Plan Update Considers The Future Of Recreation In Town

By Andrew Gorosko

In a memorandum intended for inclusion in the updated Town Plan of Conservation and Development, the Parks and Recreation Commission has explained to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) how municipal parks and recreational facilities would be maintained and improved for public use during the coming decade.

The P&Z is updating the 2004 town plan and has asked town government agencies to provide information on their goals and objectives for the coming decade. Parks & Rec is one of the agencies that has responded to that request.

George Benson, town director of planning and land use, said he expects that P&Z will attach the Park & Rec’s comprehensive 25-page report as an addendum to the updated town plan, as well as include excerpts from the report within the text of the town plan.

In its report, Parks & Rec states, “Parks and Recreation facilities are attractive components of Newtown’s landscape and provide residents with opportunities for activities which are both healthful and educational… Recreational facilities and programs act as community gathering places, fostering social interaction in an attractive environment.”

“The quality of municipal recreational facilities and [related] services benefit property values and the marketability of the community,” it adds.

In the past 30 years, recreational facilities and activities have significantly evolved in seeking to keep pace with rapid population growth and changing recreational desires, it adds.

The report lists some of the many recreational facilities improvements that Parks & Rec wants to make in the coming years.

At Lake Lillinonah Park, the agency wants to improve the boat launching ramp, expand parking for boat trailers, and construct a new access road for that park that would be entirely within Newtown. A section of the existing access road is in Brookfield.

Among the goals for Eichler’s Cove Marina on Lake Zoar are improving parking faculties, creating additional parking, and constructing a pavilion and bathhouse.

At Dickinson Park, Park & Rec wants to provide a new playground to replace the existing dilapidated “funspace” facilities; create a “splash pad” water feature to replace the loss of the Dickinson Pond swimming area; create a bathhouse and concession stand, and also make parking and pavilion improvements.

Parks & Rec also is working toward creating an “off-leash dog park,” a facility that has gained approval for a site off Old Farm Road at Fairfield Hills. Parks & Rec and an ad hoc group known as Newtown Park & Bark have been raising funds for the project.

At Treadwell Park, town funds have been earmarked for new tennis courts, a new basketball court, and a renovated poolhouse. In the planning stages are improvements there in parking, access, sidewalks, and driveways.

Treadwell Park has received many improvements in the past decade, the report adds.

Park & Rec also wants to improve the playing fields at the town’s elementary schools and the middle school to make them more suitable for use by organized sports teams.

The agency wants to use the Fairfield Hills campus as a major component for recreational facilities during the coming decade.

Parks & Rec also wants to study creating active/passive recreational areas in various sections of town to serve as “pocket parks.”

“The Newtown Parks and Recreation Department will continue to develop facilities and programs that foster a variety of activities that contribute to a healthier town. We will continue to be inclusive of those with physical disabilities. [Activities include] the encouragement of disease prevention practices, [connecting] children and adults with nature, and [providing] physical activities to combat obesity and other chronic diseases caused by a lack of activity,” the report states.

The report provides details on the existing local parks and the recreational facilities provided by the town government and the public school system.

It also addresses Parks & Rec’s plans for playing fields and a community center at Fairfield Hills, among many other topics.

The memorandum includes conceptual plans for the development of Dickinson Park, Eichler’s Cove Park, Fairfield Hills playing fields, and a community center at Fairfield Hills.

The town plan is a decennial advisory document that provides the P&Z with general guidance in its decisionmaking. P&Z approvals or rejections of land use applications typically state whether a given application respectively adheres to or diverges from the tenets of the town plan when P&Z members state their reasons for a decision.

The current town plan addresses a broad range of issues facing the town, including: community character, conservation, natural resources, open space, housing, economic development, community facilities, and transportation. The document lists a multitude of planning goals for the town. The P&Z intends to complete the town plan update by the end of this year.

The 2004 town plan is available at www.newtown-ct.gov/Public_Documents/NewtownCT_POCD/toc.