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09/26/2018 08:45 AMTrash, overgrown weeds, loud behavior late at night—all of these are complaints expressed by the Cornfield Point Association and nearby neighbors of the Pratt Road/Hartlands public Scenic Overlook. One solution, blocking parking with large boulders, was short-lived, so the town is now looking at longer-term solutions.
This scenic overlook, unlike other publicly owned road endings in town, has two designated parking spaces that were approved by the Planning Commission and protected as a coastal public access point by the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP).
As with any public area that abuts private property, however, sometimes there are users who abuse the privilege and misbehave there. They leave trash. They trespass over adjacent private property. And they overstay their welcome, staying at the site into the late evening.
It was these concerns that led the Cornfield Point Association to approach First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr., to ask if the town could block off the parking places to deter the bad behavior and protect nearby homeowners.
Large boulders were placed there by Public Works in mid-August, but soon after, there was a backlash and public outcry opposing the placement of the rocks. On Aug 27, the first selectman announced that the boulders had been removed.
The Board of Selectmen (BOS) recently unveiled a new strategy that might give the homeowners new tools to address the bad behavior and abuse of the public site. The selectmen asked the Parks & Recreation Commission to consider declaring the small public overlook as a town park. The advantage of this designation, were it approved, would be to overlay town park rules and regulations over the land—and that includes a rule that closes all town parks from dusk to dawn.
Several Cornfield Point Association residents attended last week’s BOS meeting to ask questions and publicly comment on the situation at the overlook and on the option of designating this space a town park. Fortuna explained to them that he thought it would be advantageous and provide new tools to help homeowners and the association address issues they have with users of the overlook.
“If [it were to become a town park], it will put a set of rules and regulations in force,” said Fortuna. “Regulations that would be enforceable would be a good thing. This [overlook] is a coastal access point—preservation of it is monitored by DEEP.”
Selectman Carol Conklin said that if it were made a park, it should have its own special policy and regulations because it differs in character from other town parks, especially since it is small and neighbors are within five feet of the scenic overlook’s boundary.
Cornfield Point Association members and officers asked about the strategy—and expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision to remove the rocks that had blocked the parking spaces.
“To take the rocks away was extremely disappointing,” said Cornfield Point Beach Association President Tim Conklin.
The selectmen late in the meeting voted to refer the proposal to consider designating the overlook as a park to the Parks & Recreation Commission. The commission began discussing this option at its meeting last month. No action was taken, however.