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Preserving Harwinton's Character and Nature
By Patricia Homko, Harwinton
I attended the April 17 meeting of the Planning Commission in regard to the Meadowview Drive subdivision. The meeting was quite long, but it was very interesting. Both attorneys spoke—Mr. Rybak for the Town of Harwinton and Mr. Logan for several of the residents of Meadowview Drive. Both brought forward many interesting points of view.
I must commend the residents of Meadowview Drive for their rightful concern about their property and the land around them. Most residents of Harwinton are not willing to sacrifice their town to subdivisions that will bring in more families and more children, sparking the need for larger schools, raising taxes—and, most importantly, contributing to the devastation of our beautiful countryside. We like our town the way it is and the way it has been for a good number of years. Unlike Burlington and New Hartford, our bordering towns, Harwinton is not over-developed and has a population of a little more than 5,000, most of whom were born and raised here.
A brief mention was made as to the Barber Road issue off Hill Road. This too is an abomination: wetlands being disrupted, natural boundaries being torn away, large tree stumps being buried in the ground, wildlife being eliminated—all for the sake of profit. What is wrong with our town administration that they would turn away and ignore what nature has given us for the sake of tax revenue? I believe the premise is no different from the Meadowview Drive problem. Who will maintain the road, and what about the water table and the septic systems? With the increasing drought each year, it seems that we will be in a no-win situation in a few years if we continue to allow subdivisions in our town.
Maybe we should look at the long picture. Sure, bringing in more families means additional tax monies; however, if you look at the proposed budget for 2003, many items have had large increases. Imagine what would happen if we increase our population! Everything else must increase as well—again, a no-win situation. So, where does it all end? Why can't we be satisfied with nature's beauty? If we wanted to live in an overpopulated area, we would be in the big city, not in rural Harwinton. Let's get together, people of Harwinton, and put an end to the destruction and threatened overpopulation of our beautiful town.
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