Letter to the Editor - The Lakeville Journal - 7-1-21

Northwest COG shouldn’t define zoning for towns

In a recent Lakeville Journal supplement, “Towns & Villages,” the editors quoted local writer, Blake Levitt: “Litchfield County doesn’t look the way it does by accident.” How right they were!  The editors went on to note that: “The wild, untouched appearance of this part of the world is not the result of benign neglect. It has taken nearly a century of hard work on the part of many people…” 

Today, the cumulative knowledge, expertise and experience of the dozens and dozens of Cornwall citizens who have contributed to this “hard work” by serving on Cornwall’s Planning & Zoning Commissions over the years is in danger of being tossed aside. Cornwall’s P+Z’s Chair, Anna Timell, has hired Janell Mullen, a consultant from the Northwest Hills Council of Governments (COG), to “rewrite” Cornwall’s zoning regulations to be more in line with the COG’s regional agenda. Mullen explained that she will “address inconsistencies. . . and look at where state statutes should inform the regulations,” so she can “build state law into our local regulations.” 

These are the same words that Mullen used before she rewrote Cornwall’s home business regulations in their entirety, so we can expect similarly ill-advised COG changes to our regulations. Previous discussions, for example, have centered on eliminating Cornwall’s “outdated” 3-acre and 5-acre zones, and implementing a mixed-use Planned Development District in Cornwall that would override all local zoning regulations.

Cornwall citizens have banded together to oppose such COG overreach in our town. An appeal has been filed in State Superior Court to overturn the COG-drafted home business regulations, the first time in recent memory that Cornwall residents have filed an appeal against their own P+Z. Why? Because the P+Z COG consultant said that the regulations she had written would protect residential neighborhoods in Cornwall, when in fact, I believe they do nothing of the sort.  

And we, in Cornwall, are not alone. Salisbury residents have initiated a court proceeding to oppose what I perceive as related to COG overreach in their town with regards to the Holley Block Affordable Housing Project. In both Cornwall and Salisbury, the P+Z Commissions have dismissed the concerns of hundreds of residents in favor of the COG  view and a regional agenda. And in a situation similar to Cornwall’s, I believe COG employee Jocelyn Ayer, a member of the Salisbury Housing Committee (SHC), has compromised the mission of the SHC as well as Salisbury’s P+Z, just as I believe the actions of COG consultant, Janell Mullen, have compromised the mission of Cornwall’s P+Z Commission.

For the filings in Superior Court go to: civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov and search “Anne Zinsser” for Cornwall, and “Salisbury Affordable Housing Committee” for Salisbury. Scroll to the bottom for the Summons and Complaints.

The COG has a significant amount of taxpayer funding at its disposal to pay for its operational expenses and to promote its regional agenda in our towns, but together we can show that, in the Northwest Corner, we speak truth to power.

Joanne Wojtusiak 

Cornwall Bridge