IMPORTANT: The upcoming Oct. 29 hearing, which is the opportunity for public comment, will be held at Walsh Intermediate School (not the high school as previously announced). It starts at 6:00 pm.
WE NEED MASSIVE ATTENDANCE!! Come and state your objections! Don’t know what to say? No problem! Put yourself towards the back of the line and just say something like “I object to this application for the reasons already stated.” The commissioners will love you for this! OR for inspiration, check out the talking points below. Note there will be a three-minute time limit per speaker.
Can’t make it on the 29th? Unfortunately, the meeting will be in-person only, with no Zoom feature. So please send your comments ahead of time to planningandzoning@branford-ct.gov. State that you can’t make it to the hearing and ask for your comments (as long as they’re short!) to be read aloud.
Report on the October 15th Meeting
The second hearing on the BJ’s application took place last Thursday via Zoom. As always, you can watch it on BCTV here. Our attorney began to present our case; one of the commissioners responded with lengthy comments hostile to our position. WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO EXPRESS OUR OPPOSITION. SPEAK OUT AT THE HEARING OCT. 29!
Can you do anything else to help defeat this misguided proposal? Yes!
- SIGN THE PETITION and send it to: BCRD, PO Box 3353, Branford, CT 06405. Branford residents only please. Even better, COLLECT MORE SIGNATURES, especially from the central or western parts of town. We need to show that this a TOWN-WIDE ISSUE. Click here for the petition and petition instructions.
- PUT UP A LAWN SIGN. Contact us at BCRD56@gmail.com to get one.
- VOLUNTEER IN OTHER WAYS. We have all kinds of jobs including:
– Delivering lawn signs
– Picking up signed petitions if not mailed
– Contacting other groups for support
– Research
Your help will be much appreciated. Contact us at BCRD56@gmail.com or to read more visit our website. And speak your mind on October 29!
Did you know? We are finding that a lot of people don’t realize the magnitude of this development. It is more than just a BJ’s. The developers are also proposing a 16-pump gas station, and commercial uses that may include a sit-down restaurant, two quick-serve restaurants with drive-thru lanes and a strip commercial building with a drive-thru. It’s enormous!
TALKING POINTS
REASONS TO OPPOSE THE PROPOSED BJ’S DEVELOPMENT
1. This use is not allowed in this zone.
2. The proposal is inconsistent with the Town Plan of Conservation and Development.
3. It is totally out of character with the rest of the development of East Main St. from Leete’s Island Rd. to the Guilford town line.
4. Approval of this application will set a precedent for further such applications, which will ruin the character of this stretch of road, presently low in scale and including two houses listed on the national register of historic places.
5. Traffic and concomitant pollution will increase.
6. Increased stormwater runoff could result in deposition of contaminated sediments in a land trust property and Long Island Sound.
7. The building will not remain a BJ’s forever but we will be stuck with this ugly unsuitable development.
8. Less intense uses can be found for this land; an example is the medical rehab center recently approved for the property across the street.
