text: Replenish Open Space Fund - tribunedigital-thecourant
  Replenish Open Space Fund
  Southington planning and zoning officials are considering a regulation that would require subdivision applicants to pay into a fund for the purchase of open space. It's a good idea, but it will produce only a trickle of money -- not the kind of funding Southington needs if it is to effectively preserve some of its remaining undeveloped land.
  A far more effective strategy would be to replenish the open space fund.
  Currently, Southington's regulations require the developer of a subdivision to deed a portion of land to the town. The regulation has left the town with a considerable patchwork of properties -- so many that the chairman of the parks and recreation board complains that upkeep on these parcels (as many as 50) is a drain on the department's staff and budget.
  Under the proposed regulation, modeled after a state law, a developer would have to pay a fee of 10 percent of a property's fair market value. Cromwell has had a similar regulation for more than 10 years, but with modest results. The problem is the fee is based on a property's value before the subdivision is approved rather than after -- a difference worth thousands of dollars.
  Southington can't afford to wait. For several years now, Southington has ranked among the state's top five cities and towns in the sheer number of permits issued for new homes. Such development means more children in the schools, more demands on municipal services -- and tax hikes. It also means more competition to develop the remaining open land, development guaranteed to speed the spiral toward higher taxes.
  Preserving large tracts as undeveloped open space is one of the best ways to break that spiral. In 2000, residents authorized $2 million in bonding for open space purchases. With the $1.35 million purchase of the Novick's Orchards tract, however, that fund will be wholly depleted. Replenish the fund.