Open Space Land Now OK For Development

After much controversy Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed a conveyance bill earlier this month that contained the contested Haddam land swap and also changed the open space designation of a piece of land in Tolland for development.

Provisions for both towns saw the status of a piece of land recommended as open space changed to clear the way for development.

In Haddam it was a 17-acre parcel with a view of the Connecticut River, which the state gave up for 87 acres adjacent Cockaponset State Forest. The state’s deed for the 17-acre property recommended it be used as open space.

Now the land will go to Riverhouse Properties, a developer planning to build a hotel and a mix of shopping areas.

For Tolland the state was willing to change the designation of 9.7 acres of land-locked open space located behind the commuter parking lot off Interstate 84 at exit 68. The parcel was deeded to the town about eight years ago. For the change the town will pay administrative fees.

Tolland officials asked for the change because they too want to see the creation of a hotel as part of a village center development and destination spot.

The state also agreed to give the town the option to at some point in the future move the commuter lot across the street to open up access to the landlocked parcel.

Though the two provisions were lumped together in the same bill, Tolland’s attracted little attention outside the town throughout the legislative process. Meanwhile the Haddam swap became a statewide controversy.

Environmentalists insisted that the Haddam exchange amounted to trading away state land that was purchased for open space to a developer. The state purchased the 17-acres in 2003 for $1.35 million and proponents of the swap say there was nothing in the deed to show it should be maintained as open space.

The Haddam controversy pitted two Democratic legislators from the region against each other.  Sen. Eileen Daily, D-Westbrook, fought for the bill and said the economic development would be good for Haddam. While freshman Rep. Phillip Miller, D-Essex, led the charge against it, arguing potential land donors were unlikely to give land to the state if they believed it would turn around and hand it to developers.

Malloy was asked repeatedly by reporters to weigh in on the Haddam land swap, a request he consistently dodged toward the end of the session. Republicans in the Senate wrote a letter to Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Daniel C. Esty asking for his opinion on the provision.

When Esty didn’t respond, they went as far as proposing an amendment to the bill that would have forced him to address it.

After the bill passed the General Assembly, Malloy carefully considered the provision. He personally toured the Haddam site and solicited his own response from Esty before signing off on it, according to his staff.

“After hearing from vocal supporters and opponents, touring the property himself and soliciting the opinion of his commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Governor Malloy is convinced this land swap is the right thing to do,” Malloy’s spokesperson Colleen Flanagan said.

Throughout, all was quiet on the Tolland front.

So why did a swap in one town have the state up in arms while a change in an open space designation in another went largely ignored?

“I think maybe it’s because of the Connecticut River,” said Sen. Tony Guglielmo, R-Stafford.

Guglielmo, whose district includes Tolland, supported the measure. He said that trading 17 acres for 87 sounds like a good deal for the state. But he said the fact that the Haddam site had a view of the river complicated the issue and was probably what attracted the attention of environmentalists.

“Anytime you start talking about the waterfront, it’s worth a lot of money,” he said.

And once environmentalists jumped into the debate, they became a powerful force against the measure, he said. In June, Guglielmo said he had been getting e-mails from people outside his district urging him to vote the bill down.

But the Tolland designation change was also a lot cleaner and easier for people to understand, he said. It had opposition in town but that opposition never spread, he said.

Another reason could be the simple fact that the town of Tolland has no shortage of open space. When he testified before the Government and Administration and Elections Committee in March, Town Manager Steven Werbner said that approximately 20 percent of Tolland’s overall landmass is classified as open space.

“The town has over the last 10 years purchased and preserved over 1,000 acres of open space,” he said, adding that the 9.7-acre parcel was landlocked and not suitable for that use.

Whatever the reasons were for ignoring it, Guglielmo said it’s good the Tolland provision went through. The Tolland Village project represents a potential silver lining in an economic forecast that’s not favorable to small towns, he said.

“You have to wonder how long they can hold the line,” Guglielmo said Monday. “If they don’t get some economic growth they won’t be able to sustain this.”

He’s hopeful the Tolland Village could offer that growth for the town. If a hotel were built, it would likely become the biggest revenue generator in town, he said. And its placement, right along the corridor between I-84 and the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs, will be a boon for business.

He said he’s spent some time campaigning on that road, waving at cars, and “the stream of cars coming from UConn on a Friday night is tremendous.”

“Hopefully it works out,” he said.

The village project in Tolland has been in the works for years and has been a point of contention. But officials seem relieved it’s cleared this recent hurdle.

Director of Planning and Community Development Linda Farmer said that she was more involved with the legislative process this year than in the past. She was pleased to see Tolland’s requests moving along and became concerned when the controversy broke out over Haddam’s.

But with Malloy’s signature those plans can move forward, she said.

“The passing of the conveyance bill is a huge positive for us,” she said.