Protect the Partrick Wetlands
and our Community


Conservation Commission Gets a Second Chance
 Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

When attorney Larry Weisman was finally forced to admit that the ARS proposal for 24 houses on the Partrick Wetlands was a new application and then corroborated by Town attorney Ira Bloom, this gave the Conservation Commission a second chance to do the right thing.

They can revisit their previous decision and now truly protect the wetlands and surrounding habitats from this development. With this new application and hearings came more evidence from the public, consultants and experts to do just that.

  • They can protect more upland than they did before, especially some of the smaller peninsulas where encroachment would be devastating.
  • They can use the increased setbacks they created in a more uniform and less arbitrary approach.
  • They can protect the aquifer, the wetlands and our drinking water by utilizing the 85' setback which sits begging to be used in their regulations.
  • They can realize that restrictions placed on the potential new owners will be unworkable and unenforceable, thus harming the wetlands instead of protecting them.
  • They can realize that they approved three times more impact on the land than the 1991 commission did and can make amends by allowing less, far less.
  • They can realize that ARS has not and never has met their burden to prove they won't harm the wetlands or its environment.
I am not speaking for myself, I am speaking for a growing group of citizens who are behind the Partrick Wetland Preservation Fund. Families that want this precious natural resource protected from the threat of over development and mismanagement.

We as a community ask the Conservation Commission to do the right thing. We ask them to go the extra step this time and secure for the future this wonderful resource. Please deny this application or limit it with all, and I mean all, the regulatory powers you have.

For more information about the Partrick Wetlands and our fund visit www.savewestport.com.

Matthew Mandell
Director, Partrick Wetlands Preservation Fund
Westport CT