Letter to the editor:
This letter is in support of Tony Scott’s run for State Representative of the 112th district to fill the seat recently vacated by JP Sredzinksi.
Tony Scott is determined to preserve our town and defend the rights of our town to make decisions of how we want to grow and develop Monroe.
There is Local Control legislation in Hartford that Democrats have proposed wanting to take away locally elected Planning & Zoning officials decision making and having Hartford make decisions in Monroe/Newtown.
This legislation includes mandates that would increase our population density by requiring housing options in Monroe that are not currently allowed causing stress on our infrastructure including the Monroe School system which is already struggling with large class sizes and budget deficits.
Many residents of Monroe moved here for its New England charm and suburban-rural character. If Monroe loses the ability to control growth and development, the character of Monroe will change in a way that is not in alignment with its our goals and vision.
Regionalizing education and creating a state wide property tax are initiatives that he does not support as those could change Monroe in ways that is yet to be understood.
Tony Scott is willing and prepared to fight for solutions to our local zoning issues by advocating in Hartford while keeping the residents and future of Monroe and Newtown in mind.
Please help the Monroe Planning and Zoning Commission continue to improve & modify regulations that make Monroe a desirable town for developers, residents and businesses to live, raise families and conduct business by voting for Tony Scott in the special election on April 13th.
Sincerely,
Michael O’Reilly, P&Z Chairman Bruno Maini, P&Z Vice Chairman Ryan Condon, P&Z Secretary
Robert Westlund, P&Z Commissioner Nicole Lupo, P&Z Alternate
I was born and raise on Long Island during the med ‘1940s to early ‘1960s. I saw the growth of suburban sprawl starting in Levittown and extending ultimately to the end of the Island. It brought overcrowded conditions and high property taxes. It could not be stopped since the early zoning regulations were based upon sizes slightly larger than city lots. Initially, it was not much of a problem as new developments in the late 1940s and early 1950s still left significant amounts over open land for farming and recreation. In the mid 1950s, that all changed as larger and larger developments sprang up and marched further East. The road and school infrastructure costs together with annual staffing budgets for towns was overwhelming. Then after living in NYC for a decade, my wife and I decided to move further away from the city. We looked at Long Island and found the overcrowding had grown tenfold since the time that I moved away. So we looked at Connecticut. Here we found towns with 1, 2, and 3 acre zoning that were committed to controlling growth by enforcing that zoning. In the 46 years that we have lived in Monroe, it has about doubled in the number of houses and population. But, it remains far less congested than other towns with less favorable zoning controls. So, to those people who have moved here because they enjoy the current environment and to those who stayed here for the same reason, I issue this zoning change caution.