A half-mile or so could make all the difference.

The Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Commission has agreed to table plans to develop a site on Fairfield Hills' High Meadow and return to the drawing board to either examine new possible sites for a 12/14 memorial, or reconsider other sites previously qualified that were not ranked as high.

But that trip to the drawing board may be short-lived if local leaders are successful in getting state agricultural officials to provide a compatible site about a half-mile from the High Meadow.

That semi-secluded and picturesque site is about 200 yards from the intersection of Wasserman Way and Nunnawauk Road, and already has a small parking area that serves those who use the parcel for passive recreation, hiking and dog walking. Local officials from the Land Use Office said the large parcel, of which less than an acre would be required, was set aside for future town use around the same time as the community was completing the purchase of Fairfield Hills.

Newtown's late state representative Julia Wasserman was responsible for securing the set-aside, according to Director of Planning George Benson, but it will require state authorization to utilize any part of the land for purposes other than agriculture or open space.

At the same time, during a June 9 meeting, members of the commission continued to defend their top choice of the High Meadow to locate a memorial, and took opponents to task for circulating misinformation to get residents to sign petitions against using the site.

"There is a lot of misinformation, questions and confusion," Commissioner Joanne Brunetti said. "The petition being offered is based on misinformation."

Referring to concerns expressed by opponents that the memorial would be seen by users of the adjacent public walking trail, Ms Brunetti said that immediate family members of victims to be memorialized had already asked and received reassurance that if the site were used, it would be fully shielded from passersby using thick shrubbery.

"It's not going to be in anybody's face," Ms Brunetti said.

Another point of concern is opponents stating that a rough design had already been sanctioned.

Commissioner Agni Pavlidou Kyprianou said that a consulting firm being used for preliminary siting considerations has only defined that any memorial that is above ground level would be no higher than six feet at its highest point.

"We would plant a row of trees to mask any structure," she said. "[Trail users] won't be able to see it from either the highest or lowest point of the trail."

Ms Pavlidou Kyprianou added that the commission was still working on a design request for proposal (RFP).

"We don't have a design yet, we're still drafting guidelines for submitting designs - and that won't happen until a site is picked," she said.

Calling himself "an open space advocate," resident and former conservation commissioner Joe Hovius, who offered comments and written concerns to the memorial panel, said he would make himself available to assist if he could. Ms Brunetti responded to the offer saying the commission will be taking all input provided by open space advocates into consideration as they continue drafting the design RFP.

"We're not building an Eiffel Tower," Ms Brunetti said. "Everybody is suggesting we're withholding information."

Vice Chair Alan Martin then reviewed the list of other local sites that made the final cut, along with sites subsequently suggested by residents, which included a number of locations that were then dismissed because of their direct proximity to walking trails at Fairfield Hills, or because they were too inaccessible or far removed from Sandy Hook or the town center.

Among the alternate sites was the aforementioned parcel adjacent to the Governor's Horse Guard and military K-9 training facility on the west side of Wasserman Way.

"The best [alternate] site is that state land," Mr Martin said.

To that, Chairman Kyle Lyddy said, "We have to be open-minded to all the options." But commissioners proceeded to vote to dismiss three suggested sites because of accessibility or security concerns.