Airport Development Under Review

CFE Involved

Proposed for Inclusion in McKinney NWR

Hammonasset Named IBA

The Griswold Airport property is the focus of ongoing concern following the Madison Planning and Zoning Commission's approval of an exemption to zoning regulations that would permit the Leyland Development to build a 250-unit housing complex at the airport. Stop Griswold Over-Development has filed an application with the PZC for repeal of the approval. SGOD has enlisted the assistance of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment. CFE, a statewide environmental advocacy group, is calling on the PZC to reject the proposed high-density housing development on 45 acres adjacent to Hammonasset State Park.

Dan Lorimier, outreach coordinator at CFE, expressed concern that the massive would be bad for the Town, and may threaten the health of swimmers and wildlife alike.

"A site right next to one of Connecticut's three state parks for swimming in Long Island Sound is no place to experiment with far greater densities. We all know of septic systems that have failed over time with far fewer units per acre. To endanger Hammonasset State Park's future so that one company can maximize their profits while developing the Griswold Airport is sheer folly," Lorimier said.

Protecting the Hammonasset‘s ecological health is endangered. "It's difficult to know how Leyland can develop the low flood prone areas of the site without bulldozing thousands of cubic yards of fill within a few feet from one of the region's best nature preserves. Developers simply cannot prevent soil from washing into wetland areas during heavy rains. They cannot prevent long-term damage to this area from runoff from this development," Lorimier added.

The proposed project is simply too much, too dense, too big. "Approval of this project opens the door to a development which is too risky to the Town and the environment," he concluded.

In a related development, Hammonasset State Park has been nominated for inclusion as an Important Bird Area. Also, Patrick Comins, director of bird conservation for Audubon Connecticut has nominated the airport property for inclusion in the Stewart B. McKinney NWR. "The habitat of the airport, if left undeveloped and managed, has great potential as upland coastal grassland habitat, with potential to support nesting Savannah Sparrows (sate special concern), Horned Lark (state threatened) and possibly other declining grassland nesting birds. It would also serve as a valuable stopover habitat for many species of migratory birds," Comins said. Using moneys from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (derived primarily from offshore oil leases), the acquisition would require specific congressional legislation.

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Last updated 18 September, 2004 .