Conservation Commission Letter to PZC

To the Ashford Planning and Zoning Commission:

The Conservation Commission welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the Ashford Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) as it reviews the regulations for the IID Zone. We also appreciate the thoughtful input of the Economic Development Commission on this matter, though we do not agree with their recommendations.

The input of citizens during the public hearings about the recent text amendment proposal as well as the recent Survey of Ashford residents overwhelmingly showed that large scale development in the IID Zone is not something that would be welcomed for a variety of reasons, including: death of the “rural character” of Ashford, potential pollution of the wetlands/watershed for the Fenton and Mount Hope Rivers, pollution from disturbance of Pyrrhotite bedrock, and disruptive impacts of light, noise, and traffic. The IID is on the fragile and pristine watershed for the Fenton River that supplies some of the cleanest water in the state for Mansfield, Storrs, and Willimantic. The watershed for the Mt. Hope River is on the other side of the highway but also in the IID. With no public water or sewer lines in the IID, immense buildings, parking lots, large septic systems and water needs would very likely pollute and drain the watershed and compromise nearby residential wells. We must protect this unique and life-giving resource for ourselves and for our neighbors. Please see the watershed maps (below) and the included assessment of the IID area prepared in 2020 by Jean Pillo, ECCD, clearly spelling out the potential for negative impacts on this area, particularly for the health of water resources and the entire watershed, forests, and wildlife, especially the Wild Trout Brook. The current POCD states that development in the IID Zone must provide a benefit to Ashford residents and not impact the environment in negative ways. These goals were soundly embraced by the residents of our town in letters and spoken testimony at last year’s Public Hearings.

The Survey asked residents to indicate the Uses that might be allowed by zoning regulations for the IID Zone. Manufacturing was indicated as an Inappropriate Use by 51% and as an Appropriate Use by only 29% of respondents. In contrast, the EDC would like to ensure that allowable Uses would include Warehouse and Distribution functions, uses in scale and environmental impact most closely related to “Manufacturing.” Letters and statements at the public hearings were overwhelmingly opposed to the inclusion of these uses. As many residents have noted, the tax benefits to residents would be small, the increased infrastructure that would be required to monitor and support a very large facility would eat up any taxes generated (after requested tax abatements are applied), the number of lower end jobs created by a likely roboticized facility would be small, and the facility would compete with nearby facilities of the same type that already have difficulty finding appropriately skilled workers.

The other important issue addressed by residents at both the public hearing and in the survey was preferred building size. The survey responses showed that: 79% felt a building in the IID should be

250,000 sq. feet or less. (45% wanted smaller, 34% wanted to maintain current permitted size of 240,000 sq. ft.).

We believe that building size per se is not the appropriate metric to apply to development in this Zone. Rather, specifications for allowable development should be based on scientific data about the characteristics of the land and its environs. As in other towns, qualified professionals can be employed to determine the requirements for building in the headwaters of a public water supply, building above Pyrrhotite bedrock, and building on heavily sloped land. We recommend that regulations from other towns for the protection of water resources be reviewed. We encourage the PZC to utilize these and other available tools to craft regulations for Ashford that will allow us to meet the desires and needs of our citizens and to give the town the needed planning and legal tools to allow us to grow responsibly.

Finally, we thank the members of the PZC for their ongoing and difficult work on these issues. Ashford Conservation Commssion

Ashford Conservation Commssion