At a special town meeting on March 15, a handful of Clinton residents officially approved the sale of a small piece of town-owned land to an abutting property owner.

A small number of voters turned out to the special meeting held before the regular Town Council meeting on March 15 to approve the sale of 36 R Killingworth Turnpike to Christie Crescenzi for $7,500. The vote was nine in favor of the sale and two opposed.

During the meeting, Town Council Chairman Chris Aniskovich said the property is residential-zoned and, as a landlocked parcel, would not have any commercial potential.

Measuring 0.41 acre, the property at 36 R Killingworth Turnpike is located just past the driveway to Chow Restaurant. In August 2022, Town Manager Karl Kilduff told the Town Council that there was an interest in potentially purchasing the property.

After the interest in the property became known, the potential sale was referred to the Planning and Zoning Commission (PZC) for consideration. According to Kilduff, state statute requires land sales to be first referred to the local PZC for a report. The PZC unanimously voted at its September 2022 meeting that the potential sale of the property would be harmonious with the town’s plan of conservation and development.

At a Town Council meeting in January 2023, the council went into an executive session to discuss the matter. Upon exiting the executive session, the council unanimously voted to sell the undeveloped plot of town-owned land for $7,500.

“As a landlocked parcel, it was only offered for sale to the abutting property owners,” Kilduff said at that time.

Earlier this year, Kilduff explained that the town has had possession of the property for close to 30 years, and by selling the property, the town could get the land back on the tax rolls.

“The town took the property as part of a tax sale during the early 1990s for unpaid real estate taxes. The unpaid taxes, penalty, and interest at the time was $25,184. After the foreclosure by tax sale, it went off the tax rolls. There appears to be abutter interest in the property, which is an opportunity to put the property back on the tax rolls,” Kilduff said at the time.