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05/18/2018 04:05 PMNo doubt about it -- Branford celebrates the summer on the town green. From graduation, to festivals, concerts and other public events, the seemingly idyllic activity actually puts an extraordinary amount of pressure on this heart of the town.
As part of its mission to advise the Board of Selectmen (BOS) on the green's flora, the Branford Green Committee recently recommended the town should keep visiting vehicles from parking on grassy areas of the green. Cars pulling over the curb to access seemingly open space as a parking lot have become a considerable issue during big events; particularly on a stretch along the backside of the green on South Main Street. The committee is pressing for the policy because vehicles compact the soil, which leads to root failure and damage for trees and grass.
On May 8, "We unanimously passed a resolution that there shall be no parking on the green of motor vehicles except as the First Selectman may specifically warrant," explained David Minicozzi, committee chairman, adding he had a productive discussion with First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove prior to the committee taking up the vote.
"It's not a law; it's not an ordinance; its advisory; but we're doing it for a reason, based on scientific evidence. An expert, hired by the town, gave us advice and we passed it forward," said Minicozzi.
Information on adverse impact of vehicles parked on the green was provided in part by Care of Trees, the arborist which works with the town to maintain the trees on the green.
Speaking of trees on the green, the committee has also recently worked with the town to add six new trees to the four-acre landscape bounded by Main Street, Montowese Street and South Main Street. Among the green's mature trees are several notable and champion trees – including a national champion False Cypress (behind First Congregational Church, near the playground). The comittee is updating a map of all trees on the green to be viewed via the town's Geographic Information System (GIS); and is also considering how to best update a physical town green "tree inventory" map that hangs in Town Hall. Residents can also learn how to donate a tree to be placed on the green in the future by contacting members of the Branford Green Committee listed on the town website (here).
The committee is an advisory group of nine citizen volunteers appointed by the Board of Selectmen. Members represent several key organizations with connections to the town green, from those representing citizens (at-large) to those connected to churches on the green and community and business groups.
Also at its meeting on May 8, the committee recommended updating the town's green use application to include new guidelines regarding keeping vehicles from parking on the grass. Minicozzi said the hope is that adding the guideline will strengthen a request that already has been going out to organizations and groups which use the green for activities. Again, the parking issue is at its worst on the green's South Main Street side.
"It's becoming the de facto parking lot for events on the green," said Minicozzi. "We've been asking organizations to voluntarily stop people from parking back there, and have had mixed success."
To assist in deterring parking on the sensitive site, the committee recommended the recent planting of four native trees on the grass on the South Main Street side (behind the First Baptist Church) of the green. The committee also selected sites for two additional trees, newly planted the Main Street side of the green. The South Main Street tree installations include two Dogwood trees, an American Hophornbeam and a White Oak. On the Main Street side, a new Flowering Cherry tree (across from Ashely's Ice Cream) and a Beech tree (to the right of the town's Christmas tree) have been installed. Town Tree Warden Diana Ross assisted the committee by procuring funding for the trees and overseeing proper tree selection.
The committee works with town officials and agencies including the First Selectman, Town Tree Warden, Parks and Recreation and Public Works. Now in its 17th year, the committee was created by the town following a prompt from the Branford Garden Club, spearheaded by past member and founder Winnifred Judge. This month, the committee bids farewell to another long-time/founding member, Town Historian Jane Bouley, whose term expires May 31, 2018. The group will carry on Bouley's hope that the committee continue acting as "...stewards of the green," said newly-appointed at-large member Laura Noe.
"We're here to collaborate with the town and with the town officials and to be, in Jane's words, stewards of the green," said Noe.
Minicozzi, the committee's other at-large member, also thanks Bouley for leading an effort to update the data for a map showing all of the trees on the town green.
"Jane Bouley and few others went out over course of the last year or two and photographed every tree on green; and complied them," he said.
In addition, the committee is updating ways citizens can contribute to the planting of a tree on the green. Leading that effort is a citizen who has donated a tree to the green, committee member Don Gentile, who represents the Academy on the Green.
"We've always had a tree donation policy. We're bringing it up to speed a little bit more," said Gentile. "It's a great opportunity for people to give a living tribute, or just to commemorate a wonderful event – it doesn't have be in memoriam. We're in the process of refining and streamlining the way by which concerned citizens, who are also interested in maintaining the beauty of our wonderful gem here, can have a hand in that."
In addition to Gentile, Noe, Minicozzi and Bouley, members of the green committee are Bonnie McKirdy (Trinity Episcopal Church), David Colley (First Congregational Church), Pat Sanders (Branford Garden Club), Maryanne Hall (Branford Historical Society), James MacBride (Baptist Church) and Amy Graver (Shoreline Chamber of Commerce). Ending her term of service on May 31, 2018 with Bouley is member Martha Bradshaw (Academy on the Green).
Another effort being undertaken by the Green Committee is to ensure that a potential addition of more sidewalks/bike paths on the green, such as those recently discussed as a possibility as part of the updated Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), would be sensitive to the impact those pathways can have on the green's trees. Minicozzi represented the committee during POCD planning talks earlier this year and said as plans progress he will continue to provide input from the Branford Green Committee to help bring about the best outcome.
"I'm sure we'll be able to work with town on that," said Minicozzi. "We, as citizens, are like a watchdog group and what we can do is say, 'If you're going to do this, maybe there's a better way to do it.'"
The committee worked with the town a few years back when sidewalks were being installed on South Main Street along the green; especially to make sure that the roots of the False Cypress national champion tree were not adversely impacted.
"We worked very hard to save that and preserve it," said Minicozzi.
Although this municipal committee has a stated mission of advising the BOS on the flora of green, Minicozzi notes, "...it's kind of morphed over the years – somehow, we've become the guardians of the green. If look at annual [Town of Branford] reports – we watch over green [by] working with town officials, and they've all been a joy to work with; we're all respectful of each other's opinion. We try to strike a balance between preservation and development."