The Town of Stonington is undergoing a rewrite of its zoning regulations. Several positive revisions have been proposed already, but they will require strong public support to make it to the final draft.

While many of the issues related to increased flooding may require great effort and big budgets, the Planning and Zoning Committee (PZC) along with FHI Consulting have identified key changes that would cost the taxpayers nothing and maximize our ability to protect public safety and private property from flooding and storm-water. In fact, since Stonington is a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating system, conservative changes that affect flooding would result in direct insurance savings to residents. Based on data from recent assessments this could be as much as 2.5 million dollars or more per year.

This petition supports the PZC and the inclusion of the following changes in the upcoming zoning rewrite to their strictest interpretation:

• Establish and enforce non-infringement zones around waterways
• Eliminate regulatory loopholes for development in flood zones
• Prioritize the stewardship of our natural resources for the benefit of the public trust

How can zoning laws prevent flooding:

When it comes to flood prevention in a coastal community, the first rule of thumb is to do no harm. While we all have a right to peaceful enjoyment of private property and public land; construction, grading, fill, and impervious surfaces that increase runoff to storm-water and sewage systems can have a more significant impact on total flood volumes than any other manageable factors. Developments that work around established best practices by exploiting loopholes in the current regulations can affect the whole community, damaging infrastructure and increasing risk to neighboring properties and the natural resources we all share.

What impact will this have on public access:

None. These rules only apply to certain zones and certain kinds of development. Stonington is a coastal town and public right-of-ways were once a very important part of life here. The kind of development that would be restricted has largely been responsible for the de facto privatization of these access points. Boating, fishing, and recreational and agricultural use of public waterways will be unaffected by these amendments; which may even prove to be a foothold for increased access.

Non-infringement:

Inland waterways are especially susceptible to changes. As in the case of developments over underground aquifers, the effects are not always something you can see. Damage to these resources is impossible to repair or replace by engineering. Acting on state law, a non-infringement zone surrounding all waterways, wetlands, and other riparian features was proposed at the most recent planning meeting with unanimous support from experts and residents. This would maintain infiltrate-able soil surrounding water resources that would be capable of absorbing and filtering flooding and storm-water. Establishing firm protection for these areas would also relieve gridlock for our hard-working town staff and special use committees that spend long hours reviewing applications. It is critical that we support this prudent measure for the benefit of everyone.

Elimination of floodplain loopholes:

Many of the current standards were put in place long ago to prevent known factors that contribute to flooding. However over time, loopholes were added to allow big developers to deteriorate natural resources in the pursuit of short term profit. In this rewrite the town hopes to strip away these regulation loopholes (such as the ineffective and abused practice of Compensatory Water Storage) so that development would be limited in the floodplain except where residents have the right to repair or upgrade their property.

A survey was released to get a public impression of zoning laws in Stonington. But these surveys only focus on more land development, and make no mention of conservation, open space, or safeguarding our homes. By signing this petition you are voicing your support for non-infringement zones surrounding waterways, the removal of loopholes that would allow development in dangerous flood zones, and the general good stewardship of our community and natural environment.

Future virtual meetings of the ongoing discussion of this rewrite are open to the public. Recordings of previous meetings can be found on the town's YouTube Page. Since the record of these is incomplete, as is the web page on the town site put in place to share documents with the public, the citizens who drafted this petition wanted to create awareness and support for these specific amendments because they are too important to ignore.

However, this petition will not be enough on its own. It is important that you write in, and show your support in person at public hearings, to provide defense for these progressive proposals made by our Planning and Zoning Committee has done in the interest of all residents of Stonington. Do not allow special interests to be the only voices that are heard when it comes to the safety of our community and the natural resources that belong to everyone!

Why these specific changes:

These amendments to the Zoning Regulations of Stonington have been carefully interpreted from the Statutory rights afforded to every municipality in the State of CT. While some may like to see more impactful change, local regulation must be derived from state law; that's why it is so important for us to keep up to date. Similar to the way one property in a flood prone area can create disaster for neighbors, every coastal town can affect their neighboring communities. And so beyond the benefit to be gained within our local community, Stonington has the chance to lead by example, and empower other towns to push for responsible policy changes that create a safer coastline for everyone.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to reading your comments. Please check the town calendar for public hearing dates and times – we will also add information here as it arises.