To the Editor:

I have recently learned that there is an effort underway by the town to allow housing on the campus at Fairfield Hills.  Is it true that the authority to do this is either already in place or very close to becoming a reality?  I don't remember that question on the last referendum.

It wasn't very long ago that the Fairfield Hills Review Committee recommended to the town that housing not be approved based on a very effective opinion poll of  Newtown's taxpayers. And the reason the master plan did not allow housing in the first place was because taxpayers said no at the original townwide referendum soon after we purchased the property. It's important to remember that the reason we paid millions of dollars was to preserve that property and prevent the state from allowing housing and other uses that would not benefit our town in the long term.  Let's not close the door on that original vision just to satisfy short-term issues.

Kevin Fitzgerald

24 Old Farm Hill Road, Newtown    December 3, 2014