Gateway Commission Wants Land Swap Vetoed

The Connecticut River Gateway Commission will ask Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to veto the omnibus land conveyance bill so that the controversial Haddam land swap measure does not become law.

The commission voted Thursday to send a letter to Malloy requesting the veto, but at the same time acknowledged that their request probably will not sway the governor from signing the bill.

“The chance that the governor will veto this is slim,” said commission Chairman Melvin Woody. “So, what do we do next?”

“Let’s worry about how we clean up after the battle. We have to focus on how do we live with this?” said commission member Harvey Thomas.

The proposal to swap 17.4 state-owned acres in Tylerville near the Connecticut River with 87 acres of privately owned land in Higganum was part of the omnibus conveyance bill approved by the General Assembly this past session. It awaits the governor’s signature.

The 17.4 acres would be conveyed to the owners of the Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station, who want the land for development that would complement their banquet facility. But local residents, some local officials and several key environmental groups in Connecticut, including the Gateway Commission, opposed the measure, arguing it sets a dangerous precedent for land conservation by the state.

The Gateway Commission is empowered by the state with certain regulatory authority over development in several lower Connecticut River towns, including Haddam.

Members of the commission said Thursday they were upset and discouraged by the legislative process that lead to the land swap bill’s passage and said they felt their concerns regarding the proposal were ignored by most lawmakers.

In a draft copy of the commission’s letter to Malloy, circulated at Thursday’s meeting, agency members said they are concerned the land swap will have a negative impact on state land conservation efforts for years to come.

The letter goes on to say that “the bill should be vetoed and followed by a Department of Environmental Protection study and report of findings” on the land swap.

Malloy, commission members believe, will not likely do that because he does not have line item veto power and the conveyance bill contains numerous other land transactions important to other towns across the state.

The commission discussed other ways they could fight the land swap initiative, including asking Attorney General George Jepsen to review the legality of the measure, and determining whether they can argue their case before other regulatory agencies that must still review the proposal, including the state’s Property Review Board,  

State Rep. Phil Miller, D-Essex, who sided with grassroots opponents in fighting the land swap proposal, attended the commission’s meeting. A freshman lawmaker who was elected to the General Assembly in a special election this past winter, Miller told commission members that he also was frustrated by the process by which the conveyance bill was approved in the legislature.

In particular, Miller said he was taken aback by members of his own party who have longed espoused conservationist views but in this issue sided with lobbyists pushing the land swap measure.

“It’s pretty discouraging to watch senators who have an environmental background aping what the lobbyists had told them,” he said.

Miller also said he has spoken with officials in Jepsen office about reviewing the bill and would ask legislative leaders to request a review of it by Jepsen’s office.

Some opponents have questioned whether the deed the state acquired when it bought the property in 2003 allows the land to be traded or sold for development.