Economic Development And Clean Water

Last week in this space, we called on Hartford to seriously address education finance reform to ease the overwhelming reliance of towns and cities on the property tax to pay for schools. While state lawmakers are acutely aware of municipal problems — many of them have served as local officials before moving to the legislature — they, too, are working to reconcile too many obligations with too few resources on the state level. So we will be surprised to see any sweeping solutions on this front this year, which leaves towns in general and Newtown in particular with their perennial problem: generating enough revenue to meet increasing expenses. The traditional response to this problem is to stimulate more economic development to help residential property owners meet those expenses.

With so many municipalities trying to encourage commercial growth for the same reasons, competition is keen and innovation is at a premium. In recent years, Newtown’s land use agencies have been trying to introduce flexibility and incentives into the town’s development regulations that will allow them to work with commercial developers in the context of customized zones. These innovations are designed to attract desirable forms of economic development to provide jobs, needed services, and ultimately a broader tax base. These special zones currently exist in Sandy Hook, Hawleyville, South Main Street, Fairfield Hills, and in the Borough. In addition, the town has added a new economic development coordinator to its staff to help support existing local businesses.

Newtown has a lot to offer businesses looking for a place to settle. In addition to its many quality-of-life advantages, including a vital community of engaged, educated, and committed people and scenery to rival any other place in New England, Newtown has one essential resource essential to its continued growth and prosperity: abundant clean water.

Consequently, we welcomed action by the town’s Aquifer Protection Agency last month to strengthen existing rules governing the town’s Aquifer Protection District. The new rules place additional restrictions on the use and handling of toxic substances on properties surrounding community wells drawing water from the Pootatuck aquifer on South Main Street and near the Exit 11 interchange of I-84 in the area of Wasserman Way, Nunnawauk Road, and Toddy Hill Road.

Though the restrictions may affect a small number of existing businesses, they also indicate that Newtown’s commitment to economic development is not just a policy of environmental laxity and anything-goes expediency. In the long run, that will send the message that this is a community of people who set high standards for themselves and accept responsibility not just for their own well-being, but the well-being of those who will live and work here in the future. It is an attitude that will form a solid foundation for any business that chooses to call Newtown its home.