This Week’s Letters to the Editor

Editor’s Note: The Letters to the Editor section in the Woodbridge Town Chronicle is a place where community voices can be shared and heard. In the print newspapers of years past, letters to the editor were often the liveliest section, where readers spoke directly to one another, the broader community, and its leaders. To submit a letter for consideration please refer to the submission guidelines.

Land Trust and Park Association provide update on 804 Fountain Street lawsuit

To the editor,

In January, the Woodbridge Land Trust and Woodbridge Park Association jointly filed suit in New Haven Superior Court challenging the Town Plan & Zoning Commission's approval of a 96-unit apartment building at 804 Fountain Street {read the legal complaint at the judicial website}.

At the beginning of the zoning application process, both non-profit organizations were granted status as environmental intervenors under Connecticut law. As such, we hired three independent experts, two ecologists and a professional engineer specializing in stormwater management, who demonstrated that the proposed development would cause irreversible environmental damage.

The approved four-story development, which includes 145 parking spaces, would require the removal of large amounts of bedrock through blasting. Our experts’ testimony demonstrated that this would destroy second-growth forest and wildlife habitats, inadequately manage stormwater runoff, leading to wetland pollution, and adversely affect amphibians and reptiles in Bishop's Pond. Experts testified that the blasting could also impact underground water flow patterns, potentially affecting wetlands, the pond, and neighborhood drinking water wells.

The lawsuit also challenges the Commission's failure to follow its own regulations and procedural violations during the approval process. The Town's Fire Chief testified that Woodbridge lacks the equipment and personnel to fight fires in a four-story building. Numerous citizens testified that Fountain Street cannot accommodate the increased traffic. Despite this evidence, the Commission approved the applications.

Under Connecticut's Environmental Protection Act, the Commission was required to consider reasonable alternatives to the proposed development. The lawsuit alleges the Commission failed to do so, instead acting in an arbitrary, capricious, and illegal manner by disregarding the overwhelming evidence of adverse environmental impact.

Both organizations have information on their websites {Woodbridge Land Trust and Woodbridge Park Association} for anyone who wants to get involved, including options for making contributions to fund our efforts.

We thank the public for their ongoing support and encouragement in this matter.

— Bryan Pines
President, Woodbridge Land Trust
— Catherine Wick
President, Woodbridge Park Association

Editor’s Note: Letters reflect the perspectives of their authors. They are published to foster dialogue about issues of local concern, including questions of governance, transparency, and accountability, as well as topics such as highlighting upcoming or past events from community groups. To submit a letter for consideration please refer to the submission guidelines.