Former Griswold Airport Land? Preserve It

A bird's eye view of the area, courtesy of www.sgod.org.

Everything flows downhill and into Long Island Sound. Land preservation efforts led by residents of Madison, Connecticut, resulted in a landmark vote to preserve a key parcel of land at Hammonassett State Park, the tidal Hammonassett River, and Long Island Sound.

The citizens of Madison, Connecticut, recently voted 3,275 to 2,444 to buy the former Griswold Airport, a 42-acre parcel of land that abuts Hammonassett State Park, Hammonassett River and Long Island Sound. The cost, $9 million.

The property, owned by LeylandAlliance of Tuxedo, N.Y. was slated for development into a 127-unit adult community, which sparked controversy.

The Madison Landing (www.madisonlanding.com/overview_plan.html), site called for apartments, town houses and single-family homes with a community septic system and treated water released into the tidal river.

Shoreline communities have no regional water treatment authority for sewage and rely largely on septic systems. With increased populations concentrations, open space preservation is increasingly a community and statewide concern.

According to Save The Griswold Land (aerial image above, www.sgod.org), “private fundraising to raise $1.7 million of the purchase price is ongoing, and must be successful for the Trust for Public Land to close on the property on April 1, 2010.”

Artist rendition of final center complex courtesy CEF, TLB Architecture.

In related news, composting toilets are a feature of the new visitor center, under construction at Hammonasset State Park. State funds of $2 million will supplement $2.1 million in federal funds to complete the project.

The center will include a gift shop, public restrooms, staff offices, and a picnic pavilion, all linked by an elevated deck to the existing West Beach boardwalk.

Composting toilets will be used at the pavilion restrooms (the plan’s aim is less pollutants flowing into the Hammonasset River and Long Island Sound), and are funded by two federal grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (more than $2.1 million total).

More than one million visitors a year visit Hammonassett, located in Madison, on Long Island Sound. From Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day admission (called a “parking fee”) is charged. Rates are higher on the weekend and for vehicles with out-of-state plates. In off-season, entrance to the park is free.