To:  	The Open Space Land Preservation Subcommittee, Town of Simsbury
Cc: 	Board of Selectman
Board of Finance
	Planning Commission
	Susanna Jones, Head of School
										July 6, 2005						`				
Dear Officials:

      While I submit this as an individual, the concerns herein are shared by many in our community and by many members of our community action group*.  Our group wants to focus our time and energy to work in a positive direction with the town in this issue and resolve this situation in a way that benefits the long term interests of both the Ethel Walker School and the Town of Simsbury.  I write to outline some of the impacts a major new subdivision will impose on our Town of Simsbury, but more importantly I highlight some of the economic benefits of preserving valuable open space such as the Ethel Walker campus.  As evidenced by our petition and many emails and interactions with the community there is enormous public support for finding a viable alternative to development and preserving this parcel, and I urge the town to act immediately to find a win-win situation.

The value of the Ethel Walker parcel:

As open space became a critical issue on both the local and national scene, strategies have been developed to identify objectively what land is most important to preserve.  The major factors that are considered are:

•	Resources (such as water)
•	Recreational value
•	Accessibility and proximity to populated areas
•	Wildlife (and vital natural habitats)
•	Connectness (with other open space parcels and existing trail systems)

The Ethel Walker property scores highly on all of these categories, and is a parcel with an extremely high value as open space.  While some parcels of land are appropriate for development, this parcel is not.  Petition signing by residents throughout the town underscores the widespread public support for preserving this parcel.

Long term economic benefits of open space:

A number of towns, including several in Connecticut, have enjoyed higher bond ratings by both Moody’s and Fitch Investor Services due to their long term vision for, commitment to, and planning of open space preservation.  Cheshire set up a 10 million dollar fund to protect open space and saw its bond ratings improve from A to AA.  Howard County, Maryland now enjoys a AAA rating based on preservation programs. Bond ratings reflect the reality that mismanaged or unlimited growth threaten a community’s fiscal health.  Planning for open space, targeting development to selected areas (those with excess sewer or school capacity, for example) and limiting the amount of land that is developed decreases the likelihood of both expected and unexpected capital expenditures needed to support such development.

It is well documented that both expensive homes and valuable open space increase property values nearby.  However open space results in increased tax revenue without an increase in municipal services – a net economic benefit to the Town.  On average, houses that abut open space sell for at least 5-10% above similar properties, and houses with easy access to open space also sell for a premium.  Since the Ethel Walker parcel abuts densely populated areas of Simsbury this impact will be widespread over many streets and neighborhoods, and accrue over years as properties change hands.  

Recognizing and protecting important parcels of open space safeguards the character of our town and improves quality of life.  This is particularly true in economic development; firms that can choose to go wherever they want choose towns with a very high quality of life.  If we retain a high quality of life here in Simsbury, people will be likely to move here and/or stay here for reasons OTHER than our renowned (but overcrowded) school system.  Residences with school age children are the biggest drain on our municipality and our town budget, and the Board of Education uses 80% of the property tax dollars in Simsbury.  Of course we like families and children - they are our community.  However as our population increases, attracting people for a variety of reasons can shift the balance to a lower percentage of families with school children and help stabilize our school enrollments and municipal expenditures.  

The advantages of protecting the source of our water:

The wetlands and the aquifer associated with the Ethel Walker property are quite significant resources for a number of reasons.  The percentage of wetland per acre is 70% higher than an average parcel (25% of the property is wetland as stated by soil scientist William Root at the Inland Wetlands meeting on June 7th).  Wetlands are very sensitive to development, and valuable to the town for flood control and wildlife habitats.  Even more critical, a major aquifer for Simsbury water is underneath this property.  Polluted runoff is the single largest threat to water quality.  Source protection of critical parcels prevents an irrecoverable loss of water quality and quantity if the source property is developed.  The combination of forest, slopes, small streams, and wetlands leading into the aquifer combine to make this the most sensitive type of parcel for water quality.  Right now these natural elements protecting the aquifer are providing our town the highest quality water as well as ongoing services, such as filtration and ground well recharge, for free. 

The advantages of limiting residential development and limiting sprawl:

A new, large, suburban-style large-lot subdivision represents the worst sort of sprawl.  Rather than helping the town in any way it will put more strain on services, and any major capital expenditures will increase our taxes.  There is no doubt that over the years Simsbury will see at least another 122 high-end homes.  However these would be spread throughout the town and be more easily integrated into the town services.  Consider our neighbors in Canton:  Even with the major commercial addition of the “Shoppes” on Rt. 44, and a 9% increase of their grand list, Canton residents faced a tax increase because of the tax burden of increased residential development.  Granby also has a bigger commercial tax base than Simsbury, but with their rapid pace of residential development they faced tax increases of between 4 and 5 % in each of the past two years.  

We owe it to ourselves and our children to ensure that important natural systems and valuable parcels of land remain intact when an opportunity arises.  As a town we should make decisions about where development and conservation take place based on goals and visions for the long term future of our community.  We should also make informed decisions based on a clear understanding of likely tax consequences of more sprawling residential development, and educate ourselves about the economic benefits or preserving open space.

Recently the Farmington River Valley received national recognition in the press and in a new book for being one of 19 nature-friendly communities in the United States.  This is an extremely prestigious distinction and will only become more so as land continues to be developed in other communities. Simsbury is at the core of this nature-friendly region, and the Ethel Walker School is at the very heart of Simsbury.  They represent the best in our community.  Simsbury’s legacy of land preservation, and strategic planning for land use, were major factors in this determination.  We will certainly see many more expensive houses in Simsbury without this subdivision coursing throughout and disrupting completely a parcel with extremely high preservation value.  However these other inevitable new houses and development could be integrated into the town on smaller, fragmented pieces of land which are less valuable as open space and/or along existing roads.

We have enjoyed and appreciated the presence of the school in our community for nearly 100 years.  Their movement toward developing the land is not a matter of their greed or wanting a subdivision in the middle of their campus.  They need help financially, and this community should try to help them in good faith.  The recent appraisal performed by the town is very timely in moving this situation forward.  They need to do what is best for the school financially.  Risk-free money up front for preserving the land would be a wise financial decision for them.  To this end, a number of individuals have contacted the Trust for Public Land.  We feel that their unique combination of skills, as well as past success at preserving campuses at other private schools make the TPL a wonderful option and resource for the town to utilize in this situation.  They are willing to help, and they can partner town monies with other local, state, and national sources to offer the school fair market value.  They are willing to extend themselves financially and offer bridge financing while they wait for various money sources, and they can purchase a property in 60 days. There is nothing to lose – the TPL is experienced at this in a way that no one in the town could be expected to be, and they can add value to the town’s offer with other money sources.  Rather than a fee they accept a donation, and we will find a way to cover such a donation so that the school does not lose this value out of their yield for the land.  The TPL preserves an average of 350 acres of land a day – the Ethel Walker School property would literally be “all in a days work”. 

We are unwilling to accept a delay in this matter.  We want to help, and we want to communicate with the town to best utilize our energy.  I spoke with Susanna Jones on the phone today and she said the school is in the process of doing their own appraisal and they are willing to listen to reasonable offers.  If the school moves forward with their development application the resulting process will be expensive and disruptive for all involved.  The parcel will come off of non-profit status with their very next application - most likely wetlands permits indicating intent to develop.  Now is an important window of opportunity before they take this next step - additional costs associated with the process will add up quickly and will only add to the price of any preservation transaction.  If their application does go through the full planning board process the only winners will be the lawyers.

Instead of a conflict, let’s cooperate and combine our efforts, time and money on something worthwhile for the school and our town.  Preserving the property while attaining fair market value for the school is the right thing to do, and both town officials and the Board and Head of School would enjoy a wonderful legacy.  

I am happy to provide the town with any documentation used to research this issue or to engage in further discussion.  Thank you for your attention and serious consideration of the urgent matter at hand.  

Susan Masino
41 Madison Lane
West Simsbury, CT 06092
Home:	651-6790
Work:	297-2557

* the names for our group include Citizens to Preserve Ethel Walker Land, Keep the Woods, KTW & “The Woods People”