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NORWALK, Conn. — The Norwalk Daily Voice accepts signed, original letters to the editor. Letters may be emailed to letters@dailyvoice.com.
To the Editor,
Where does it stop?
The entire Vets Park is an AAA Residence Zone, and Mike Mocciae is trying to justify commercialization with the goal of making the park pay its own operating expense. There is no doubt he is being pressured from City Hall. The decision to make it AAA Residence was obviously made to protect it, as a park, from any commercialization.
The visitor docks were installed for free use by short-term visitors who, it was hoped, would enjoy one of the nearby restaurants. The permits for the docks were very specific about the purpose they would be used for, and did not include seasonal renting of dock space for any commercial use like the Island Belle, clearly a commercial business operating in an AAA Residential Zone, in violation of both zoning and the dock permits, just to save the business owner the much larger expense of renting commercial dock space and customer parking spaces at a commercial marina. Nobody but the owner knows where that ship is dumping the waste from all those passengers, eating and drinking on board.
If commercialization, at any level, is allowed at Vets Park, where does it stop? Will Calf Pasture, Shady Beach or Cranbury be next? Much of our parkland has benefited from open space grants and allowing commercialization will be a direct violation of the terms of those grants. We will be accountable.
John Frank,
retired Norwalk police captain
Comments (5)
What happened to my last comment ?
What a joke.
The council meeting was such a setup that Mocciae had already, months before the council had a chance to approve or disapprove the master plan, applied to the ARMY CORPS and the DEEP for "change in use" permits for the City Visitors Docks at Vets Park to UNRESTRICTED so the City can LEGALLY rent dock space to the ISLAND BELLE and other commercial users.
To oppose this commercialization of our park email;
Susan.Jacobson@ct.gov
If they get the permits changed the Parks Dept will be in direct tax-subsidized competition with the tax-paying commercial marina companies and can continue to undercut their prices, as they have been doing with the Island Belle, if they also get a ZONING change.
A number of people spoke at the council meeting about the Master Plan for Vet's park. Most spoke in favor of most of the plan, but against commercialization of the park. The mayor said the City law dept was trying to get the Island Belle removed, in talks with the owner's lawyers, but it was not a simple problem.
Bob Maslan is listed as Mocciae's attorney using his private practice adress in Darien on the permit change applications. Isn't he still the City's lawyer, with a City Hall adress ? He wasn't at the council meeting.
I came very close to making an offer on a house in Rowayton this weekend... Then I remembered, Norwalk does not care about property owners!
The Council is meeting tonight at 8PM to approve the new master plan for Vet's park. Everybody who believes the park should NOT be commercialized in any way, should go to that meeting and voice your concerns.
My family moved here from NYC specifically for our children to have open spaces right in our neighborhood. We're praying it stays this way.
Dear Mr. Frank,
Thank you for your words, I, too, am concerned about the commercialization of Norwalk's open spaces, it's a shame that the Norwalk we all were born and raised in is slowing disappearing. I find the actions taken by the city to be substandard, and amatuerish when it comes to balancing their budgets, it almost appears as there is nothing more than political syncophants handling serious budgetary issues, and their only possible solution is privitzation and commericalization. South Norwalk still has an ordinance which prevents the building of tall buildings at the water's edge from the early 1900's. I relish that this law is still in effect. We have lovely water views and water ways in Norwalk, I, for one, really enjoy seeing people watching the soccer matches on a summer's evening or a fall day. it reminds of the days of Saint Anne's when soccer matches were enough to divide families at the Sunday dinner table!, it was a community. If we commercialize to the point, where anonymity is the only common denominator, then Norwalk ceases to be a vibrant city chock a block full of different people coming together to enjoy a common vein.
Thank you again for being a voice of conscience.
Regards
NL