Politics & Government
CT River Watershed Council Sends Out an Action Alert
Urging citizens to call Governor Malloy and voice opposition to the land swap.
In light of the recent legislation regarding the controversial land swap, which would, if signed by Governor Malloy, "swap" 17.4 acres of state-owned land in the Tylerville section of Haddam with 87 acres of privately-owned land in Higganum, the Connecticut River Watershed Council has issued the following alert:
Tell Governor Malloy You Oppose the Haddam Land Swap
CRWC joins Connecticut League of Conservation Voters in asking you to contact Governor Malloy expressing your opposition to the Haddam Land Swap.
The "Haddam land swap," one of this year's most controversial pieces of legislation, passed in Bill 1196 on the last day of the legislative session, but Governor Malloy's approval is not guaranteed. This was the third consecutive year in which the Haddam land swap was proposed. It has been rejected twice as a very bad precedent.Read a history and analysis of the land swap prepared by the Rivers Alliance. (PDF 27KB)
Please take some time today to call or email the Governor's Office to make your reasoned opposition to the swap clearly heard. Tell the Governor that the correct, good-government process is important. CRWC joins Connecticut League of Conservation Voters in asking you to contact Governor Malloy expressing your opposition to the Haddam Land Swap.
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Following is background information you may wish to use to explain your position:
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The State of Connecticut bought the 17.4-acre parcel for $1.35 million on June 11, 2003 for conservation purposes.*
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A fundamental duty of the courts in interpreting conveyances of real estate is to carry into effect the true intent of the parties. Does the Governor really want to back the legislature in overriding sellers' and buyers' clearly stated intent when it is legitimately expressed in the land transfer deed?
Further, the legislature entirely disregarded DEP guidelines for disposing of conservation land under its care. Does the Governor really want to encourage the legislature to disrespect guidelines of the administrative branch of government? See DEP Directive, Manual Code 2214 (scroll to page 8), establishing policy and procedures to be followed for exchanging land or interests in land under the custody or control of the Department of Environmental Protection (June 2008).
Further still, the Government Administration & ElectionsCommittee's public hearing on the land swap drew overwhelming opposition to the proposal. Of the 65 written comments submitted on the bill, only 16 (three of which were the separate comments of three RiverhouseProperties partners) favored the Haddam land swap; 43 comments (66%) opposed the swap; 6 comments addressed other sections of bill 1196. Read the written testimony here.
We have no position on the other conveyances in the bill and want to see the bill vetoed purely due to the inclusion of the proposed Haddam land swap, which we feel should never have been included in this bill in the first place.
Thanks to our partner(s), the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters: http://www.ctlcv.org/ and at the Rivers Alliancehttp://www.riversalliance.org/
To Tell Governor Malloy You Oppose the Haddam Land Swap:
Call 860-566-4840 (Toll-Free 1-800-406-1527) or email Governor Malloy.
* Note: after the Commissioner of Environmental Protection (then Arthur Rocque) determined, as he was duly authorized under Conn. Gen. Stat. §23-75, that the land in question "has high priority recreation, fishery and conservation value, and is consistent with the state comprehensive plan for outdoor recreation and the state plan of conservation and development, and should be retained in its natural scenic or open condition as park or public open space..." See Warranty Deed, Volume 263 page 219 of the Haddam land records, published at http://www.landswap.org/Deed.html
Editor's Note: This is re-printed from a mass e-mail alert that was sent out from the Connecticut River Watershed Council.
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