NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letter. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com to have it published here.
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As Waveny LifeCare Network (WLN) presents its plans to build a retirement community in Waveny Park to various town agencies and organizations, it is attempting to convince the public and Town administrators that Waveny Park does not include Parcel E. An informational presentation was made by WLN to the Town Council on July 15th, and a webpage for the proposal has been set up on Waveny LifeCare’s website. The proposed 20-acre location for the 150-unit retirement community is being called “town-owned land west of Lapham Road;” Parcel “E” in the “Waveny Zone;” the “Mulch Area;” and “not located in the same parcel as Waveny House, nor the 100+ acres located around Waveny House.” It should be noted that there is no legally defined “Waveny Zone,” and the “mulch area” occupies about 5 acres of the total 50 acres of Parcel E.
Parcel E have been an important part of Waveny Park since the town acquired the property in 1967. In 2019 Waveny Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service. The historic listing for Waveny Park includes Waveny House and its associated structures and 285 acres of meadows and woodland that surround the mansion, including Parcel E, the woodlands west of Lapham Road. The application to the National Park Service specifically noted that Parcel E was included in the property to be designated a Historic Place, and that that parcel carried deed restrictions with uses limited to “recreation, health, horticulture, public park and gardens, including by way of illustration, but not of limitation, the preservation and conservation of open spaces, bird sanctuaries, arboretums, and nature and equitation [sic] trails.”
The reference to “health” as used in the Parcel E deed restriction refers to “healthy exercise” such as hiking and horseback riding, not “medical services”. The Waveny deed restrictions specifically provided for institutional health services in Parcel C where the Waveny Care Center was constructed. A 150-unit senior living community in Parcel E is clearly inconsistent with the uses as specified by Ruth Lapham Lloyd.
Today, the 50 undeveloped acres of Parcel E is open space parkland that serves as important wildlife habitat, a bird sanctuary, carbon sink, and water recharge area. Undeveloped Parcel E provides the natural green barrier that gives the western view across the Waveny Park meadow its special rural character, without any visible light or noise. The five acres used for the leaf mulch operation is New Canaan’s most tangible green initiative.
As WLN makes its proposed senior community presentations to town organizations, and there is public debate about the pros and cons of a continuing care retirement community, and its proposed location in Parcel E, it must be made very clear by Town administrators that the proposed location in Parcel E is indeed in Waveny Park, and that the Waveny deed restrictions, and all local, state and federal laws concerning public parkland apply.
Respectfully,
Skip Hobbs
Thank you, Skip. That this location would be considered and even supported by leading members of our town feels like a betrayal. As New Canaan inevitably grows, the open space of Waveny will become more and more precious, much like Central Park. Each generation much protect it for the next.
Thank you for being thorough precise about the deed restrictions. Hopefully this will remain pristine & not be developed. In my opinion New Canaan is over developed in my lifetime growing up here.
I think it’s time WLN drops this plan.
Or do we have to spend time on this
like we did on the North School.
The proposed Waveny project appears to face fundamental obstacles that should be evaluated before any taxpayer funds are committed. I support reviewing viable alternatives, but I also believe the Town should discontinue consideration of projects that cannot meet environmental, economic, deed, or other practical requirements. The North School proposal raised similar concerns: the relevant facts were available at Town Hall before the superintendent authorized a $125,000 study, and the recommendation was unlikely to satisfy environmental or economic review. To protect taxpayers, Town Hall should identify and address threshold issues early rather than advancing proposals that are unlikely to succeed.
Thank you Skip! Kudos
Thank you. Deed restrictions must be honored by the Town.