Mar. 4 -- At tongiht's meeting of the Ridgefield Open Space Association in the Dayton Room of the Ridgefield Public Library, Ridgefield Selectmen Mike Jones became the first of the selectman to call for the public acquisition of the Bennett's Pond property in Ridgebury. In a room packed with nearly one hundred Ridgefielders, Mr. Jones spoke for about five minutes at the beginning of the meeting, before returning to the Selectmen's meeting at the town hall at which the 1999-2000 budget was under final review.
Speaking as a private individual, and not representing the opinions of the other selectmen, Mr. Jones said "I am pleased to be the first to publicly and vociferously call for the acquisition of this land. It is the right thing for us to do."
While acknowledging the financial burden such an acquisition might impose upon the town, he said he came to this conclusion for three reasons: environmental preservation, economic costs, and quality of life in Ridgefield. Open space is disappearing in Ridgefield at an alarming rate, he noted, and extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary answers. "I walked the land this past weekend," he said, "and it is a spectacular, unique and irreplaceable. It is without equal anywhere in Connecticut." Looking to the future, he felt that to lose the swans, the beaver ponds, the deer-filled forests, the vernal pools and untouched hillsides would be a grave loss to today's residents, for certain, "but an incalcuable loss for our children who will live in a world where open space is even more rare than it is today."
The mixed commercial and residential plan drafted by Roseland Developers would also impose a significant economic cost to the community. It is true that much of the infrastructure required by the site would be funded directly by the developer, and that the development would grow the town's tax base. "But the developer is not tabulating the indirect costs of the additional classrooms and recreational facilities the town will require, the environmental damage caused by a twenty-seven hole golf course, the undocumented damage likely to be caused by sucking extraordinary amounts of water from these precious wetlands, the additional police and fire protection and all of the other associated infrastructure which local taxpayers will require." Mr. Jones went on to add that he was not opposed to the development of portions of the property, simply "the intensive and inappropriate over-development" proposed by Roseland.
"But perhaps the most important issue is our quality of life here in Ridgefield, and protecting this land is essential to protecting the Ridgefield we know and love today," he said. He mentioned the rapid growth in housing has exacerbated an already difficult traffic situation on Rts. 35, 116 and 102. The congestion on Route 7 is forcing commuters to seek alternative routes on country lanes poorly suited to high traffic loads. More cars will also mean a demand for more stores and larger stores, which is not in keeping with the village-like atmosphere of Ridgefield. "Imagine 2,000 more cars on Route 7 during rush-hour, which is exactly the Roseland projection" he asked. "Is that the kind of Ridgefield in which we want to live?"
The next step, Mr. Jones concluded, is to use the political process to produce the result the community seeks. He urged the citizenry to circulate a petition calling for an early referendum on the acquisition issue, thereby forcing the Selectmen and the rest of the town government to deal with the issue in public. "In my opinion," he said, "if we wait, the land will be lost to backroom deals and secret government. Now is the time for all of us to fight for the swans and the beavers who cannot vote; for the clean air and abundant water which has no voice; for our homes and our community we want Ridgefield to remain."
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