Shelton Conservation Commission: Reviewing Land for Open Space

The Conservation Commission has a regular process where potential open space preservation projects are reviewed. In 2005, a unique situation developed that is not typical. There was a public petition presented to the Board of Alderman requesting they examine a specific parcel for open space, and the the BOA turned it over to the Conservation Commission for comment. See the minutes from our meeting of 2005Aug3, where we discussed land purchase issues in executive session.

The outcome was to write a letter to the Board of Alderman regarding a parcel on 550 River Road.

550 River Road was a property owned by an entity known as Housatonic Way LLC, and it was common knowledge that the Mayor was an owner of that entity. Normally, we would address this information to the Mayor as would be the procedure. Since the property owner and the Mayor created a conflict, I hand delivered the letter to the President of the Board of Alderman, John Anglace, during their public portion, and it was expressly stated that it was not to be shared with the property owner. It was also not given to the BOA Clerk by me as Chairman of the Conservation Commission. Now 7 years later, I have been asked by both the public and the Mayor (via the BOA Clerk) that they be allowed to see these documents. Neither the Public nor Mark Lauretti as public citizen or Mayor has been given access to this before now. I note the following from FOI exemption regarding such documents:

"The contents of real estate appraisals, engineering or feasibility estimates and evaluations made for or by an agency relative to the acquisition of property or to prospective public supply and construction contracts, until such time as all of the property has been acquired or all proceedings or transactions have been terminated or abandoned, provided the law of eminent domain shall not be affected by this provision;"

It could be characterized that the 2005 proceeding or consideration of a parcel as it existed in 2005 has been abandoned, and thus I am releasing both the letter and additionally a 5 page summary of details that went into review of the parcel. The content of that is also released below, with some minor redaction of components that relate to potential future Open Space acquisitions of specific parcels outside of 550 River Road.

Letter to Aldermen
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August 4, 2005

Mr. John F. Anglace

President

Board of Aldermen

Shelton City Hall

54 Hill Street

Shelton, CT 06484

Subject: Request to review property for potential acquisition

550 River Road

Executive Session: Only to be viewed by members of the Conservation Commission, and Board of Alderman until a FINAL conclusion is reached. Due to ownership of the subject parcel, this EXCLUDES the Mayor.

At its regular meeting of July 6, 2005, the Shelton Conservation Commission received your July 5^th written request to review the subject parcel. Our meeting resulted in asking for a copy of the public petition that initiated the request, and information regarding any environmental issues involving the property. These were obtained July 7^th, and July 25^th respectively. Maps of the area were reviewed and the topic discussed at our regular August 3^rd meeting. The following is our response:

The Shelton Conservation Commission would welcome an opportunity to review a parcel that is free of environmental matters. Currently we do not see such issues have been resolved, and therefore remain consistent with our long established policy of avoiding entangling the City in issues of contamination by declining interest in acquisition at this time.

Sincerely,

Shelton Conservation Commission

Thomas Harbinson, Co-Chairman

Cons.Comm.Aug03mtg/Commission:th

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End letter to Aldermen
Start 5 page report to Aldermen that accompanied letter

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Executive Session: Only to be viewed by members of the Conservation Commission, and Board of Alderman until a conclusion is reached. Due to ownership of the subject parcel, this EXCLUDES the Mayor.

Conservation Commission review of open land parcel for possible acquisition

Subject: Property at 550 River Road.

Reason: Board of Alderman requested in response to public petition.

Date of Review: July 2005

Preface:

This commentary is meant solely for illustration of our considerations regarding the acquisition of the subject parcel at this juncture and should not be construed for any other purpose.
In a letter dated July 5^th 2005, the Chairman of The Board of Alderman, responding to receipt of a public petition to consider purchase of the subject property, solicited recommendation of The Conservation Commission. This is a standard procedure.
This letter was discussed at our Conservation Commission meeting of July 6^th 2005 under Agenda item #14 – Quality of Life. This agenda item was held in executive session as are all issues related to possible land acquisition. The outcome of that meeting was that further information should be gathered on the area, with specific attention to environmental issues.
At this point, it should be recognized that normally, The Board of Alderman and The Mayor are often consulted or briefed regarding executive sessions that deal with land acquisition goals held by the Conservation Commission. Mayor Lauretti is a party of ownership to this subject parcel. Care should thus be taken by the Conservation Commission and Board of Alderman as to the executive session nature of these discussions not being shared with a party of interest until a conclusion is reached, and there is no longer a possible affect on the normal acquisition process.
A copy of the public petition was requested by Tom H from John Anglace, faxed on July 7^th 2005. The petition is ambiguous as to what parcel is being requested to review. For this review, we scrutinized the general area rather than a specific parcel. To reiterate the petition: “We, the undersigned electors of the City of Shelton, CT, hereby present this petition requesting the City of Shelton, CT pursue the purchase of riverfront property at 550 River Road, Shelton, CT for the purposes of preservation as open space for recreational use for the enjoyment of all residents of the City of Shelton, CT.”
A request by Tom H from Mark Lauretti was made on or about July 22^nd for review of available environmental information to the property, which was received on July 27^th.

Meetings with the Mayor, February 13th, 20th, 27th – Jim, Harriet

Tom Harbinson, Terry Jones, Ed Conklin and Jim T. attended the three meetings with the Mayor. Harriet attended one of them. The topic of conversation was the purchase of open space.

At the meeting, several properties were discussed, one of which was the land that was purchased by the Mayor on the River Road. In response to inquiries about that land, Harriet read a statement as follows:

“The Conservation Commission did talk about the 14 acres at 550 River Road when it was brought to our attention several years ago. At that time we did not know the price of the land, but we did know it was contaminated. When we learned this, we were not interested, so we did not pursue its purchase.”

That is the Conservation Commission’s response to our part we played in that land.

In addition, Harriet stated they talked about several other properties. They were the Wiacek property, the Wabuda property, and the Tall property.

History of Practice:

The Conservation Commission has consistently acted on property acquisition issues in concert with our Open Space Plan document rather than a “passion of the day”. This planning document promotes the long-term goal of Greenway corridors containing conserved lands, primarily along the watercourses in town. The Greenways are: Housatonic River Greenway, Far Mill River Greenway, Means Brook Greenway, and the Shelton Lakes Greenway.
In addition to the four general Greenways, the Open Space Plan did note several select parcels for attention to acquisition. These parcels were not meant to be exclusive. Parcels that add to, extend, or potentially link conservation areas in the Greenways are given attention, as well as standalone parcels when the possibility of a “pocket park” creation exists or a buffering goal for neighborhoods and similar conservation goals can be met.
The concept of identifying specific parcels was renewed with the Quality of Life list, the purpose of which was to help make property owners aware of the City’s goals with respect to open space that may involve their property, and establish a dialogue and relationship between the property owner and the City.
The Housatonic River is arguably the most important to the region of all our Greenways. It is the only Greenway that offers motorized vessel recreation. Access to Long Island Sound is provided by the Housatonic River below the Ousatonic Dam. The river above the dam (called Lake Housatonic, it is bounded to the north by Stevenson Dam holding back Lake Zoar) is an equally important resource, but for different reasons given its “lake” characteristic.
The entire Housatonic River Greenway is an important scenic asset to our community that adds to the quality of life for the whole region. Recreation opportunities and enjoyment of the river can be disrupted by development and the scars into the natural vegetation and topography of the banks and ridges that border it.
The Conservation Commission takes very seriously the violation of a conservation easement or otherwise protected area in the vicinity of the Housatonic River, and has worked closely with both the Corporation Counsel and the Inland Wetlands Commission in regard to recent violations of this scope in this area.
Certain areas of shoreline have topographic or historic features best left in their natural state and not disrupted by introducing activities. These include parcels owned either by the State of Ct. or within the right-of-way for Rte.110. (rock outcroppings), and by the City of Shelton as open space. (Trolley Bridge abutments). The Conservation Commission has recently advised the Board of Alderman not to dispose of open space parcels in these areas.
In addition to the tidal areas that require Coastal Area Management Plans at the state level, extra care is given to Conservation Commission reviews of development for all areas including uplands that may impact the river; especially development that is not water dependent.

History of Environment for the lower Housatonic River (below the dam)

The Housatonic River has been affected by both natural and man-made activities over many years. Dredging, tidal flow and river currents make difficult and limit the areas of shore best suited for activities. Significant erosion has occurred in many areas where the shore is composed of sand or silt, while certain shores are of a rocky nature and not subject to the same degree of erosion and de-stabilization. These can be referred to as soft-shore or hard-shore areas.

The soft-shore of the Sunnyside Boat Ramp area has required significant improvements and maintenance over the years to maintain its viability. Coconut logs were installed by the Parks & Recreation Dept. to maintain the shore against erosion, and the boat ramp area has been rebuilt. Erosion is occurring again at Sunnyside, and similar issues exist to a lesser degree at the South Bank open space parcel. As boating activities increase on the river, erosion rates in soft-shore areas will increase due to the effect of wakes.
Many industrial and commercial operations have been proximate to the river for its use as power generation, transportation, and waste disposal. Many of these locations involve a myriad of complex issues such as environmental contamination, legacy liability, permitting of operations, etc. Some examples are metal processing activities, the water pollution control and treatment plant, abandoned industrial complexes, quarry and material’s processing operations, marinas, landfills, underground storage tanks and chemical lagoons. When these issues exist, they are costly to bring to a resolution before a property can be sold.

A selection of areas from the lower Housatonic River that may offer recreation expansion (excluding the subject property).

As the region’s population grows more access will be needed to the river for both active and passive recreation opportunities, therefore access to the river is encouraged where best accomplished for both active and passive recreation. Currently available are:

Active: The municipally maintained Sunnyside Boat Ramp is open to non-residents and strained to capacity use at peek demand (weekends). Also available in Shelton to the general public is the boat ramp to Lake Housatonic at Indian Well State Park, a canoe launch at Southank (City open space) and a launch access area on Birchbank Road. (City open space). There are two commercial marinas offering slips and winter storage of vessels.
Passive: Riverfront passive recreation is available at Birchbank Rd, Indian Well State Park, the Canal Locks (on private land made open to the public), the Riverwalk downtown, the Sunnyside Boat Ramp park area (includes picnic areas), the Southbank open space parcel (includes picnic benches and a pavilion), and a pedestrian easement at the Shelton Sports Center (as part of it’s PDD Planned Development District approval, the owner is required to maintain a pedestrian access to the river). While not riverfront, enjoyment of river vistas can be had at the Riverview Park in downtown.

Although not in Shelton, recognition of the Housatonic River as a regional resource is given and to the fact that Derby has future prospects to open the O’Sullivan Island area to recreation opportunities that could serve the broader community.
Under the Commodore Hull Bridge, an old area of wharfs or piers exists adjacent to the current northern terminus of the Riverwalk. This has potential for a fishing pier allowing further passive enjoyment of the river.
The area from the Commodore Hull Bridge to Lafayette School offers some promise for expansion of the Riverwalk, just as it is proposed to be expanded north beyond Bridge Street.
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There is ability to expand the Southbank open space picnic areas to the parcel’s northern boundary on area that is sparsely vegetated and buffers a private residence from the park activities. This area was improved during the development of Nature’s Lane off Old Coram Road across the street and above the site. Newly installed City sewers traversed the property and parking lot improvements along with a bank stabilization plan of vegetation (white pines) were made by the contractor at no cost to the City.
The CRRA landfill is a state facility which is closed from accepting any further waste. Toward the end of its use, it accepted ash from the trash burning facility in Bridgeport that served the region and is now “capped”. Methane gas is collected from decomposing waste deposited during the many years it was used as a landfill. As part of its closure plan, recreational improvements are proposed that are both passive (hiking trails around the lagoon that opens to the Housatonic) and active (boat launch area at lagoon). This includes associated parking areas and offers a significant opportunity to answer these recreation needs for the future residents of the region at little or no cost to the City.

Subject property

The area that was once a 14 acre parcel was given a cursory review by the Conservation Commission in November 2001. Commission member Thomas Harbinson had personally reviewed it for possible purchase as a home-site. He did not pursue it given his findings of environmental contamination at the site that was on the land records in the town clerk’s office. As a courtesy to the Conservation Commission, he informed them that he had looked at it, but noted that it was not on our Quality of Life list. The reasoning given for the 14 acre parcel’s omission from the Quality of Life list was that the Conservation Commission has a history of not recommending purchase as open space of contaminated property.

The property has had significant discussion in the form of an ethics complaint to the Board of Ethics which was presented in part by the same party who presented the petition to the Board of Alderman to purchase it. Given the amount of testimony involved in the ethics review which was made public, we find little need to reiterate it here. In summation for our purposes, the “free split” of the parcel should not have been allowed, and the Planning & Zoning Department has stated that the property was “inappropriately subdivided”. Any subdivision of land that is not a “free split” requires a set-aside of open space as called for in the subdivision regulations before a new lot map can be recorded in the Town Clerk’s office. The property’s “inappropriate subdivision” yields an ambiguity regarding its legal status and the (1) the ability of the City to solely acquire a lot that has been split from a larger parcel that had environmental contamination with no environmental liability, (2) what area of open space can or should be set-aside from this subdivision of land.
In addition to the Housatonic River, the property is bordered by Butternut (Buttermilk?) Hollow Brook and is traversed by Ivy Brook to its terminus. We are unable to determine if the river’s status at this location would require a Coastal Area Management Plan submission to the State of Ct. Dept. of Environmental Protection. Given the watercourses and significant wetland areas, any development on this site will receive scrutiny and review by the Inlands and Wetlands Commission as a regulatory agency, in addition to the advisory opinion from the Conservation Commission to the Planning & Zoning Commission for any set-aside of open space during a subdivision.
Since this request originated via a public petition, the Conservation Commission feels called to provide a summary of our recommendation to the Board of Alderman that can be made public if they so choose, and will accompany this review report. Please recognize that this is not the normal procedure of our Commission, but given the nature of the petition presenter and the property owner facing each other in the upcoming political arena, we felt this the best course of action to provide a balance between our decision process and public acknowledgement of the request.