CORNWALL — With the homes selling for roughly triple pre-pandemic prices in Cornwall, solutions for attracting young families to town are in high demand.
More than 50 community members gathered at the Cornwall Library Feb. 22 to brainstorm potential uses of a 12-acre plot at 282 Kent Road.
The session was hosted by Cornwall Housing Corporation and Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity (LCCHO), who aim to develop the land with up to 24 affordable units.
LCCHO Director Jocelyn Ayer described the project as “very early days” and the goal of the forum was to learn “the community vision for this site.”
The property is owned by David Berto, a housing consultant who purchased it at a tax lien sale in 2023. CHC has the option to buy the land from Berto for the purpose of creating housing.
Brownfield testing is underway courtesy of a grant from Northwest Hills Council of Governments. Previous testing conducted in 2004 and 2005 found heavy metals in the land and hydrocarbons in the groundwater.
Berto said at that time the owners “basically removed all of the surface contamination, so we don’t think there’s much left now but we don’t know yet.”
After a brief breakdown of the lay of the land, attendees split into five groups to design their vision for the site. Topographical maps were distributed to each team with paper cutouts to place residential units on the property.
Ideas abounded at the affordable housing forum in Cornwall Feb. 22. Riley Klein
Ideas flourished and each group presented to the forum.
The consensus was to maximize the number of residential units, which was determined to be 24. Rental units were preferred by most groups due to space-saving qualities and the expressed need by individuals on the housing waitlist.
Most designs consolidated the structures to preserve as much open space as possible.
Some popular ideas were solar panels, either on the roofs or in an open field, bear-proof trash receptacles, rural aesthetic for the structures, a nature trail and courtyards for residents.
Consideration was given to creating community spaces for the greater public to utilize. These included a park and playground, community gardens along the road, and a community center.
Ayer thanked everyone for contributing to the forum and encouraged residents to stay involved in the process.
Environmental testing of the property will go through the fall of 2025. Ayer said another forum will be scheduled when the evaluation produces results.
The Haystack Book Festival, a program of the Norfolk Hub, brings renowned writers and thinkers to Norfolk for conversation. Celebrating its fifth season this fall, the festival will gather 18 writers for discussions at the Norfolk Library on Sept. 20 and Oct. 3 through 5.
Jerome A. Cohen, author of the memoir “Eastward, Westward: A Lifein Law.”Haystack Book Festival
For example, “Never Take the Rule of Law for Granted: China and the Dissident,” will be held Saturday, Sept. 20, at 4 p.m. at the Norfolk Library. It brings together Jerome A. Cohen, author of “Eastward, Westward: A Life in Law,” and Mark Clifford, author of “The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong King’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic” in dialogue with journalist Richard Hornik to discuss the rule of law and China.
The Council on Foreign Relations stated, “Few Americans have done more than Jerome A. Cohen to advance the rule of law in East Asia. He established the study of Chinese law in the United States. An advocate for human rights, Cohen has been a scholar, teacher, lawyer, and activist for sixty years.”
Cohen, a professor at New York University School of Law and director of its U.S.-Asia Law Institute, revealed his long view on China: “We are now witnessing another extreme in the pendulum’s swing toward repression. Xi Jinping is likely to outlive me but ‘no life lives forever.’ There will eventually be another profound reaction to the current totalitarian era.”
Mark Clifford, author of “The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic.”Haystack Book Festival
In “The Troublemaker,” Clifford chronicles Lai’s life from child refugee to pro-democracy billionaire to his current imprisonment by the Chinese Communist Party. Clifford is president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, a Walter Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and holds a PhD in history from the University of Hong Kong. He was the former editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post and The Standard (Hong Kong and Seoul).
Journalist Richard Hornik, adjunct senior fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu.Haystack Book Festival
Richard Hornik, adjunct senior fellow at the East-West Center, will moderate the discussion. Hornik is the former executive editor of AsiaWeek, news service director of Time magazine, and former Time bureau chief in Warsaw, Boston, Beijing and Hong Kong.
Betsy Lerner, author of “Shred Sisters,” is giving the 2025 Brendan Gill lecture at the Haystack Book Festival.Haystack Book Festival
The Brendan Gill Lecture is a highlight of the festival honoring longtime Norfolk resident Brendan Gill, who died in1997. Gill wrote for The New Yorker magazine for fifty years. Betsy Lerner, New York Times-recognized author of “Shred Sisters,” will deliver this year’s lecture on Friday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. at the Norfolk Library.
Visit haystackbookfestival.org to register. Admission is free.
