We were dismayed to read a recent letter suggesting that the Woodbridge Land Trust and the Woodbridge Park Association are attempting to thwart diverse housing options in Woodbridge by proposing to protect the Roger Sherman Farm located on the Country Club of Woodbridge property. The goal of our organizations is to protect a historic, ecologically and environmentally significant parcel of open space land, a precious, finite natural resource. We do not believe that protecting open space and promoting diverse housing are mutually exclusive. Our town can, and should, do both.
The State of Connecticut recognizes the importance of both of these goals, and does not place them in conflict with one another. The State actively encourages towns and non-profit land trusts to protect open space, recreational, and agricultural lands by funding this protection with many millions of dollars every year through grants awarded by the Department of Agriculture (DOAG) and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
We in Woodbridge are fortunate to have a few remaining large open space land parcels. Many towns, especially those so close to a city, don’t have the same ability to preserve open space. Providing housing opportunities is about more than building homes, it is building them in communities where people want to live. Let’s not squander the opportunity to preserve this priceless vanishing asset for the benefit of all members of our community – present and future.
Sincerely,
Bryan Pines, President, Woodbridge Land Trust
Chris Dickerson, President, Woodbridge Park Association