The latest from DOT as of April 4th, 2011:
As long as there are no existing parking restrictions along Rte 69 in this area, parking is allowed as long as vehicles are off the roadway and not restricting traffic in any way. However parking is not allowed within 25 feet of any intersection (Scoville Rd).
The Town has installed a guardrail along Scoville Road to encourage parallel parking. Vehicles parked along the guardrail and in front of the cemetery should not be ticketed. Vehicles should not be parked in front of the gate.
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The Burlington Land Trust Supports…
Wild & Scenic Designation for the Lower Farmington River
The Lower Farmington River/Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic Study Committee is in the middle of a three year study which could result in Congress designating the Lower Farmington River as Wild & Scenic. It flows through 10 Connecticut towns including Burlington.
The Act would establish an advisory management committee comparable to the Farmington River Coordinating Committee (FRCC) on the Upper Farmington. That committee would receive annual funding from the National Park Service for river-related conservation projects and education. Some of this funding would be available to local groups in the form of small grants for projects that support the goals of the management plan. For example, in 2007, the FRCC received over $65,000 which was used for various projects including water quality monitoring, a Salmon in the Classroom program and as start up funding for the Hartland Land Trust.
The Management Committee would have National Park Service staff to provide current, sound scientific information and technical resources for river-related conservation projects. Scientific information and technical support could also help local land use boards to make defensible land use decisions, potentially saving them both time and money. Under the Wild and Scenic Act, local boards and commissions retain control in planning and regulation. The Management Committee role would only be advisory.
A Wild and Scenic designation would encourage tourism and generate increased recreational use of the river. A recent study by the CCSU's Center for Public Policy and Social Research shows that there are more than 124,000 recreational visits to the river annually. This has potential economic benefits for the people of Burlington.
To learn more go to www.lowerfarmingtonriver.org
The Lower Farmington River. Click arrow to play!
Close the Liability Loophole, Not the MDC Trails
Submitted by Jennifer Benner on Tue, 06/08/2010
Recent features by Rick Green at the Hartford Courant have shined a spotlight on a gaping loophole in the state's recreational liability law that must be closed. Towns and municipal entities like the MDC (Metropolitan District Commission), a non-profit municipal corporation, that make their lands available for public recreation should do so without fear of more personal injury lawsuits. Of course, CFPA has a very direct interest in this matter since approximately 3.5 miles of the Metacomet/New England Trail (the nation's newest national scenic trail, which is maintained by CFPA's great trail volunteers) crosses the MDC property.
Links to some of Rick Green's recent features follow:
May 28th Article: http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-green-0528-20100528-16,0,6325795.column
The state's recreational use statute currently provides immunity to private landowners and utilities that permit free access to their properties. However, the protection enjoyed by private landowners has not been fully enjoyed by towns and municipal entities like the MDC for almost 15 years. In 1996, the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the right of a private individual to sue a municipality when she sustained a leg injury while competing in a high school tennis tournament on a public tennis court in Wilton.
In that case (Conway vs. the Town of Wilton), the Supreme Court also found that 1) municipalities didn't need immunity from liability because they already had some immunity under common law; 2) municipalities were already providing recreation to the public free of charge, so there was no need to incentivize them; and 3) municipal lands were provided to the public through taxes citizens paid, so they were not truly being provided free of charge. The sad effect of this unfortunate ruling has been to slow and sometimes kill the plans of towns that might otherwise provide recreational amenities like trails for fear of liability.
For decades, the MDC has made available for public recreation over 41 miles of trails on the 2,800 acres they own around the West Hartford/Farmington Reservoirs. We are extremely thankful for this recreational gift that the MDC has provided for the public's enjoyment, and we hope the access to this jewel will continue. We ask the state Legislature to do its part by taking action to close the loophole in the state's recreational liability statute. Showing leadership on this matter will help ensure that public lands are enjoyed by the public, and doing nothing will only ensure that more towns will get cold feet and/or consider closing important recreational facilities to avoid litigation.
If you'd like to get more involved with CFPA's efforts to close this liability loophole for towns and entities like the MDC, please contact our Executive Director, Eric Hammerling at 860-346-2372 or ehammerling@ctwoodlands.org.
If you are interested in learning more about this issue and may like to sign an online petition, please visit our friends at www.savethemdctrails.org .
Malloy Signs Haddam Land-Swap Bill
Emails Reveal State's Environmental Chief Changed His Position
July 08, 2011|By JON LENDER, The Hartford Courant
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed the controversial "Haddam land-swap" bill into law Friday, clearing the way for private developers to acquire 17 acres of open-space land with a scenic view of the Connecticut River that the state bought for $1.3 million in 2003.
The developers, who own the adjacent Riverhouse banquet facility on the hilltop overlooking the river in Haddam's Tylerville section, would trade 87 wooded acres they own next to Cockaponset State Forest, away from the river in the town's Higganum section. They purchased the 87 acres in 2009 for $428,000.
The bill calls for independent appraisals of the two properties to assure that they are of equivalent value. It also says both sides should make "all reasonable efforts" to conclude the swap by Dec. 31, and requires that the deal be approved by the State Properties Review Board before the properties can be traded.
Environmental groups have opposed the swap and asked Malloy to veto the bill. They said it sets a bad precedent for the state to give developers land that the state had acquired under a program that specifies that the property be held as open space for the public.
But local officials in Haddam, chamber of commerce representatives, and, most significantly, an influential legislative committee chairwoman, Sen. Eileen Daily, D-Westbrook, supported the swap as an economic boon to the area.
Malloy said he visited both sites on Thursday and "came to the conclusion that it is potentially a fair transaction, subject to … the process" — including valuations of both properties and local zoning approvals.
The bill says that the Riverhouse partners would have two years after the swap to obtain a zoning change from the town of Haddam for their proposed development. If they don't, the swap is reversed and the state gets the 17 acres back. The bill voids restrictions in the 2003 deed — that the land should be "retained in its natural scenic ... condition" as open-space or park land — and says the 17 acres may now "be used for economic development purposes."
The swap is contained in the annual land-conveyance bill by which the state typically disposes of surplus pieces of state land such as unused highway rights of way. In addition to the swap, this year's bill contains about a half-dozen transfers of state parcels to local towns.
For months, Malloy and his appointed environmental commissioner, Daniel Esty, have come under criticism from opponents of the deal.
They said that Esty and his agency, now called the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, or DEEP, should have taken a position on the swap because the environmental agency had originally acquired the land and, as of last year, had taken a firm stand against the deal. But Esty declined to take a stand this year, saying he would let the legislature decide.
Opponents said they thought that Esty and the agency had been told to stay out of it by the governor's office because Daily wanted the deal to go through, and Malloy needed her cooperation as finance committee co-chairwoman on various issue during the past legislative session. Malloy has denied that assertion, saying he simply didn't want to get drawn into the local issue.
Environmentalists, however, have argued that it's not a local issue, but a statewide one. They say landowners in the future will not donate or sell parcels to the state for conservation purposes if they see that such a parcel