A Candid Response to Bud Brown Concerning the Ridgefield Winter Club

 I would be remiss to not comment in detail to Mr. Brown's creative writing; hence he might receive a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

- Apparently the culture of Ridgefield has inspired him to build a giant commercial recreation facility and stick it right in the middle of a residential neighborhood because a loophole allows him to - quite generous of him.

- He is excited to give back to the town with this facility - is building a commercial Private Club that the public can't use "giving back"? I'd love to see the Charitable Donations on his tax return.

- He will fill a void in our town (we do have an ice rink, Bud - does that not count because it's not an open air one to annoy the neighbors?). His Nanook Hockey has players from all over Fairfield. Will he exclude them from his rink?

- He sites the zoning laws, but a church or a school or a pool club (which is for community residents) is far different than this proposed use. Maybe he thinks that the deer, birds, foxes and other wildlife that exceed far the numbers of humans in this neighborhood will enjoy the sound of pucks crashing into boards and 10PM lighting. Perhaps in his 15 years in Ridgefield he has learned nothing about the Ridgefield neighborhoods and the fact that people choose those neighborhoods based upon what type of housing density and environment suits their lifestyle. This spot in town was not made for him. Maybe he is ignorant to the fact that someone who wants to live next to Peaceable Refuge does not want to live next to a hockey rink and a clubhouse with a 23 fooot bar so that people can get drunk and swerve their way through their neighborhood. Perhaps he is just ignorant.

- Mr. Brown picked this spot because it is zoned for his use? Who is he kidding? It's zoned residential! He is using the Special Permit loophole to cram himself into a neighborhood. He could do that in any residential neighborhood because of this loophole. A nursery was grandfathered into that location as Pinchbeck farms was in operation for a century. He is transitioning himself into making 2 3-acre residentially-zoned lots into a Commercial zone. Maybe the 45 acres of Schlumberger would be a good spot for him to "give back" to Ridgefield - give the residents $2 Million of the $7 Million we were forced to spend on it and use 6 acres there. 

- I agree that he used the best architects and designers - so that he can make his project pretty enough to fool people to think it is nice for the location.  

- The orchard is another superficial idea. I don't think it will impress Mr. Pinchbeck. How is he going to water it? The residents aren't even allowed to have sprinkler systems because of the strain on the aquifer. Can he bring a hose in from his house on Rising Ridge Road? You know the house that's in a nice neighborhood without a hockey rink.

- There is an easy way to address concerns about traffic, parking, lights and noise - don't have any! Find a nice Commercial spot for this Commercial business. Don't try to over-reach the meaning of Private Club in the town regulations. Don't be an oppportunist and try to get away with something that is clearly wrong. Good neighbors don't do that.

- If he's not going to have a competitive travel hockey program, and won't have visiting teams and tournaments, why does he have 2 visitor locker rooms in the pre-app plans? What about his "rapidly expanding Tournament Teams" he brags about in the Nanook Hockey website? Is that only going to start after he says he can't make money without it?

- He says he is going to be closed during the warmer months. As his representation stated it would be closed July and August, perhaps I should be wearing my winter coat this June.

- Mr. Brown, please help us with your tax math. If you are going to pay 5x the taxes, is the property going to be valued at $10 Million? Who's the real money behind this? We probably should know how deep the pockets are because if you get your way and fail, it will be a travesty that you destroyed the Peaceable neighborhood. The residents already know the value of their homes will be diminished by you.

- And finally, please stop saying what an "asset" it will be for our town. It will be an asset for Bud Brown and his members and the rest of the town will get the shaft. Hopefully not the shaft of his hockey stick!
 
Go to www.peaceableneighbors.com for more information
R
Submitted by Ridgefield, CT

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