Letter to the Editor:
Shelton residents are being encouraged to "sign up" for a plot at the Klapik Farm Community Garden when the location, details and the very concept have not been formally approved by the appropriate governing body.
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Information is a powerful tool. The City of Shelton website has all agency/body minutes in pdf form. You can google search restrict to the website. Try this search for example. From the results you can glean that there has been much discussion on the concept for much time. Any improvement to property by the City, requires much the same approvals as a private entity. Application to Planning & Zoning, Authorization by Board of Alderman, referrals from agents such as City Engineer, etc.
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In an effort to determine if there is even a need for a community garden, the Board of Aldermen created an Ad Hoc Community Garden Committee. The committee had one meeting in January at which time it performed the usual initial business of electing officers, accepting rules of order and establishing a schedule of meetings for the year. However, if you read the meeting minutes carefully, you'll discover that the committee was told that a preferred location was already identified, that a formal review by the Planning and Zoning Commission had already been initiated for the property use change, that the entrance for the garden would be at the end of a residential cul de sac on Longview Road, and, oh yes, that the committee needed to hurry because apparently somebody wants to start planting this spring.
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Lets have a timeline
- 1993 - Open Space Plan identifies Greenways as emphasis areas for preserving open space.
- 2002 - The Klapik Farm was purchased, totals apx 58acres, and has significant hedgerows visually blocking the fields from adjacent residential properties. This is part of the Long Hill Greenway (includes several other property purchases that became assembled, notably the Tall Farm across the street from Klapik)
- 2003 - A license agreement begins in May between the City and Lyman Wells (a local farmer) to harvest hay from the fields. The property use will not change and remain agricultural.
- 2006 - The Plan of Conservation & Development has as it's #1 agricultural preservation strategy "continue to support programs that preserve farmland" which this does. See page 3-10 of the plan
- 2009Feb - Open Space Plan is updated from 1993, and recomends pursuit of possible Community Gardens. View details of the plan via this link.
- 2009Aug4 - Some early discussion on the subject that I can document from email, originated from citizenry with the Mayor meeting on this date to examine the concept.
- 2009Fall - Conservation Commission and Parks & Rec Commission were both consulted. Review of potential City owned Open Space parcels were done (Tall Farm, Wiacek Farm, 279 Soundview, Klapik, Nells Rock Road, French's Farm) and the consensus was that Klapik was most suited for public community gardens.
- 2010Jan19 - Mayor sends letter requesting 8-24 referral from PZC and advise from City Engineer.
- 2010Jan22 - City Engineer endorses the project
- 2010Jan27 - Planning & Zoning Commission votes favorably on the refferal (p.27 of minutes)
- 2010Jan25, Feb9, Feb23 - Community Garden AdHoc Committee meets to plan for quickly approaching planting season. Minutes are found here.
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Now, I just happen to live on Longview Road and I know for a fact that we never requested this use for the property. While we think a well-planned community garden is a terrific idea, we became worried about how this might affect our neighborhood. So, several of us went to the second meeting of the Community Garden Committee. We asked the committee members flat out if the Longview Road site and entrance was a "done deal." Every one of them robustly assured us that it was not.
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This was in the Plan of Conservation & Development from 2006. It was in the Open Space Plan of 2009. It has been discussed openly on Conservation Commission's meetings. The neighbors were notified as part of the referral review by the Planning & Zoning Commission. No, the residents of Longview Road didn't request this, but the citizens of the City have repeatedly via the planning methods, workshops, and meetings outlined above, over many years. There remain details to work out if this prospective location is to be productive - and in that regard it is not a "done deal".
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So, we neighbors expressed our concerns. We handed them a petition of names of people who are opposed to the Longview Road entrance. We asked the committee to please consider making the entrance in a more appropriate area. We were polite, articulate and even helpful despite the fact that we never requested a community garden, and there was no one present who did.
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The two areas to access the parcel are from Longview Road's cul-de-sac, which is at the highpoint of the drumlin's topography; or from Long Hill Avenue which is a busy road and would require crossing a wetlands area to access the more advantageous agricultural fields. Longview is the better location for access.
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We want peace not war, but we also want our needs to be considered. We don't want another poorly planned, town-sponsored intrusion into a defenseless neighborhood. Let's see what happens.
Randy Ann York
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Working together to solve issues will bring greater satisfaction to all.
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What follows is my letter to the editor submitted to CtPost on Feb21:
Editor:
I was dismayed to read the Letter of Feb18 regarding the Community Garden in Shelton. As Chairman of the Conservation Commission, let me offer some clarification.
Shelton's Open Space acquisition was following the award winning 1993 Open Space Plan when the 58 acres near Long Hill Avenue was acquired in 2002 as part of a Long Hill Greenway vision that has since preserved an abutting assemblage of over 100 acres. Continuously since 2003 there has been a revocable license with a local farmer to harvest hay from the property, thus maintaining it's agricultural usage in the community.
I served on the Committee that updated Shelton's Plan of Conservation & Development in 2006, which recognized Community Gardens as one strategy to preserve farmland (see p.3-10). The Conservation Commission updated Shelton's Open Plan in 2009 and reiterated such pursuits. The concept of a Community Garden is one other municipalities offer, and should not come as a surprise to residents of Shelton who take interest in their City's activities and its planning documents.
Out of citizenry interest and initiative, the Board of Alderman forrmed an ad-hoc Committee to bring the idea together in late 2009, and the Mayor's office requested advice and referrals on the concept from the City Engineer and the Planning & Zoning Commission in 2010. The Conservation Commission and the Parks & Recreation Commission have discussed this concept openly in their meetings. All of this above documentation is readily available on the City's website.
Yes, there is a planting season quickly approaching and the ad-hoc committee is working diligently to meet mother nature's deadlines, but this is not a rushed or hasty endeavor. This is a community sponsored concern being addressed. As of Feb16, 43 people had already signed up for plots. I encourage everyone to voice concerns, and work together in making it a success.
Thomas Harbinson
Conservation Commission - Chairman.
4 comments:
What was NOT a "done deal" at the last meeting was:
1. Would there even be a Community Garden in Shelton. BOA asked us to demonstrate the "need" for this garden. Since that time, we have received many preregistration forms and positive comments, so I think at this point we have been successful in demonstrating that need.
2. Where exactly any such garden would be located. Although the Klapik property did seem to be the only property that met all our criteria, there are various fields within the rather large property to choose from, and we also did not have any definite plans for access. There is a smaller field on Long Hill Avenue we are also evaluating, but it has some difficulties.
The Klapik property was chosen fairly quickly because there are no other open space properties that meet all the necessary criteria for a community garden.
Tom, on what date were the residents of Longview Road,(the "host neighborhood" and the most obvious stakeholders in this plan) invited to the mayor's office for a meeting of the minds? Oh, no date for that? Gee wiz, the few individuals who requested the community garden apparently got a meeting with the mayor himself some time ago, didn't they? Why weren't they just told to search the city website regularly for any information that pertains to them, like you told us to do? And why was no one from the Longview neighborhood chosen to sit on the community garden committee, even though this street will be quite impacted by this new use? We are stakeholders, are we not? Your so-called open discussion of the plan should have included the concerns/input/suggestions of the host neighborhood. Ethically, the City simply cannot justify itself for not bringing the neighborhood into the discussion early on, though I am positive you will try.
In any event, because information is a powerful tool for both sides of the issue, here are the factual results of the 2/9 site visit which not surprisingly, never made it into the record of any meeting/discussion or my letter to the editor because the paper edited it out:
After the meeting at City Hall, many of the committee members and Longview Road residents went to visit the site on Longview Road. One committee member, who is a farmer, said the property was sloped and runoff would be a problem. We walked the members down to another site directly on Long Hill Avenue. Several committee members agreed that this smaller site was level and except for some rocks, more manageable. The main road is better suited for a public entrance. Its better visibility makes it easier to monitor and more accessible for community enjoyment. It appeared at the time that we all came to an agreeable solution. Committee members confessed that there really was no reason to rush the plans along and the last thing they want is to upset an entire neighborhood. The committee wants the garden to be supported and viewed as an enhancement to the community, not an intrusion. That's the way we left it.
Now, if this solution is nullified, it's because someone of influence from outside of the committee and/or the neighborhood saw fit to nullify it. And that would be very sad indeed, because it just further demonstrates the complete disregard this administration has for its residents. Anyhow, we stakeholders still have lots to say about this plan so invite us to the table anytime! Or should we all just use our google search to "view only" how you are going to impact our neighborhood?
Randy York
Longview Road
In response to Randy York's comments:
I chair the Conservation Commission, not the Board of Alderman's Community Garden Ad-Hoc Commmittee. The CC was asked to give it's opinion on a City Open Space property best suited for this purpose. With data gathered by our part-time Conservation Agent staff person, we provided our opinion that the Klapik parcel was most appropriate for this use from among those we looked at.
The Mayor's office entertains meetings with the public all the time. Management of that is not the pervue of the CC, but I would be glad to participate in anything the Mayor or neighborhood arranges and requests my presence at.
Despite my explanation that public expression would best be directed to those on the Community Garden Committee or the body that created it (Board of Alderman), I included comments sent to the CC meeting of Mar3 in our minutes and offered ample time for the public to express on our record during the metting. I have also allowed publishing of comments in this blog, and have personally attended public hearings on the issue. To suggest that the discussion has not been open is inaccurate.
I have no control over the CtPost editorial review. As this blog is read by many, perhaps Randy's inclusion of parts excised from her Letter to the Editor will reach more of an audience. I'm glad to facilitate broader reach of info via this blog. I'll let readers judge the value of the content for themselves. I was not on the site walk, and comments by that committee as to optimum capability of the parcel in regard to slope or soils is something I'm not aware of.
Finally, my apologies for not seeing promptly that there were comments to moderate/publish from both Teresa and Randy.
Watch out long hill residents---Randy York and her Longview cronies are throwing you under the bus... Great scare tactics —- nice font it really scurrrred me. Let’s talk facts. They NEVER said it was 40 plots. That was the number of people who pre-registered. Also RANDY—if you are so concerned about the safety of the community— when was the last time you heard of a gardener vandalizing property… another scare tactic? Do you assume people will break into our houses with their garden hoes and seeds? Also—where do you get 400-500 cars??? All studies done show 1.5 cars per week per plot…what studies have you done… scaretactics.com?? As a former alderman - you know the city was going to purchase the land for recreational use for the community—- did you think that only applied if it wasn’t near your backyard? You also said it hurts more people then it helps? YOUR street has 14 houses… 60 plots helps 60 households… help me understand your math! Here the the bottom line… no one wants anything in their own back yard.. but if you are going to argue against it RANDY… be honest and truthful. You may not need the land to garden but others do… who are YOU to say they are not welcome on OUR city streets! If this whole idea is SO bad for the city… why would you propose it be accessed via Long Hill ave or any other area in our city.
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