Fairfield Plans to Take Control of More Open Space

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield might add to its already extensive collection of town-owned open space land soon. The town is close to approving a deal with the state that would create a new designated public area on Cross Highway.

The patch of land is a triangle of about 1.2 acres along Cross Highway, next to the Merritt Parkway. The land is empty, and if the town follows through with its plan, it would stay that way.

The Conservation Department will do about $1,000 worth of work to improve parking and safety at the site. But the land would remain an undeveloped open space similar to spots lining the Mill River along Brookside Drive.

“While it may not be active recreation, or even something that many people even use at all, I think having open space in and of itself is valuable to our town,” said Selectman Cristin McCarthy Vahey.  

The land is owned by the state. The Department of Transportation offered to sell the spot to the town for a $1,000 conveyance fee as part of a program to get unused land off the state’s ledgers.

The deal came with two conditions. The land must remain open space and cannot be developed for anything but recreation. The state also kept the right to take back the land at any time if needed for the Merritt Parkway.

Selectman James Walsh said he was concerned about the second condition. The town would be taking on liability for injuries sustained on the land and would be responsible for cleaning litter there, yet could lose ownership easily, he said.

“I just don’t see the benefit that we get for having to maintain the state’s property, basically, and to pay for it,” Walsh said. “And at any point in time whether that be two years from now, or 200 years from now, they could take the property back.”

The state has said it will try to develop the land as space for a single-family home if the town does not take it as an open space. But the Zoning Board of Appeals already denied a similar plan previously. Fairfield Conservation Director Thomas Steinke urged the selectmen to take the deal just in case.

“I’ve seen a lot of opportunities lost, because things didn’t converge to get the job done,” Steinke said. “When the opportunity presents itself, I think it’s worth accepting it.”

The Board of Selectmen agreed to take the land by a 2-1 vote Tuesday. The Town Plan and Zoning Commission and the Representative Town Meeting will also need to approve the sale before the deal is complete.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Fairfield and receive free news updates.