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Risk Is Too Great

I attended the public hearing in Guilford on Nov. 1 on the Shoreline Greenway Trail (SGT) application to begin construction of the first segment of its continuous 26-mile bike,road between Madison and East Haven. Numerous important issues were raised by opponents of the project. One issue in particular deserves broader mention here.

That issue: eminent domain, and the potential for it being used, over landowner objection, to complete such a road. Mr. David Grigsby, a local attorney with a specialization in land use issues, spoke at length about how eminent domain is being used here in Connecticut to complete recreational trails and greenways, over landowner objection.

Mr. Grigsby gave the Board of Selectmen, by way of example, seven different recent instances in Connecticut, where towns such as Meriden, Middlebury, Shelton, and Newington all used eminent domain to take private property to complete greenways, or to acquire open space as part of a broader greenway corridor.

Of course, proponents of the bike,road, like the SGT’s Pam Bisbee Simonds, state that SGT would never condone use of eminent domain to complete their bike road, but that is a wholly disingenuous statement. Her organization does not possess the power of eminent domain, and whether or not they condoned its use to complete their project is irrelevant.

So the issue of eminent domain is quite germane to this public debate, and weighs heavily against Board of Selectmen approval being granted to start its construction in our town. The risk of its eventual use to impose a bike,road over landowner objections is too great to take any chances.

Everett Barber

Guilford