Twenty Acres, Plus Two, To Be Set Aside At Griswold For Passive Recreation Including Hiking, Walking

The Board of Selectmen voted Monday to designate 20.58 acres for passive recreation, including hiking and walking trails, in what will be the town's newest park at the former Griswold Airport property. This property will be set aside in exchange for $1.26 million in conservation grants that will go towards the cost of acquiring the Griswold property, which includes a total of 41.7 acres.

The 20.58 acres will be set aside under a state of Connecticut conservation easement, which is permanent and irrevocable. Setting aside property worth that much is a condition of accepting the grants. In addition to setting aside the property for passive recreational use, the town will be obligated to provide public access to the property. The value of the state of Connecticut conservation easement is $2.03 million.

Also on Monday, the board agreed to, but did not vote on, a plan to set aside an additional 2 acres of the Griswold property in a conservation easement to be developed by the town attorney. The selectmen indicated their willingness to do this as soon as the master plan for the park is completed and town officials can determine the best location for the additional acreage to be set aside.

An additional two acres to be set aside as well, by the town

This additional two acres will be protected under a conservation easement, but it will be designed and held by the town, rather than the state, so that the town can revoke it by a 4 to 1 vote of the Board of Selectmen, and approval at a town meeting, the selectmen said during their meeting.

The agreement at Monday morning's meeting settles a discussion that has been taking place for more than a month, as the Board of Selectmen and the town's Park Development Committee tried to figure out the best way to balance the need to set aside land for conservation and passive recreation, while at the same time providing adequate space for playing fields, parking, and other active uses.

The Park Development Committee initially recommended setting aside more than the minimum acreage required by the grants, saying that a larger conservation grant would better protect the Griswold land, home to one of the largest remaining coastal grasslands in the state. This position was supported by recommendations from Audubon Connecticut and The Trust For Public Land (TPL), which helped the town acquire the property and has been instrumental in helping to raise funds for the property.

High value habitat for migratory birds and other species

"Located along the Atlantic flyway and in close proximity to Long Island Sound and Hammonasset Beach State Park, the grassland and woodland areas of the Griswold Airport Land offer high value habitat to migratory birds and other species," according to a Feb. 28 memo to the Board of Selectmen from Alicia Betty of TPL, along with Sandy Breslin and Patrick Comins of Audubon Connecticut. "Contiguous areas of habitat are of a higher ecological value than fragmented areas.

"Permanently protecting additional conservation land by easement opens the possibility of creating a transition zone of bird and butterfly gardens or native planting areas between the more developed portions of the property--athletic fields, parking lot and commercial zone--and the natural areas of native grassland and woodland."

The Griswold property was intially slated to be developed as housing units many years ago, but that proposal foundered after opposition from Madison residents who were concerned about the impact on the town and on an important coastal habitat. TPL was invited by the town in 2008 to help it acquire and pay for the property "to achieve a conservation solution," according to a press release from TPL.

Intention to focus on conservation clearly articulated

"TPL announced an agreement to purchase the property in September 2009, and in January 2010 Madison voters approved a $9 million referendum to cover $7.8 million of the $9.5 million purchase price and $1.2 million for improvements to the land," the release says. "TPL, with support from Audubon Connecticut, Stop Griswold Over Development, and local campaign volunteers, agreed to raise the remaining $1.7 million needed for purchase and costs to assist the Town."

More than $2.4 million was raised by the nonprofit partners for the project. "The donors to this project have given primarily for the conservation of natural resources," said Betty, Breslin, and Comins in the Feb. 28 memo to the Board of Selectmen. "The voters in the town of Madison approved of this purchase by 57 percent with the knowledge that the majority of the land would be conserved. Conservation of 60 to 70 percent of the land at the airport, including the most important natural resource areas, was clearly articulated at each information session, public walk, and in all materials and the press."

Betty, the project manager and the Connecticut director of philanthropy for TPL, said Monday she hopes that when the additional two acres are set aside by the town and the design of the park is complete, that the resulting arrangement will allow for the transition zone between the native grassland and woodland habitat and the parts of the park that will including the parking lot and playing field.

The selectmen said they were optimistic that would be the case, and that the town's easement would be created in a way that would be difficult to change.

First Selectman Fillmore McPherson said it could be designed so that it required a super-majority vote of the selectmen of 4 to 1, rather than a simple majority vote of 3 to 2. He said it also could be set up so that it requires approval by a town meeting.

"That way, it is not something that could be done lightly, but rather it would have to be backed by the majority of the town," McPherson said.

Property could be available for walking and hiking by late summer, early fall

Town officials also said Monday they hope that the property, which is now closed for environmental remediation and development, could be open by late summer or early fall for walking and hiking. They said the ball fields likely will not be available before the summer of 2013. After they are designed and developed, they then need to mature.

"If we don't let them mature properly, they'll end up like the ones we have, beat to heck," McPherson said.

In addition to the hiking and walking trails, the Park Development Committee has recommended that the property include three playing fields. They are also considering whether some existing structures on the property can be reused. Those structures include the Griswold home, the north hangar, several cabins, and all or part of the south hangar.

Editor's note: This story was corrected at 1:10 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, to say that the value of the conservation easement on the 20.58 acres is $2.o3 million.