Defending Mill Pond from development

Dear editor,

I am writing to strongly object to the proposed development of the former Wells Fargo building at 1 Cemetery St. into a six-story, 77-unit mixed use facility.

Ironically called Mill Pond Holding, the developer of the project clearly has no regard for “holding” on to the beauty of the adjacent coastal inlet known as the Mill Pond. It clearly seeks to create overpopulation growth that will cause the loss of living marine resources and will endangered other vital ecological systems.

While the plan includes all sorts of fancy architectural/structural language that somehow claims to prevent the destruction of the pond, it disregards Connecticut State’s Coastal Management guidelines, because they are just guidelines, and it seems that nothing will prevent this level of real estate greed. We should all be insulted that the plan calls for “public access” to the waterfront through a narrow passageway on to a wooden boardwalk, and nowhere for anyone outside of the community to park to get there. The entire end-to-end building is barely a sidewalk away from the road.

This does not even address the traffic nightmare that already exists in the area. During the summer months when the beach is open, you can barely navigate the cemetery rotary as it is. It takes 25 minutes to get from the beach to the congested entry to Interstate-95 at Exit 16 most times of the day!

Designed to appeal to a luxury clientele, how much money will they get for a three-bedroom unit when the hideous wall-to-wall condos on the postagestamp sized lot of the old Bank of American building on Winfield Street is asking $699,000? Perhaps some residents of East Norwalk are happy that this will further drive property values up. I, for one, think it’s a crime that the children we raised in this town can no longer afford to rent or buy a home to raise their children here.

Is my outrage too little too late? Why were there few public meetings and many private behind closed doors discussions that moved this project to be a fait accompli?

I am hoping that the residents of the ’55, and others who care about our natural resources, will find a way for our voices to be heard before it is, really, too late!