When rumors first started circulating about the proposed Ridgefield Winter Club, my first reaction was panic. But then common sense set in, and I realized … no way. That would never go through. Our officials wouldn’t let it. Their job is to do what’s right for Ridgefield and its residents. There’s no way a massive recreational country club, with tower lights and noisy events and an alcohol license, would ever be allowed in a quiet neighborhood with nothing else but single-family homes and a wildlife refuge.
But a year later, here we are. I am dumbfounded. I am tired. I am angry. As a mother of two toddlers, I barely have time to shower and check my email, yet I’ve been forced to find the time to read planning and zoning applications, write letters to commissioners and editors, post signs and solicit others to post signs, and write speeches for evening meetings that I shouldn’t even be attending because my kids need me at bedtime.
From both legal and ethical standpoints, the whole thing was pretty black and white from the start. The nursery that predated the residential neighborhood was grandfathered in as a pre-existing use. That pre-existing use was specific: nursery, garden center, landscaping, or another use related to the former. The people charged with protecting this town with zoning regulations in the 1960s had foresight, and I’m pretty sure they’d be rolling over in their graves right now at the thought of this glorified country club being forced into a peaceful neighborhood that is so clearly and vehemently opposed to it.
Yes, I am a resident of that neighborhood. But a simple drive through town will show that this issue has incensed and frightened residents from the New York border all the way to Danbury.
When people move to Ridgefield, it’s not because they want to be around the corner from Costco or Bounce or Chelsea Piers. Most people move here because they value three things: land, privacy, and their children's education. For my husband and I, the cherry on top was the notion that its people were also neighborly and welcoming, and for the most part considerate of each other.
If this application is granted — an application that many people seem to forget requires a “special” designation — it will be against the wishes of almost every resident on Peaceable Street. It will shake the beliefs of everyone who owns a home anywhere in this town. And it will quickly populate the “cons" column for anyone considering buying a house in Ridgefield. (How could anyone have any peace of mind about their own neighborhood?) Sure, the club may create some tax revenue, as proponents of it love to point out, but it will simultaneously cause a drop in home values throughout our town. It will hurt far more people than it will benefit … and a disproportionate number of the latter will not come from Ridgefield. For despite the propaganda, this is not a subsidiary of Ridgefield Parks & Rec. It is a private club. Private clubs have private memberships and annual dues and initiation fees.
How on earth do the benefits outweigh the harm approving this will cause to thousands of Ridgefield residents — both those on two legs and on four?
As a mother, I’m particularly terrified at the thought of hundreds more drivers racing past my blind driveway on their way to and from practice. I lie awake at night imagining an RWC member swerving down our twisting street after drinking too much at the club bar — an outrageous part of the application that has nothing to do with family recreation and absolutely NO place in this neighborhood. No more than a Buffalo Wild Wings or your standard corner pub.
As a Peaceable Street homeowner, I feel betrayed that the house in which we intended to raise our family … that we purchased in a quiet, residential neighborhood that holds an annual block party because it’s a close-knit community that respects each other … could change this drastically, this quickly.
As a resident of this town, I’m extremely concerned with the downward spiral that will follow if this “special” application is granted. I’m concerned about what will happen to both our community and our environment. I’m concerned about what will happen to everything that makes people want to settle down in Ridgefield, and so should you.
Please, if you’re a parent, grandparent, homeowner, nature lover, or simply a compassionate neighbor, sign the petition at www.peaceableneighbors.com and let Planning & Zoning know where you stand. This is a pivotal moment for our town.
Laura Liberti
Ridgefield, CT