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.

Residents deserve answers on zoning changes

To the editor,

In the time I spent talking to Woodbridge voters during the recent election cycle, the topic which was on every resident’s mind was the Fountain Street project and more specifically the horrific changes to our zoning regulations. The Town Plan and Zoning Commission (TPZ) gutted our town with the changes they made to the zoning regulations, and now we are facing two 100-unit complexes which will devastate the town. Imagine 100 units on Beecher Road opposite the entrance to Beecher Road School.

Residents asked me over and over why they did this, yet no one has the answer. And when they had the chance to reverse the decision, they voted it down. The TPZ owes the town a clear explanation as to why they changed our zoning regulations so drastically and in fact used the language drafted by the attorney of the developer of Fountain Street to be incorporated into our regulations. Unheard of and so unprofessional. Why didn’t they use our town attorney?

The Town Plan and Zoning Commission needs to address this immediately. Of course, the chief architect of this mess, Chairman Robert Klee, resigned in the midst of all this and he was clearly in favor of it. That leaves newly appointed Chairman Jeffrey Kennedy who also voted in favor of the change and to not to reverse it, to please explain to the vast majority of taxpayers why they made this horrible decision. To not explain it clearly is a failure to represent the taxpayers of Woodbridge who are the ones protected by our zoning regulations.

We all await a response from the Chair and the Commission.

— Matthew T. Giglietti

The writer was a member of the Woodbridge Board of Finance from July 1986 to December 2023 where he served as Chairman for 35 years (1988–2023).

As our terms end, thoughts on the appointment process

To the editor,

At the December 10 meeting of the Board of Selectmen — the final meeting of our respective terms — we used the public comment period to share a set of written recommendations for improving Woodbridge’s process for appointing members to boards and commissions.

We offer these recommendations jointly, as outgoing Selectmen elected on different party lines, because we believe the issue transcends party. Over multiple terms and changing board compositions, both majority and minority members have expressed concern about the appointment process — not because it violates the law, but because it too often appears to be unpredictable, opaque, or unfair to residents interested in serving.

Our recommendations are intentionally modest and nonpartisan. They focus on process, not outcomes: greater transparency, clearer timelines, consistent vetting, and renewed attention to the integrity of minority-representation seats. In looking for solutions, we also looked backward — to the 1970s — when Woodbridge used a small Nominating Subcommittee of the Board of Selectmen to review candidates and forward recommendations in an orderly, balanced way.

We recognize that the incoming Board of Selectmen will set its own priorities. Our goal is simply to contribute constructively, drawing on experience from both sides of the aisle, and to offer ideas that could strengthen public trust regardless of which party holds a majority in any given year.

The full set of our recommendations is available to read online. We hope residents and incoming Selectmen alike will find them useful as Woodbridge continues the important work of local governance.

— Sheila McCreven
— David Vogel

The writers are members of the Board of Selectmen (terms ending 12/31/25). Sheila McCreven is also editor of the Woodbridge Town Chronicle (see the WTC Editorial Note on Government Coverage to learn more).

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.