Letters to the Editor 12/19/24

Wake Robin: ‘The facts as I know them’

To Planning and Zoning Commission:

These are the facts as I know them, having reviewed all the 2024 Commission meetings:

1. Aradev, the company seeking a special permit for the WR expansion, apparently had multiple private discussions with Ms. Conroy and/or the P&Z chairman Dr. Klemens starting in late ’23 or early ’24. No one in the town knew anything about these discussions. To my knowledge Aradev is not the owner of the real property in question. Do you know who has a contract to purchase the property? Aradev? Another party?

2. The P&Z website indicates that Aradev provided a draft to Ms. Conroy of Amendments to the WR RR-1 zoning that would allow the WR property, then a non-conforming use, to apply for a special permit to expand its footprint exponentially. The operative provisions of the RR-1 zoning had prohibited the expansion of a non-conforming use of Wake Robin.

3. Dr. Klemens and Ms. Conroy advised the Aradev principals (and/or other interested parties) that they themselves would draft Amendments to the Salisbury zoning laws that would allow expansion by special permit only (see 3-18-24 P&Z minutes). It appears that neither of them ever explained the reasons for their draft Amendments to the Commission.

4. Ms. Conroy’s memo and draft letter prior to the March meeting was sent to the Northwest Hills Council of Government (“NHCOG”) instead of the Town Clerk for further dissemination to the residents of Salisbury or for publication in the local paper.

5. That at the 5-6-24 P&Z meeting Ms. Conroy presented the letter and memo with draft language that she had sent to NHCOG, an entity that neither I nor, I am sure, any other Salisbury taxpayer has ever even heard of. And what did that body do with Conroy’s letter? Send a copy to all Salisbury residents? Publish this referral letter in the local paper? No.

6. Why did Ms. Conroy and the chairman choose this method of notification? I and many other interested Salisbury residents believe that their intent was to keep this entire subject matter “under wraps” until the permit process had proceeded to the point where Aradev had provided significant site/building plans to the Planning Office, and public hearings had commenced. By that time, of course, the P&Z could say that Aradev’s plans were in compliance with the amended RR-1 zoning ordinance. And that now the only thing left were public hearings and the vote of the Commission: “Yes or No”.

7. It was not until October that the Salisbury residents became aware of this WR permitting process and the May, 2024, Amendments. At that May meeting the record shows that only one Salisbury resident, Mrs. Eliot, asked a question. The other P&Z members’ questions were, at best, perfunctory.

8. Long before the last Commission meeting on 12-2-24 the Commission was awareof the legal and practical reasons that the Aradev permit should be denied even with the incorporation of Ms. Conroy’s and Dr. Klemen’s zoning changes. From our attendance at the December Zoom Commission meeting it appears that the chairman and some members of the Commission have supported the Aradev position all along and paid scant attention to the overwhelming opposition by the Salisbury residents to this preposterous plan of exponential expansion: enlarging a commercial enterprise by 600%.

9. One opponent, Wells Hill residents, Mr. and Mrs. Cruger, have gone so far as to

hire counsel who sent a letter in November to the Commission that, to my knowledge, has never been answered. Attorney Grime’s questions and observations are chilling and damning. He detailed the procedural and substantive deficiencies in the preparation of and vote on the Amendments.

10. I would have thought that one of the mandates of this Commission is to allow the residents of the town to be heard. And, yet, during the last two meetings not one resident was given this opportunity. Why?

11. This Commission understands that the Amendments to the Zoning Code, Sections 205.1; 205.2;213.5 and 703.11, created a monster in the sense that, if approved, Aradev will build a large commercial enterprise in the middle of a rural, residential community that dwarfs the present WR footprint.

12. The Commission has received expert testimony from the Crugers’ that this

Aradev project is not only inimical to the neighbors, but, also, to the very nature, of our community.

13. Salisbury itself is to blame for this debacle, since its laws provide for an elected

Commission that unilaterally decides and has sole power to amend our zoning laws to benefit a private enterprise. We all are asking, “Why?” Who benefits from these Amendments that have allowed Aradev to apply for a special permit? Not the WR neighbors. Not the town.Only Aradev or the ultimate owner of the “new and improved” WR.

14. CT Gen Statutes, Section 8.2(b)(1) states, in pertinent part, “Zoning Regulations shall . . . be designed to: (A) lessen congestion in the streets (the Amendments increased the potential for congestion as Aradev permit demonstrates); (B) secure safety from fire, panic, flood, and other dangers (the Amendments increase the probability of accidents);(C) promote health and the general welfare (the WR neighbors and the town itself do not in any way benefit from the permit); (D) promote adequate light and air (this clause means natural light; “air” is the absence of buildings); (E) protect the state’s environmental resources (the permit would diminish environmental resources); (F) facilitate the adequate provision for . . . sewage . . . ” (this Aradevplan adds unnecessary pressure to the town’s sever system).

This sad saga should end with a rejection of this permit application. And the persons who drafted the Amendments and the Commission members should amend the Zoning Amendments passed in May to permanently prevent the expansion of non-conforming uses in RR-1 zoning.

This sad saga should end with a rejection of this permit application. And the persons who drafted the Amendments and the Commission members should amend the Zoning Amendments passed in May to permanently prevent the expansion of non-conforming uses in RR-1 zoning.

Sincerely,

Thomas N. Murphy, Jr.

Salisbury

‘Tis the season — considering the gift of the moment

In these challenging times, embracing the beauty amid the chaos can be difficult. With so many voices pushing us to fear, embody busyness and buying, and check off our many holiday lists, it can be overwhelming to consider the gift of the moment. Therefore, I offer these thoughts to encourage and empower those who read them to celebrate some of the spiritual gifts of the season—whether they are “church-folks” or not. More than a few traditional Christian teachings are worth considering and embracing to increase your spiritual health this December.

December 1st was the first Sunday of Advent, marking the beginning of the Christian New Year. Echoing how the light of creation came out of chaos and darkness, Advent is a season where the days get shorter, and the world has much more darkness than light. During these shadowy times, Christians are called to meditate on hope, joy, peace, and love—the secret sauce of the light and grace the world desperately craves. Like an answered prayer, the Winter Solstice passes, and then we see the coming again of the Light in the celebration of Christmas. This constant and abiding celebration of Christ-light is a clarion call for the belief that brighter days are coming again, inviting us to enter a life lived in the light instead of the darkness.

Advent is a season encouraging us to give sincere thought and planning regarding our belief in the Light and our commitment to being a people of the Light. Each week, we consider the four core values of our faith: hope, joy, peace, and love. We prepare our hearts and our homes for the inbreaking of the heavenly into the earthly realm. We reach out to others with goodwill and generosity. We show through our words and deeds that we believe in the brightness of the human soul, sharing care and compassion with whomever we meet.

As we go forth into this transformative month, we know the light still shines even in the darkest moments. It beckons us to live in its warmth with all our hearts. It entices us to share its illumination with our friends, family, community, and country. Yes, it is a tender and challenging moment for the world. This is why we need people who believe in and nurture the light more than ever. Please join us in the work that lies ahead by recommitting to faith in the Divine and humanity’s ability to reflect the light in beauty-filled ways. You, dear one, have a light worth shining. Keep glowing, friends.

With luminous faith,

Rev. Dr. Anna Crews Camphouse

Pastor of Lakeville UMC, Millerton UMC,
and Sharon UMC

A favorite Christmas story, circa 1946

A week ago, when I was at a meeting of the Unitarian Fellowship of NW CT at Noble Horizons, we were all asked by the leader to tell our favorite Christmas story. This was my story:

When I was ten years old, in 1946, my family moved back to our pre-war home in Buckinghamshire, England, not far from Windsor Castle, and on Christmas morning my parents took their three children to the Christmas morning service at their old village church in Farnham Royal. We kids (aged 13, 10 and 9) didn’t pay much attention to the sermon, until we heard the Rector saying, “I would like you all to consider inviting one or two of our local German prisoners-of-war to your Christmas Dinner today.” At the word “German” we three kids all froze.“German! Prisoners of war! Real live Germans! In our house! No!”

All our remembered lives we had had German aircraft in the sky above our heads, where we lived in our grandfather’s house only a quarter of a mile from the heavily barbed-wired beaches and waves. The German planes had been over our heads, first in small strafing attacks and then in huge squadrons of heavy bombers coming and going while we hid in air-raid shelters. My brothers knew the names of every German aeroplane that came over, and could tell from their sound which exact one was over us — Heinkel, Messerschmidt — and who was going after them — Spitfire, Hurricane — So imagine our shock when we got outside and heard our parents telling the Rector that they would welcome two German prisoners-of-war to our Christmas Dinner! “No! No!”

But we kids were not consulted. My father had only just got home from 3 1/2 years as a prisoner-of-war himself, in the jungles of Siam and Burma. So they came, and all too soon we were standing in the front hall and shaking hands with our visitors – two young men with bundles under their arms and shy smiles on their faces. We all went into the living room and sat down, we kids totally silent and frozen with fear. Our parents and their guests tried to talk – the Germans knew a little English after years of working on our farms and roads — so we heard one of them asking if they could give us kids something, and pulling things wrapped in brown paper from their bundles. John, my elder brother, opened up a light balsa-wood aeroplane with round RAF circles on its wings, and my little brother unwrapped a stout wooden train engine, and I found a beautiful polished wooden box with a pretty tin picture nailed to its lid, taken from a pre-war candy box. And when I opened the lid, I found it contained lots of little compartments, for spools of thread and needles and scissors And then the prisoner-of-war who had given it to me said “It’s a lady box!” And I — well, I would have hugged him if I’d had the courage!

And by the time we sat down at the table for our turkey feast, we were all talking and laughing and the Germans were naming our cat’s new family of kittens — all German names, which we happily learned, and we were all friends. That was a happy Christmas Day!

Gaile Binzen

Salisbury

Ambulance needs

Thank you for your excellent article about Salisbury Volunteer Ambulance Service and their need for our assistance.

Toward the end of the story it mentions that the Squad responds to 700 calls per year. This is a huge task for this all volunteer group and anything we can do to lighten their load is important.

As Jacquie Rice said, many of these calls come in the dead of the night. I can attest to this having lived with a Squad member for many years. They just get up and go … no salary, no benefits and sometimes little recognition for the invaluable service they provide to our special community.

Please take a moment and look at the recommendations in the article, especially having an up to date and accessible File of Life. And while you’re at it, please consider making a donation to SVAS. They are supported by private funding and we are so very fortunate to have them.

Lee Hayes

Bristol, RI

The Democrats show they still don’t get it

More than a month after the election, the shell-shocked Democrats and their allies in the media, academia and Hollywood are still clueless as to what happened.

They’re in full denial as they point fingers at everything but themselves. Instead of ditching their hugely unpopular agenda, they’re doubling down with a “Second Resistance” to Donald Trump and wondering what’s wrong with the millions of Americans who voted for him. Didn’t those yokels hear what a threat to democracy he is?

Yes, the yokels heard all about it, but they saw through the left’s lies. Only the Dems and their media handmaidens who peddle those lies believe them. Together they seem cognitively incapable of comprehending that it is their own lies, extremism and threats to democracy that the country rejects, not Trump’s salesman exaggerations and unvarnished talk.

The Dems think they just need better “messaging” and “listening.” It never occurs to these so-called elites how consummately wrong their policies are - replacing police with community organizers, pushing unlimited genders, demanding biological males in female sports, romanticizing “social justice” protestors who loot and burn cities. This is just the short list.

The upshot is that the Democrats turned off millions of voters while Trump defied assassins, flipped burgers and talked unscripted with everyone, paving the way for the most vilified figure in American presidential history to easily win the electoral college, sweep the swing states, take the Senate, hold the House, and add another governorship to the GOP majority.

Trump also made significant inroads with women, blacks, Hispanics and young people. He even won the national popular vote by over two million deplorables, which is hard to do with the huge population of deep-blue California.

Kamala Harris, meanwhile, a lousy candidate and campaigner, spent $2 billion in 3 months and managed to end up $20 million in debt. That’s also pretty hard to do.

Voters rejected the dismal Biden-Harris record and all the lies about Joe’s cognitive state and Kamala’s abilities. Joe’s recent pardon of son Hunter after insisting he wouldn’t do it doesn’t help either. His “legacy” is in tatters, his popularity at an all-time low, and Kamala has left the building. Trump is already running the country in their absence.

Nancy Pelosi blames the loss on the right’s supposed fixation with “Guns, God and Gays,” but that’s not it. Her side lost because of their economy, wars, border malfunctions, fake existential threats and misuse of the law to get Trump. Again, that’s just the short list.

The left’s postmodern liberal world order that was supposed to usher in joy and equity has degenerated into democracy-threatening illiberalism and actual Orwellian conditions.

Donald Trump has stuck a fork in it. It’s done.

Mark Godburn

Norfolk