Preservation Panel Makes Case For Limiting Development
The Hartford Courant, September
26, 2003
By JESSE LEAVENWORTH,
Courant Staff Writer
NEW HARTFORD -- The town
has ample open space and the means to protect it from development, according to
two studies done for the open space preservation commission.
Chairwoman Caren Ross
said Thursday that the studies, which cost the panel about $6,000, prove the
necessity and feasibility of proposed open space bonding. Earlier this month,
the selectmen asked the board of finance to consider a bonding package that
includes $1.5 million to purchase open space.
The Buildable Lands Study
done by the Farmington River Watershed Association concludes that 10,762 acres,
or about 44 percent of New Hartford's total land, could be developed. The great
majority is zoned for housing, and most of that buildable residential land -
8,790 acres - is in parcels zoned for 2-acre housing lots, according to the
study.
"The continued
development of these areas is a potential problem for the tax base of the town
because of the costs of providing services to residential areas versus the tax
benefits gained from residential development," the study's authors wrote.
"The `build-out' of these residential areas would also mean a very
significant increase in town population and automobile traffic.
"These facts
strongly support open space acquisition and preservation as a strategy to ease
financial burdens of the town."
The other study was done
by a national group called The Trust for Public Land. The organization looked
at the town's financial condition, its bonding history and a reasonable amount
for the average household to contribute toward a campaign to preserve open
space.
The study begins by
asking why taxpayers should fund land conservation. The answers are:
New Hartford residents
want open space protected. Land conservation was the top concern in a recent
planning meeting. In a recent telephone survey contracted by the economic
development commission, 93.8 percent of the 401 respondents strongly agreed or
somewhat agreed to the statement: "New Hartford should use existing
developed lands before developing in rural or underdeveloped areas."
Losing open space
increases demand for public services; decreases quality of life; degrades water
quality; and reduces wildlife habitat.
"Local funding is
critical to success," the study says. It gives the town more control.
The study includes a
fiscal profile of the town that notes its upper medium bond rating from Moody's
Investors Services and ample capacity, within a debt limit of about $23
million, to issue bonds.
Funding a $1.5 million
general obligation, 20-year bond would cost the average homeowner $38.52 a
year, according to the study.
Of the town's 24,362
acres, about 14 percent is permanently protected. The goal of the town's open
space plan is to preserve at least 30 percent.