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Letter: Selling Town-Owned Land at Lapham and Talmadge Hill Roads a ‘Bad and Short-Sighted’ Idea
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The proposal to sell the 6.2 acre undeveloped parcel of Waveny Park land on the south side of the Merritt Parkway adjacent to the Talmadge Hill Station is a very bad and short-sighted solution to the town’s fiscal condition. The recommendation should go no further than the Conservation Commission and the Parks & Recreation Commission, and they most assuredly will vote “no.”
This “unused” property is wooded open space that provides wildlife habit; serves as a sink for carbon dioxide and other exhaust pollutants from the Merritt Parkway; is a groundwater recharge area; and helps provide the green buffer that makes Waveny Park feel so rural. New Canaan has less than the state recommended area preserved as public open space. Selling six acres for development is simply not justified from an environmental standpoint. If the parcel is legally part of Waveny Park, then under state law, a like kind amount of land must be purchased to compensate for the taking of park land.
