Thursday, June 16, 2011

Mayor floats alternate Costco layout not involving use of Stanley Park - The New Britain Herald (newbritainherald.com)

By Scott Whipple
Staff Writer
Posted by Frank Smith at 16.6.11

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good. This potential sale of the Stanley Trust Land deserves every option to lessen the blow to the park system.

Many of us do not oppose Costco, welcome the potential for jobs and tax revenue but also respect our open space and the grantor's gift.

Thank you Mayor for looking at all possibilities.

Sally Eigenraam

June 16, 2011 at 6:49 AM
Anonymous said...

OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON COSTCO PROPOSAL.
by Alderman David DeFronzo on Thursday, June 18, 2011 at 10:40 pm.

Here is the statement I just released on the Mayor's proposal to sell city-owned parkland to Costco...

For over 150 years - until now - through Republican and Democratic administrations alike, New Britain elected officials have had the good sense to protect and preserve our precious parks. Through the Great Depression, through recessions and through repeated economic downturns, mayors and council members have had the courage to say no to the destruction of our park land.

The plan to sell city parkland to Costco is bad for New Britain. It repudiates our long standing values and is a clear admission that the city lacks a cohesive, well thought out economic development policy. With well over 70 acres of developable land at Pinnacle Heights and on Myrtle Street and with dozens of vacant properties available for development, the city council is asked to endorse a plan that will permanently alter A.W. Stanley Park. Is that the best we can do? And does anyone think that once we go down this path that the redevelopment of our parks will stop with A.W. Stanley?

City officials need to proceed with a great deal of caution when considering the Costco proposal. There are certainly a number of unanswered questions pertaining to this plan, including increased traffic congestion, environmental issues and quality of life concerns. Last week, Attorney General George Jepsen indicated he would be seeking information from the mayor and corporation counsel to determine whether or not the sale of this property is even permissible. At a minimum, any action on this plan should be postponed until all sides have all the available information. Any action beyond this would be irresponsible and not in the long term interest of the city.

This has nothing to do with being pro-business or anti-business; it has everything to do with exercising good judgment and being good stewards of our limited natural resources. Just last year the City Plan Commission – citizens appointed unilaterally by the mayor - designated A.W. Stanley as New Britain’s most valuable open space and identified it as such in the City’s Plan of Conservation and Development. What has happened in the last six months to change that?

The Stanley family set this land aside for use as a park in perpetuity. It continues to be needed and it is used by hundreds of people every week and the intent of the deed is clear. Alix Stanley had it right in 1927 and he remains right today. Those who say this development won’t change the park system are clearly mistaken.

Every so often an issue comes along which defies partisanship. This is one of them. I urge the people of New Britain and my colleagues on the Common Council, from both parties, to stand up for New Britain values, to protect our parks and to say no to the plan currently before us. #30#

June 17, 2011 at 4:06 AM
Anonymous said...

Alderman David DeFronzo's Official Statement on the Costco proposal was posted on the " Friends of A. W. Stanley Park" website on Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 10 pm.

Also, Alderman David's Notes.

Notes about Alderman David (DeFronzo) was posted on "Friends of A. W. Stanley Park" website.

June 17, 2011 at 4:25 AM
Anonymous said...

Costco should be built somewhere other than city parkland. Written by Tim O'Brien on 05/21/2011.

People in New Britain are have long been justifiably concerned about losing city parkland to development of any kind. This land has been wisely set-aside to improve the quality of life of all of the people of our great city.

Public parks exist for the betterment of all of the people from all income groups, especially the middle class and people of more modest means. Not everyone can afford a large personal estate or admission to a country club, but everyone can avail themselves of their own community's public parks.

The recent proposal to build a Costco in what is now Stanley Golf Course and then displace wooded parkland to replace the lost golf holes would be a very big loss of our city's public open space. Once we lose our city parkland to a big-box store, it is lost permanently as open space and cannot be restored - ever. If we decide that it is a mistake to have sold it off, or if the store built there closes down after a few years and becomes vacant, we can still never restore the lost parkland.

It is true that our city's people need jobs, and that the additional tax revenue from development would help support public services. We have many residents in our city who are out of work and our city economy and tax base could use the boost. That is why the people of our city would truly welcome a Costco at any of the commercial locations in our community that are vacant and wanting for development.

But, for a community like ours, that has borne the brunt of decades of middle-class job losses from "free trade" and outsourcing, and taken more harm from the current recession that was Wall Street's fault rather than our own, asking our city's people to sell-off their cherished park land in exchange for jobs is like throwing salt in a wound. Why, it is legitimately asked, is it that people who are without are so often asked to make their lives more miserable - in this case, by losing the open space their families can presently enjoy, by right, as New Britain residents - as a condition of being able to provide for their families?

It seems to me that we need a better approach to economic development than selling off the city parkland that was wisely set aside generations ago for the benefit of all of our city's people. We need economic development that involves thinking, planning and acting proactively to create industry, commerce and jobs for the future rather than one that is predicated on waiting for whatever comes our way and then persuading our city's people to bear the cost of whatever it involves.

Our city should work with Costco to find another location in our community to locate, because selling off our city's parks, as is presently proposed, is just not a good idea. And, while we are at it, we should start a stronger plan for economic development and job creation than one where selling our parkland like this is seriously considered by our City Hall.

~ Rep. Tim O'Brien

June 17, 2011 at 6:46 AM

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