Municipal Affordable Housing Plans: PA 21-29 establishes an initial deadline of June 1, 2022 for municipalities to have adopted their first Affordable Housing Plans (and every five years thereafter) as required by CGS Section 8-30j.. It also explicitly allows Affordable Housing Plans to be updated concurrently with the Plan of Conservation & Development.
As per Section 8-30j, Such plan shall specify how the municipality intends to increase the number of affordable housing developments in the municipality.
If you wish to have input on this most important issue, please attend or send an email.
Posted in Easton Government, Saddle Ridge, South Park, Town meetings
Click below to see our view of why we should retain this property as open space. It is the reason why Citizens for Easton was formed, and why Bill Kupinse was so passionate about keeping the property for present and future generations.
Posted in Preserving Easton, South Park, Trout
Petition may be signed online at https://www.facebook.com/citizensforeaston/posts/2835548526699186
You may also sign at Greiser’s Coffee & Market, or email us at cfe@citizensforeaston.org, and a Board member will swing by to obtain your signature.
For more information, click below to see letter to selectmen dated April 28, 2021.
Posted in Easton Government, Preserving Easton, South Park
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Posted in Preserving Easton, South Park, Trout
Posted in Easton Government, South Park
Following is text of the letter from the Executive Director of the Connecticut Audubon Society to the Easton Board of Selectmen:
The Connecticut Audubon Society joins with Citizens for Easton in its concern about the future of 29.6 acres on South Park Avenue adjacent to the Mill River. Development of this town-owned land will compromise a small but beautiful wildlife habitat that plays an important watershed protection role for the river, and is a much-used and enjoyed passive outdoor recreational area for birdwatchers, anglers, artists and school groups.
The Mill River is one of only nine Class A Wild Trout Streams left in Connecticut and is unique because it is pristine and cold enough to sustain wild trout despite being on the edge of a suburban area. Wild brook and brown trout are among 17 fish species listed as “most important” in the Connecticut Wildlife Action Plan.
Preserving the property would also be consistent with Easton’s Town Plan of Conservation and Development, which states as its “cardinal principle”: “The major policies and goals of the Town Plan in respect to resource conservation are: Protect the natural, scenic, historical and cultural resources of the town, especially its wetlands, streambelts and ground water resources, but also its steep slopes, ridgelines, major trees and significant wildlife areas …”
The Connecticut Audubon Society is the state’s original, independent Audubon. We and our many members in Easton look forward to your leadership as exemplary stewards of the environment by supporting the preservation the 29.6 acres on South Park Avenue as open space in perpetuity for current and future generations.
Sincerely,
Nelson North
Executive Director
Posted in Preserving Easton, South Park
Easton Courier: By Jane Paley, Special to The Easton Courier on October 5, 2016:
Humans aren’t alone; some of our wildlife species could be losing their habitats. This may give pause to those who moved to Easton for its rural character and commitment to preserving the town’s woods, wetlands, waters, and open spaces.
The Eastern box turtle, wood turtle and sharp-shinned hawk are three examples. Each lives along and in the Mill River in the vicinity of the South Park property where various development proposals are being considered by the Board of Selectmen/woman.
The National Wildlife Federation describes the Eastern box turtle as five to six inches long with a domed shell. The turtles come in various shades of brown, frequently with yellow markings. They have a curved mouth and eat “just about anything they can catch and fit in their mouths.”
In their current Mill River home, they can find cool shelter from the sun and a plentiful diet of insects, berries and roots.
According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, this turtle “gets its name from its ability to completely withdraw into its shell, closing itself in with a hinged plastron. Box turtles are the only Connecticut turtle with this ability.”
The DEEP fact sheet offers concerns about this species: “Because of the population decline in Connecticut, the box turtle was added to the state’s List of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species when it was revised in 1998. It is currently listed as a species of special concern.
“… Loss of habitat is probably the greatest threat to turtles. Some turtles may be killed directly by construction activities, but many more are lost when important habitat areas for shelter, feeding, hibernation, or nesting are destroyed.”
The wood turtle is five to nine inches in length and has an elaborate shell. Those found in New England often have orange markings. According to the DEEP fact sheet, their habitat is ”usually within 1,000 feet of a suitable stream or rivers, where they hibernate in the winter.” This species is also of special concern to DEEP.
“The wood turtle is imperiled throughout a large portion of its range and was placed under international regulatory trade protection through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1992. Wood turtles have also been included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List as a vulnerable species in 1996. … They are protected by the Connecticut Endangered Species Act.”
The DEEP placed the sharp-shinned hawk on Connecticut’s Endangered Species list. “It is the smallest North American accipiter. … Many were lost as a result of pesticides in the 1970s. Although pesticides no longer play as large a role in the decline of sharp-shinned populations today, the species is still affected by other factors, like the loss of habitat.
“Collisions with plate glass doors and picture windows are responsible for the deaths of many sharp-shinned hawks annually. The glass reflects the surrounding woods and cannot be readily distinguished by a hawk chasing prey or seeking cover.”
Advice from DEEP is both implicit and explicit: Protect these vulnerable species.
Posted in South Park
Citizens For Easton 