Not the Spot for Acres of Concrete

By Jay Abbott, M.D., Litchfield

I would like to thank Serge Samal of Litchfield for inviting the community to walk his land on Saturday, October 13 to view the adjacent Anderson property, where the State's Department of Public Works proposes to build a 160,000 square foot courthouse and 412-car parking lot. People enjoyed the beautiful woodlands sloping down through a mature hemlock grove to the Bantam River, where Paul Winter played a saxophone tribute to nature.

The scenic aspect of rural Town Farm Road, the wooded wetland site, and the surrounding rolling vistas spoke eloquently that this is not the spot for 11-plus acres of concrete and other impervious materials. Among the seventy or more people who joined us to view the property was Jessie Stratton, State Representative from District 17 and Chairwoman of the State's Environmental Committee. Representative Stratton addressed the crowd to say that the Anderson site is an environmentally inappropriate choice for this municipal facility. She promised to help urge DPW to choose an alternative site.

It was also heartening to hear Attorney Dana Young of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment (CFE) announce the Fund's legal support in the struggle against DPW's choice of the Anderson property.

CFE will sponsor a special citizens' briefing to increase public understanding of Connecticut's Environmental Policy Act and its implications for planning a new Litchfield County Courthouse. I urge everyone interested in this important issue to please attend this meeting at the Litchfield Community Center on Route 202 on Thursday, November 1 at 7 p.m.