Community Corner

Bite-Sized Politics: Board Candidates on Flooding

In this series, Board of Selectmen candidates tell us where they stand on the issue in a few, easy-to-digest sentences. (Answers given at Oct. 19 League of Women Voters debate)

THE ISSUE:

In the last few years, particularly 2007, floodwaters have been a major problem in Darien. Of all the areas prone to flash flooding, the commercial district of Heights Road has been an epicenter since the 1950s. That came to a head three years ago, when four feet of heavy rainfall flooded the area, ruining businesses, cars and livelihoods. Flooding has only worsened since the “Great Flood,” as the town’s development continues to increase.

Ever since, flood-issue advocates have directed an undercurrent of discontent towards town leaders, who they say have done little to solve the problem. But flood mitigation is no simple matter, say public works officials. Of all the options, few work; fewer yet are environmentally sound and financially feasible.

Small efforts have been made. For example, residents have been encouraged to remove sediment that dams up creeks which run through private properties. The most significant solution though, is the proposed Baker Park Flood Mitigation Project: a plan that the sitting Board of Selectmen and Public Works Department brought before the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection for permit approval in May.

If approved, the mitigation project will turn Baker Park into a large detention basin, suffice to hold water from a 100-year flood (substantial rainfall event that has a one-percent chance of occurring in any year). Many residents, particularly neighbors of Baker Park, strongly oppose the plan, which requires the removal of over three acres of 100-year-old forest.

The DEP held a public hearing in September, where both the Town and the “Friends of Baker Field” gave comment. The mitigation project is currently in the jurisdiction process up in Hartford, and a decision will be made in a few months. That is, of course, unless the next Board of Selectmen decides to pull the plug …

CANDIDATES ON FLOODING:

Jayme Stevenson (R)

I am not a fan of the Baker Woods Flood Mitigation Plan as it’s currently proposed. I feel strongly that we are moving a problem from one side of I-95 to the other; and we are alleviating a problem for a few commercial property owners, and creating an environmental and property value disaster for all the neighbors of Baker Woods. It’s 380 trees that will be destroyed. The equivalent of three and a half football fields of mature forest that is praised in our Town Plan of Conservation & Development as one of the “gems” of Darien will be permanently lost. It’s clear in the recent and ongoing analyses of the watersheds in town that our flooding problems are the result of a series of smaller issues all along the watershed. I would like to see that as part of the solution. Let’s correct those issues all along the watershed and see if we can avoid this disaster at Baker Woods.

It’s been fascinating for me throughout the course of preparing for the election to listen to the various debates on the big issues in town. On the one hand I listen to debate on the proposed lights at the Darien High School and how vocal the neighbors with concerns about their property value; that seems to have been a driver in the policies that are being created. However the same logic is not being applied to the Baker Field Flood Mitigation Project. I’m curious as to why there seems to be somewhat of a double standard.

David Bayne (D)

There is no easy, there is no cheap, and there is no painless fix to flooding. My personal opinion on Baker Field is that we as the Board of Selectmen have a responsibility to bring solutions to this town that can work and be permitted. Whether the town wants to adopt those or not is a decision not only of the Board of Selectmen but also of the Board of Finance and ultimately the RTM*; and maybe even for a referendum. These are community decisions, but I think we need to keep in mind that we have an important health and safety issue with flash flooding at Heights Road. We ignore that peril at our risk. Not only will the water threaten someone’s property or safety, but there’s also the issue of live electricity in these buildings that get flooded, and the Town is already subject to one lawsuit as a result.

Right now we’re proposing that the Baker Field detention pond be created, and that’s the only solution we have been told by our town engineers and private engineers that will work and that the DEP* has said they will permit. Am I happy about cutting down 300 trees? No I’m not, but I’m not happy about the risks we face on Heights Road. I have not yet heard any alternate solution that will work. I think we need to bring this forward and have the community decide what to do with it. To bury this problem and not address it is a mistake, and I would really like to see progress made.

*RTM: Representative Town Meeting
*DEP: Department of Environmental Protection

Jerry Nielsen (R)

There is not an easy solution here—or an inexpensive solution. The Milone & MacBroom reports will help us come up with a plan as to how to address all the flooding issues. Noroton Heights has been flooding for a long time, and the flooding has been devastating. I don’t want to have a knee-jerk reaction and say, “We’ve got to do this $4.5 million retention pond down at Baker.” It’s not very often you here a Republican try to save some trees, but we are talking about 380 trees here. For property values, it’s going to be devastating. Three and a half football fields of a retention pond: does anyone want that in their backyard? The neighbors are passionate about their land; we all are. Let them know what’s going on in their backyards. We need honesty and open communication.

This isn’t the only place in town that’s flooding. We see flooding all over town. We’re simply moving the problem downstream. Let’s come up with a plan for the whole town and spend the dollars wisely.

Still hungry? Read more Bite-Sized Politics here:

Bite-Sized Politics: Board Candidates on Lights
Bite-Sized Politics: Board Candidates on Plastic Bag Ban
Bite-Sized Politics: Board Candidates on Affordable Housing

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