concept remains in place, where multiple parcel acquisitions accumulate to a larger mass that can offer to serve more varied passive recreation needs or better preserve wildlife habitat and migration corridors. Modern mapping facilities allow better definition of preserved and conserved acreage, and with overlays of these conceptual greenways, improved decisions can be made by land-use boards.

The major difference for this plan's adoption process is the availability to communicate its content in the modern age of digitized information. The plan and maps are available online for anyone to view and take benefit from, including those considering becoming residents. I encourage the public to inform themselves of the content and prepare any comments as they review them, both positive or negative, for submission during the process. As an official planning document that supplements the Plan of Conservation and Development, the Planning & Zoning Commission conducts the approval process which will involve a public hearing in the coming months.

Please visit the Conservation Commission page of the cityofshelton.org Website which can direct you to the numerous online resources that can educate you further on this issue.

Thomas Harbinson - Chairman
Conservation Commission Shelton

CFPA award - NHReg article

Just wanted to not the NHRegister mention of the Conservation Commission's award from CFPA.
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2008/09/19/news/valley/b4-shaward.txt

As these articles are not always kept online for extended periods, I cut/paste for reference/comment:


Shelton trail volunteers win award

Friday, September 19, 2008 6:35 AM EDT
By Marianne Lippard, Register Correspondent
SHELTON — Volunteers dedicated to improving hiking trails throughout the city have been honored with an award from the Connecticut Forest and Park Association.

Bill Dyer, chairman of the city’s trails committee and vice chairman of the Conservation Commission, said the award of merit came as a surprise to the volunteers. The CFPA recognized the volunteers this month at its annual meeting at the Kellogg Environmental Center in Derby.

According to the CFPA, the Shelton Conservation Commission was chosen “for their vision and perseverance in developing a townwide trail system for passive recreation.”

The CFPA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of Connecticut parks, forests, trails and natural resources; it is the state’s oldest conservation group.

In presenting Shelton with the award, Eric Hammerling, CFPA executive director, and David Platt, CFPA president, said the Shelton commission is making a great effort to restore and extend the Paugussett Trail from Indian Well to the Stratford town line.

Teresa Gallagher, Shelton’s conservation agent, said the trails that the city is trying to restore existed for decades before being cut off by private development around the 1980s. To restore what was lost, the city has been acquiring land in a linear fashion to re-establish a continuous trail system, Gallagher said. The Shelton Lakes Greenway consists of more than 450 acres of contiguous open space and 10 miles of hiking trails.

John Anglace, president of the Board of Aldermen, said volunteers have been working for years to improve the trail system and they frequently apply for grant money to help with the cost of improvements.

A $2,500 grant received by the group will be used for logo and design work to create a granite marker at an entrance to the trails.
** The logo was done via our annual City budget, the grant was due to work at the Ct Capital by now deceased State Rep Richard Beldon, and the granite markers with logo will be pd for via the grant and part of the CC City budget. **

The aldermen just approved a new phase of improvements to the trails near Pine Lake that will open the area to more forms of recreation, rather than just walkers.Conservation Commission Chairman Thomas Harbinson said that an open space plan for the city will be updated soon; the last such plan was revised back in 1992.
** Please see other blog entries for info on the OSPlan update where we seek public comment. Also, the sheltontrails.org website has more info regarding trails and the RecPath specifically. **

Open Space Plan - draft prepared

When at a recent Board of Alderman meeting to ensure that the final $6000 in funding for the RecPath Phase 1 construction would take place, myself and Vice Chairman Bill Dyer spoke to gathered reporters regarding upcoming events, notably the Open Space Plan and it's update as called for in the Plan of Conservation and Development (aka the "Master Plan")

An article appeared today in the CtPost which I cut/paste with comments to flesh out the story.
(articles are not always retained, below link may become stale)

http://www.connpost.com/valley/ci_10502404
By KATE RAMUNNIStaff writer
Article Last Updated: 09/18/2008 10:15:31 PM EDT

SHELTON -- As the Conservation Commission celebrates awarding more than $150,000 for upgrades to the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path, it is also looking at what revisions should be made to the city's Open Space Plan.

"If anyone has any input, we would like them to give it now," commission Chairman Tom Harbinson said.
** The Mayor was given the plan about a month ago. His initial comment to me was that there should be every effort made to involve the public and obtain their input toward the plan. Having knowledge over what the future may hold for property nearby a resident's home is an important aspect over their personal decisions and expectations, just as the plan helps the public decisions and direction taken by the officials and administrators of land use agencies.**

The commission has been working to update the plan for some time, Harbinson said, and it will soon go to the Planning and Zoning Commission, which will hold a public hearing.
** The Conservation Commission has been working on a draft update for over a year. The past plan was prepared before modern mapping tools were available that can give more detailed information for analysis. The core principals of the current Open Space Plan remain, that is it recognizes greenway corridors for focused Open Space acquisition. This was an early presentation of a concept that helped the plan win award and recognition, and became a concept also adopted by the State of Ct in it's land preservation/conservation efforts.**

It has been 15 years since the plan has been updated, so the commission wants to know what residents' priorities on preservation are, Harbinson said.
** The plan as I say will not stray from it's core principal and concept which has served the community well. As the available raw land that has an unsecured future dwindles in quantity, the decisions and choices made will become more difficult and costs are likely to rise for preservation/conservation efforts of those lands. Thus it is important to obtain the public's priorties via valued characteristics while in a setting where there is no pressure for a specific parcel. Decisions can be clouded by passion and "not in my back yard" swaying when in the midst of a development application. The current economic climate has caused a lack of new applications and presents opportunity to decide on issues such as this without the overlay of proceedures and subdivisions operating in the background.**

The Board of Aldermen also has been instrumental in making funds available for large open space purchases, he said.
** While the BOA membership has changed somewhat over the past 10+yrs, the current and consistent Mayoral administration has been a supporter of Open Space preservation. While I don't always agree with how we get to the end result, and every issue can not go in a conservation favor, Shelton has been the envy of many in the State and received substantial recognition for it's accomplishments with awards, and recognition that it is taking the appropriate direction with grants for both acquisitions and improvements upon them to benefit public enjoyment of passive recreation.**

The commission will give the plan to the Planning and Zoning Commission in time for its Oct. 14 meeting, Harbinson said, but he wants residents to have time to review the plan and give input.
More information on the plan is available at http://sheltonopenspace.googlepages.com/ or by contacting Conservation Agent Theresa Gallagher at 924-1555, ext 315.
** The Draft Open Space Plan text and maps have been available at the above mentioned webpages for several months. The Planning & Zoning Administrator and the Inland Wetlands Enforcement Administrator have been given the plan to review. They both have regular involvement with land-use issues and a long history of service in the City, so their knowledge and subsequent input to the draft is important. The Planning & Zoning Commission is the body that will review and subsequently adopt any planning document, with the Open Space Plan will be as a supplement to the Plan of Conservation & Development (sometimes known as the "Master Plan"). It is hoped that by October's meeting of the PZC, they will schedule the public hearings which are required as part of the approval process. This is in addition to the outreach efforts we on the Conservation Commission are making via venues such as this news article and subsequent blog entries. **

Meanwhile, the Board of Aldermen put the last touch on the $150,000 the commission needed to complete work on the Recreation Path to make it handicapped accessible. The board approved an additional $6,000 for a surety bond that the state requires for any project the city does over $100,000, Harbinson said. It already has approved $90,000 for the work, in addition to the use of the $60,000 Huntington Woods Trust Account money.
** A state law requires a surety bond, a requirement that the City can not waive. In this case on this project, it would seem a wasteful requirement given the single contractor with no subs and limited amount of materials purchased from a vendor.**

It's a rare example of the city using its funds for work on the trail, Trails Committee Chairman Bill Dyer said. "All of the trails have been created by volunteers," he said, "and we have gotten all of the money through grants. "We have a lot of talented people who have volunteered to help," he said, but they are always looking for others willing to donate their time and talent to the path. Anyone interested in getting involved can contact Gallagher
** Even the 3 timber bridges (visible at Huntington Center, on ConstBlvd near the SIS, and at Pine Lake near Rte108) came from a grant. Until this point, all the trails and improvements upon them have been made with zero to minimal municipal funds. Obviously the opportunity to create these amenities came from the City and the public affirming through acquisition that the land should be preserved as City Open Space.**

CFPA award - CtPost article

The Connecticut Post had an article regarding the Conservation Commission's award from the CFPA. I think it important to document recognition, and since the CtPost does not retain it's articles on the website for very long, I cut/paste for posterity.

http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_10456879

Shelton lauded for conservation efforts
By KATE RAMUNNI Staff writer
SHELTON -- The state's oldest private conservation association recently singled out the city's Conservation Commission and its Trails Committee for their efforts to preserve open space here.

"We were really surprised" to receive the Connecticut Forrest and Parks Association's Award of Merit, said commission Chairman Tom Harbinson. The organizations received the award recently during the CFPA's annual meeting at the Kellogg Environmental Center in Derby.

For more than a century, CFPA has worked to preserve state properties and has been instrumental in the preservation of areas such as Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, Sherwood Island in Westport and Gillette Castle in East Haddam.

Each year it singles out an organization to recognize for its own preservation efforts, and this year that honor went to the two organizations for the formation of the Shelton Lakes Recreation Path.

"For their vision and perseverance in developing a townwide trail system for passive recreation -- the Shelton Lakes Greenway, 450-plus acres of contiguous open space and 10 miles of hiking trails -- is a direct result of their foresight, planning and collaboration with the Shelton Land Trust, the city of Shelton, Aquarion and the state Department of Environmental Protection, plus innumerable hours of volunteer work over a decade," the accolade states.

"I want to commend the volunteers of the Trail Committee, who have contributed a tremendous number of hours to this," Harbinson said.

The Board of Aldermen also deserved kudos for the millions of dollars it has spent and put before voters to bond for open space purchases, he said.

It's been a group effort, Trails Committee co-chairman Bill Dyer said. For instance, a recent appearance before the Inland Wetlands Commission looking for permission to do work on the Recreation Path at Lane Street resulted in Wetlands Commissioner Randy Szkola's offer to help with his construction equipment and manpower, Dyer said.

"They did a great job," he said.

Most people don't realize that the Recreation Path has been constructed wholly with grant money and volunteer labor, Harbinson said. They are always looking for people willing to contribute their time and talent -- and equipment, in the case of contractors -- to help with the most recent efforts that will make the entire path handicapped accessible.

Ct Forest and Parks Assocation Award to Shelton

On Sep6, the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association presented an Award of Merit to the Shelton Conservation Commission and the Trails Committee in recognition of the work they have done over the years.

Specifically for “their vision and perseverance in developing a town-wide trail system for passive recreation. The Shelton Lakes Greenway – 450-plus acres of contiguous open space and ten miles of hiking trails – is a direct result of their foresight, planning, and collaboration with the Shelton Land Trust, the City of Shelton, Aquarion, and DEP, and innumerable hours of volunteer work over more than a decade. As part of this project they have created an open space corridor to link CFPA’s Blue-Blazed Paugussett Trail to the Shelton Lakes Greenway, and continue their invaluable effort to restore and extend the Paugussett Trail from Indian Well to the Stratford town line.”

CFPA maintains the 800-mile blue-blazed trail system in CT and is the oldest conservation organization in the state (http://www.ctwoodlands.org/).

The Paugussett Trail is a blue-blazed (sometimes referred to as blue-dot) trail in Shelton. At one time it connected from Monroe to Stratford, but development fragmented it to the current state of Monroe (the trail runs thru Web Mountain) connecting thru the "poets" section of town to the Indian Well State Park. You can check out it's local routing via the www.sheltontrails.org website.

The City's accumulation of land in a corridor format of the Shelton Lakes Greenway area (by following our Open Space Plan document) has allowed the creation of a trails network that can be utilized by the Paugussett trail to reconnect from Indian Well State Park toward Stratford's Roosevelt Forest.

The CFPA gave a single Award of Merit this year, and speaking as the Chairman of the Conservation Commission, I thank them for the recognition, however it has been a team effort to reach the accomplishments achieved. The Board of Alderman, Planning & Zoning Commission, and Inland Wetlands Commission have been supportive of our goals and I thank them for that.

The Board of Alderman were made award of this award during their Sep11 mtg and gave a standing ovation in recognition to the Conservation Commission and especially the Trails Volunteers for all their hard work. Above is a scanned image of the recognition.