Development plan covers many bases

3/12/07

In an area where development continues to explode, open space is a precious commodity. Picturesque farmland and valuable woods are bought and sold, leveled and reshaped, all for the latest housing development or strip mall. To some people, this is what it means to be in Connecticut in 2007.
Another vision, one of our not-too-distant past, is one of thriving industry. Connecticut’s cities once manufactured, processed and produced everything imaginable, from hats to brass to wire to engines. This vision is mostly gone, and its remnants include tracts of contaminated real estate — brownfields, as they are known. Much land that once helped the state thrive now lays empty, corrupted by years of chemical dumping and a lack of environmental standards. Cleaning up these sites is labor- and cost-intensive, and so many prime locations, waterfront, riverfront and otherwise potentially lucrative, go unused.
A plan before the General Assembly looks to solve two problems at once, and offers huge promise. Under legislation known as the Face of Connecticut, a bipartisan coalition is looking to secure state funding to transform these once-neglected brownfields into development hubs. At the site of an old factory or an abandoned mill, communities could set aside space for stores, shows or housing, affordable and otherwise. And just as importantly, pristine woods, farmland and open space could remain as it is, untouched by development.
The bill’s backers are serious. A 10-year, $1 billion plan, the state would put real muscle behind the brownfields changes if the law is passed. And the more brownfields are improved, the more greenfields are saved. Open space is a commodity, and not just for aesthetic reasons. Air pollution, noise pollution, sprawl and traffic congestion are just some of the problems associated with ever-widening development circles, and in-fill at previously used manufacturing sites is a remedy that deserves careful consideration.
Though it’s not the plan’s immediate goal, the Face of Connecticut has real potential as a sprawl-fighting initiative. Many former manufacturing sites are centrally located, offering ideal spots for re-creating density in the modern city. The suburban layout has run its course in Connecticut, and the best we have to show for it is a guaranteed hourlong trip from Stamford to Bridgeport at rush hour. Rediscovering the prime spots of the past may be a way to change all that.