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Why Is the State Promoting Sprawl?
By Tom Sevigny, Canton
First, let me introduce myself. My name is Tom Sevigny from Canton and I am running for the State Senate in the 8th District on the Green Party ticket this year. The 8th District consists of all or part of the following towns: Granby, Simsbury, Avon, Canton, Hartland, New Hartford, Colebrook, Barkhamsted, Harwinton, Norfolk, and Torrington. This is the first of a series of articles I will be writing over the next few months to let the people of the 8th District know where I stand on a variety of issues.
As a board member of Canton Advocates for Responsible Expansion (C.A.R.E.), I have done extensive research on the negative impacts of urban sprawl as well as the various methods of planning and design, such as the concept of Smart Growth, that municipal and state governments can implement to combat sprawl. In a future article I will go into more detail about the issue of sprawl, but in this first article I would like to address a specific example of sprawl: the proposed site of the Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse.
To put it simply, I am perplexed as to why the state would propose to put the courthouse on a 30-acre site along a rural stretch of Route 202, a site which is currently open space. By placing the courthouse in downtown Torrington, they could kill two birds with one stone by helping to restore the economic vitality of the Main Street area while also helping to preserve open space. Instead, the State has decided to encourage sprawl and stick Torrington with the cost of public infrastructure for the courthouse while Main Street continues to suffer economically. It is me, or does this make no sense at all?
The State must abandon the existing plan for the courthouse and locate it in downtown Torrington. Doing so would help promote sustainability by leveraging and maximizing existing public infrastructure such as roads, water, sewers, police and fire departments. It would also serve as a catalyst for badly needed economic activity in downtown Torrington. A courthouse is a catalyst for economic development, as people who work or do business inside the building will help sustain retail stores and local downtown eateries. By siting the courthouse in a rural, open space area, the state is only encouraging strip development in the immediate area. Therefore, a downtown Torrington location would also be a benefit to the environment by helping to preserve open space and protect fragile ecosystems along the Gulf Stream and ultimately the Naugatuck River.
It is time for our elected officials to stop encouraging sprawl and to start thinking about the impact and consequences of our current unsustainable growth patterns throughout the state. Abandoning the current plans for the Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse would be a productive first step in that direction.
For more information about my campaign, please call me at 860-693-8344, or check out my website at .
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