To the Editor:

Wharton Partners, a New York investment firm, has an application with the Town for an eight acre last mile distribution facility which is not a permitted use under current Newtown zoning regulations. To get approval the developer must get a special exception from the Planning & Zoning Commission.

There is no requirement for the Town to grant a special exception if there is a factual reason to deny it based on local zoning regulations.

The current 24 hour/seven day proposal could bring daily traffic from long haul trucks and distribution vehicles — and it very well could employ as many as 1,000 workers at just above minimum wage jobs. I don’t believe these people could afford to live in our community at these wages.

The revenue from property taxes after deducting the additional costs of police, emergency services, road maintenance, and other services, I believe, would most likely be minimal and would not reduce property taxes for the Newtown taxpayer.

Instead, I think we will get more traffic, poorer air quality, broken roads and a lesser quality of life for our residents.

Please come to the Newtown Community Center at Fairfield Hills at 7 pm on Thursday, April 21 to express your dissatisfaction with the proposal. Let’s not make a special exception for this project. Newtown’s future is at stake. Let’s keep it Nicer in Newtown.

Yours truly,

Gary Tannenbaum

NewYork, N.Y.