Politics & Government

East Haddam Selectmen Tell Daily "No" to Land Swap

The selectmen have sent her a letter outlining their opposition to the plan. Meanwhile, other opponents are planning a site walk on Saturday morning.

The East Haddam Board of Selectmen have sent a letter (see the PDF) to state Sen. Eileen Daily officially proclaiming their opposition to a controversial plan to swap 17.4 state-owned conservation land in Haddam’s Tylerville village for 87-acres of private woodlands in Higganum.

The board voted earlier this month to oppose the so-called Haddam land swap, and recently drafted a letter signed by all three selectmen and sent to Daily. Daily, a Westbrook Democrat, is backing the land swap proposal, arguing it would bring much-needed development to the region. The plan is contained in a broader land conveyance bill currently pending in the state senate.

East Haddam selectmen agreed to oppose the swap because of concerns about the impact it could have on other state conservation lands, the three board members said in their letter to Daily.

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“We feel that the conveyance of land to a private developer after its purchase with conservation funds will have a chilling effect on the willingness of individuals to donate or sell their property and local landowners have said as much in recent public meetings,” the letter states.

A growing grassroots group of residents opposes the land swap. The group, Citizens for Protection of Public Land, is holding a site walk at the 17.4 acres on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. The walk of the land, known as the Clark Creek Wildlife Preserve, will include a report by naturalists and botanists from the Connecticut Botanical Society. The experts were called in by Citizens for Protection of Public Land to help counter assertions by some who support the swap and say the land has numerous invasive species and does not represent a sensitive conservation area.

Find out what's happening in The Haddams-Killingworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The land swap is being sought so that the developers of the Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station can develop it and build retail and other associated businesses that would complement their banquet facility, which abuts the land.

 


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