Court Upholds Denial of Preserve in Old Saybrook, Connecticut

OLD SAYBROOK - A recent court denial means that "The Preserve" property could be one step closer to being preserved in its natural state.

Judge Julia Aurigemma from the Middlesex Superior Court recently upheld the March 2006 decision made by the town's Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, IWWC, to deny a proposal to build 250 homes and an 18-hole golf course on a 1,001-acre piece of property.

The property is one of the last undisturbed coastal forests in Connecticut with 934 acres in northwestern Old Saybrook, 65 acres in south central Essex and 2 acres in northeastern Westbrook.

The proposal was made by River Sound Development Corp., which is a subsidiary of the Wall Street brokerage house Lehman Brothers.

After the denial was announced, River Sound took the Old Saybrook IWWC, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Connecticut Fund for the Environment, and the Town of Essex to court.

Attempts to reach representatives from River Sound Development were unsuccessful.

A grassroots group called the Alliance for Sound Area Planning was formed resisting development of the property and was later joined by State Representatives Marilyn Giuliano (R-23), James Spallone (D-36), State Senators Eileen Daily (D-33) and Andrea Stillman (D-20), and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

"This is another battle in this campaign, which will ultimately end when we can truly preserve the Preserve. What I am most proud of is that all along, we made a principled case for why this property is not suitable for what had been proposed. The land is a giant wet, rocky sponge, the source of three separate watersheds; the Oyster River of Old Saybrook, the Trout Brook watershed of Westbrook, and the Mud River watershed of Essex," said Essex First Selectman Phillip Miller.

Old Saybrook First Selectman Michael Pace said he applauds the hard work of the IWWC and said the court decision shows the commission did an outstanding job of being non-biased and thoroughly assessing all aspects of the proposal.

Westbrook First Selectman Noel Bishop said he was unable to give a statement but that after having conversations with Land Use Department employees, said that "we were not really involved that much as a town for what I've been told."

A press release from the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, CFE, states that The Preserve "contains 114 acres of wetlands and is home to dozens of species of mammal, amphibian and bird species. The site also supports six state listed species of special concern."

Miller stated that while River Sound has said that in their design that "over half the 1,000 acres would be open space," he explains that "we have known that plans were of a massive scale, the likes of which this region has never seen."

For Attorney Matthew Ranelli of Shipman and Goodwin, which represented the Town of Essex, the finding proved that the environmentally sensitive property cannot support development.

"The court found not only substantial evidence in the record of adverse impacts to the prudent alternatives, but also that River Sound failed to demonstrate that there were no feasible and prudent alternatives with less wetland impact. The Judge specifically focused on the potential to shorten or reduce the golf course and to cluster some of the proposed estate homes," Ranelli said.

Charles Rothenberger, CFE staff attorney said, "This is a great win for Connecticut's natural heritage. Given the abundance of natural resources on the site, it is clearly unsuited for development. We hope that this decision will pave the way for a conservation sale of the property, ensuring that this important and fragile ecosystem is preserved for future generations," Rothenberger said.

Spallone said that the court's decision "underscores the need to preserve the land for open space."

The state's Environmental Committee has raised bill 5655 which would provide $10 million toward the purchase of the property for open space.

"The DEP feels it is a very important parcel of land and would like to protect the entire parcel if it all possible," Spallone said, adding that the DEP is willing to work with the Nature Conservancy, the three towns, and private individuals into pulling finances together to purchase the property.

An appraisal on the property last summer valued it at $9.1 million but River Sound Development representatives have indicated in the past that it believes the property is worth at least $20 million.