Historical News Archive

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-simboard0829.artaug29,0,6174389.story Board Moves To Save Preservation Plan Phased-In Spending May Beat Objections To Ethel Walker Deal By DIANE STRUZZI Courant Staff Writer August 29 2006 SIMSBURY --In a last-minute effort to revive a land deal to preserve 420 acres at the Ethel Walker School, the board of selectmen unanimously recommended spreading the funding for the acquisition over several years.The approval Monday night was met with applause from audience members who earlier this month saw the board of finance defeat a proposal for a one-time appropriation of $11.1 million toward the acquisition."I think this agreement reflects a common-sense approach to…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-simwalker0826.artaug26,0,7750739.story Land Issue To Be Discussed Board To Consider November Vote By DANIEL P. JONES Courant Staff Writer August 26 2006 SIMSBURY --The board of selectmen will meet in a special session Monday to discuss the town's stance on the Ethel Walker School property.Board members met Friday afternoon in a closed-door session but took no action.Those who support preserving more than 400 acres of the school property as open space are hopeful that the issue can be put before voters on the November ballot."I'm looking forward to a resolution of this," said Diane Nash, a founding member of Keep…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-simland0817.artaug17,0,7467829.story Land Deal Might Get On Ballot By DIANE STRUZZI Courant Staff Writer August 17 2006 SIMSBURY -- Voters might still get a chance to say whether they support the town's preserving more than 400 acres owned by the Ethel Walker School.A day after the board of finance rejected a proposal to appropriate $11.1 million toward the effort, some town officials say they are confident that the issue, in some form, will be on the November ballot."I have faith that the town boards and commissions can work out arrangements so it's on the ballot," First Selectman Thomas Vincent said…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-simland0816.artaug16,0,6746931.story Board Denies Funding For Land Action Will Keep Question Of Appropriating $11.1 Million To Preserve Property Off Ballot By DIANE STRUZZI Courant Staff Writer August 16 2006 SIMSBURY --The board of finance on Tuesday night rejected a proposal to appropriate $11.1 million to preserve 420-plus acres owned by the Ethel Walker School, ending the chance of putting the question to voters on the November ballot.The five board members also defeated a proposal to set the appropriation figure at $5 million.No one would make a motion to consider $8.5 million, even though finance board Chairman Paul Henault urged them…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-simland0815.artaug15,0,6026033.story Land Preservation's Price Weighed Officials To Discuss Issue Tonight By DIANE STRUZZI Courant Staff Writer August 15 2006 SIMSBURY --An emotional debate about town preservation of 420 acres owned by Ethel Walker School centers on price.That issue is likely to be the main topic tonight when board of finance members discuss the proposed land acquisition. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Eno Memorial Hall on Hopmeadow Street.Last week, the board of selectmen recommended the town appropriate $11.1 million toward purchase of the land primarily along Bushy Hill Road that includes forest, trails and wetlands. The figure…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-simland0810.artaug10,0,2421543.story Board Agrees On Land Deal Town Selectmen Support $11.1 Million Conservation Proposal By DIANE STRUZZI Courant Staff Writer August 10 2006 SIMSBURY --After listening to more than an hour of public comment Wednesday night - much of it in support of conserving more than 420 acres owned by the Ethel Walker School - the board of selectmen recommended the town appropriate $11.1 million to preserve the property.Initially, the board considered passing a resolution that included an appropriation for only $8.5 million. But Selectman John Romano asked to increase the recommended appropriation to $11.1 million. Romano's request was met…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-simland0809.artaug09,0,57662.story Board Takes Up Land Purchase Issue By DIANE STRUZZI Courant Staff Writer August 9 2006 SIMSBURY --In a pivotal but preliminary step, the board of selectmen will decide tonight whether to move forward on preserving 424 acres of land owned by the Ethel Walker School, acreage that was once slated to include a subdivision of luxury homes.The main issue - how much the town is willing to spend to buy the land. In June, the school and the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit conservation organization, reached an agreement, offering to sell development rights to the town…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-5brf0808_2.artaug08,0,3465413.story Board To Review Land Acquisition August 8 2006 SIMSBURY - --The board of selectmen will review a proposal to acquire a tract owned by Ethel Walker School, at a special meeting to be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Eno Memorial Hall Auditorium on Hopmeadow Street. The selectmen will discuss and possibly approve a resolution concerning the land, according to a town meeting agenda. The private school once considered building luxury homes on part of the 424 acres and is offering to sell development rights to the town for $13.85 million. The land, on Bushy Hill Road,…

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/letters/hc-lets0715.artjul15,0,5666308.story?page=2 July 15 2006Town's Character At Stake Once every generation or so, we are called upon to make a significant decision regarding Simsbury's natural and financial resources. Thirty years ago, Simsbury acquired the land that we now know as Simsbury Farms, and we are all thankful that our predecessors had the vision to preserve that land for the good of the town. Today, we face such a decision - whether to preserve the Ethel Walker property and the pristine Stratton Brook aquifer. This issue is entirely different than any other, financial or philosophical, currently facing Simsbury. Now it is…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-simland0623.artjun23,0,188740.story School Offers Open Space Deal By JENNIFER GROGAN Courant Staff Writer June 23 2006 SIMSBURY --A private school that once considered building luxury homes on part of its 424 acres of woods is offering to sell development rights to the town for $13.85 million.The town has until November to decide on the offer, made by the Ethel Walker School for a parcel it owns on Bushy Hill Road. Town officials have long had an interest in preserving the property as open space."This is the best option," Susanna Jones, head of the school, said Thursday. "We're very excited that…

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/commentary/hc-plcstormwater0514.artmay14,0,2211368.story With Spring Comes Sprawl's Toxic Runoff By ERIC HAMMERLING May 14 2006The pejorative term "sprawl" conjures up an image of cookie-cutter subdivisions marching inexorably over gentle hills that were once farms or forests. Many of us bemoan the changes that sprawl has wrought on our neighborhoods and towns - more paved areas, more traffic, more look-alike strip malls.We rarely speak of what may be the most harmful aspect of sprawl, and that is how it affects our water supply.What is happening isn't hard to explain. Sprawling development is accompanied by an explosion of paved areas, which scientists call…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-simland0127.artjan27,0,1897260.story Value Judgments On Land Use Forum Participants Talk About Town's Need To Balance Preservation, Development By MARK SPENCER Courant Staff Writer January 27 2006 SIMSBURY --The balancing act between development and preservation has been a major issue in town during the past year and lends itself easily to heated exchanges.But Thursday night at Eno Hall, more than 120 residents listened in a more relaxed atmosphere as a panel of experts discussed the issue in a forum called "Forging a Vision for Simsbury."The forum was sponsored by a residents' group called Keep the Woods, a group formed last year…

From the December 24, 2005 Hartford Courant.School Shouldn't Develop Property Ethel Walker School, a prestigious all-girls school, is planning to develop hundreds of acres of pristine open space in Simsbury with 122 suburban castles. This is being done to correct shortages in the school's endowment. For a private educational institution to attempt to resolve a short-term cash-flow problem by massive and irreversible development of greenfields is reprehensible. Housing developments like this do not come down in Connecticut; they usually multiply. The proposed development would entail not only 122 large-scale homes, but most likely more than 500 people, at least…

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/letters/hc-lets1224.artdec24,0,2787290.story?page=3 The Stuff Legends Are Made Of December 24 2005The Dec. 18 editorial "One Whale Of A Tale," explaining the characteristics of the tusk of the narwhal, brought to mind Bill Faude's reopening of the famous Steward Museum at the Old State House a few years ago.Mr. Faude was quoted in The Courant as having acquired almost all of the exhibits and curiosities necessary except for a two-headed pig and the horn of a unicorn. I immediately called him and told him I had such an object mounted in my den and I would be happy to donate it…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/mr/hc-crmmorat1219.artdec19,0,5378754.story Planners Want Some Breathing Room Moratorium Proposed For Zone Changes, Larger Subdivisions By GARY LIBOW Courant Staff Writer December 19 2005 CROMWELL --The planning and zoning commission in early January will consider enacting a moratorium on applications for zone changes and subdivisions of more than 5 acres.Town Planner Craig Minor said a moratorium would give the panel several months of breathing room while an advisory panel works to update Cromwell's plan of conservation and development.The planning panel has scheduled a public hearing Jan. 3 in town hall for comment on the moratorium plan. The commission likely will vote…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-water1218.artdec19,0,1967262.story Taking Stock Of Water Woes By STEPHANIE SUMMERS Courant Staff Writer December 19 2005Your neighbor just built a pond and filled it with his well water. It dried up your artesian, but guess what? Under Connecticut common law, you have almost no recourse.On the other hand, you'd better not draw too much water from the stream near your land because it's not OK to undercut its viability downstream.Experts say Connecticut's water wars are just going to get worse.There is no overarching water court to decide between the golf course that wants to keep its greens green and the…

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/commentary/hc-plccondon1218.artdec18,0,2596464.column Treasures Quietly Slipping Away Tom Condon December 18 2005Westland Street in the North End of Hartford and Route 44 on the east side of Avon Mountain are separated by a few miles of land and the divide of wealth. What they have in common is the shortsighted loss of open space.In both instances, the loss might have been prevented if the public was aware of the status of the land.Westland Street is the home, for the moment, of Brackett Park. The 7.39-acre parcel - a lovely piece of land, if not always perfectly maintained - was the site…

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/commentary/hc-plckuykendal1218.artdec18,0,7528934.story An Overdose Of Stores By JIM KUYKENDALL December 18 2005I'm aquiver with excitement.Less than a five-minute drive to the north of my house, they're building a new Walgreens.This is great, because now I won't have to suffer through that pesky five-minute drive to the south to go to that other Walgreens. It was so out of my way.Of course, Walgreens isn't my only choice. Within that same five-minute drive from my house I also have at my disposal two CVS pharmacies. And if those drug stores don't suit me, there also are two Stop & Shops, a Big…

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/commentary/hc-plcadammoore1218.artdec18,0,5122487.story Developer, Spare This Vital Industry By ADAM MOORE December 18 2005The diesel engine heralds its approach. I sip my steaming coffee, peer over the crescent of frost on the windowpane and watch as traffic passes on Route 77 below. A moment later, there it is, a log truck with its load piled high, rolling toward a North Guilford sawmill. It rumbles past, leaving December's dusting of snow swirling about in its wake. This morning, every morning, and several times a day on my road, a loaded log truck passes by. Timber does not readily come to mind when…

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/commentary/hc-plcforestmain1218.artdec18,0,3287497.story If You Love Our Forests, Let Them Stand By DON SMITH December 18 2005 People in Connecticut tend to believe that the land where they live, work and play has lots of trees - always has, as far as they know, and therefore, always will. Not necessarily. Things are changing for the worse and we are in danger of losing large portions of our forests unless we take strong action now. For more than two centuries after Europeans first arrived in Connecticut, they labored to clear the forest for agriculture. By 1860, more than 70 percent of the…

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-whitaker17dec01,0,1377736.story?coll=hc-headlines-editorials Investing In Land That Lasts December 1 2005 SOMERS & NEIGHBORS -- More of Connecticut's fields and forests may be saved from development, thanks to $6.8 million in recent state Department of Environmental Protection grants for open space. This money is a significant step toward the state's goal of preserving 21 percent of its open space by 2023. That's 673,210 acres. We're 70 percent of the way there. One of the largest awards - $450,000 - will go toward purchasing the 286-acre Whitaker property in Somers at an estimated cost of $1.2 million. The town and the local…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-simethel0916.artsep16,0,2429649.story Group May Help Town Preserve Tract By KATIE MELONE Courant Staff Writer September 16 2005 SIMSBURY -- A national land preservation group says its ability to assist the town in preserving a 450-acre parcel on the Ethel Walker School campus will hinge on whether it can raise sufficient donations. It will take at least a few weeks - and possibly longer - before the Trust for Public Land can say whether it can enter into an agreement to help the town buy the land, or the development rights to the land, said Tim Northrop, the trust's state director.…

http://www.courant.com/news/local/fv/hc-simethel0913.artsep13,0,266955.story Citizens' Group To Withdraw Appeal Would Encourage Talks Over Preserving Ethel Walker School Property By KATIE MELONE Courant Staff Writer September 13 2005 SIMSBURY -- A citizens' group has promised to withdraw a legal appeal it hoped could stall the Ethel Walker School's plans to build a large development of luxury homes on its wooded campus. Keep the Woods group felt emboldened by recent talks between the town, school and a land preservation group, said Susan Masino, a member. Instead of focusing on litigation, the group decided to encourage the three to enter into an agreement for the…