Development Out of Scale
As the negotiations between the Legacy Theatre group and the Stony Creek Association continue to sharpen, I feel that it’s important to comment from the perspective of someone directly affected by the issue. When first announced, everyone welcomed a revival of the charming, small-scale Stony Creek Puppet Theatre. Unfortunately, as the Legacy Theatre has continually expanded its function, footprint, and hours (to include summer camp, classes, rentals, alcohol, concerts, and private parties as well as year-round theater performances), some in the community of Stony Creek are now forced to push back and set a precedent for limiting development within our village.
At the heart of this issue is the town’s complete disregard for how such a theater, in the middle of a small residential community, would affect the lives and welfare of the neighbors most affected. When the town granted the developer a tenant fit-up application, there was no mechanism for addressing the concerns of the neighborhood. Only with the threat of a lawsuit has there been any substantive discussion of traffic, parking, hours, and scope of operation, noise, and lighting.
What’s the proper role of government? Is it to protect the citizens’ rights and property or is to support development? In this case, the development and usage is out of scale with the residential neighborhood and bears little resemblance to the modest and infrequent productions of the original Puppet House.
I urge the Legacy Theatre to try to meet the concerns of the neighborhood and I hope that the Town of Branford will embrace its obligation to its citizens and take an active role, a leadership role, in finding a solution that respects the unique nature of Stony Creek, its neighborhoods, and its needs.
Jim Fiora
Branford