Now Goes To Town Council For Vote
Call/Email Your Town Council Representative!
“Somewhere between the zealotry of the ‘Halt all development now before another tree is lost!’ crowd and the zealotry of the ‘It’s just a stupid tree’ crowd lies a reasonable approach that rejects the false choice between trees and homes, and businesses.” Strong Towns
The following email was sent out on Thursday to all of you who reached out to Kelly Kerrigan, Stratford’s Environmental Conservation Superintendent, to object to the Town of Stratford’s proposal to remove 2 old growth Maple and 6 old growth Oak trees at Longbrook Park so that 4 new concrete tennis courts could be built, as well as seating and lights.
Good morning,
The Tree Warden conducted a public hearing on February 24, 2022, based on the written submissions from the community contesting the removal of trees for a tennis court project at Longbrook Park. The people who attended had an opportunity address their concerns to the Tree Warden. Based on the comments made at the public hearing, the Tree Warden is requesting that the Stratford Town Council review the project to see if fewer trees can be removed under an alternate layout.
Thank you,
Kelly F. Kerrigan
Environmental Conservation Superintendent
Town of Stratford
550 Patterson Avenue
Over 600 of you went to Change.org to sign a petition to not only save the trees at Longbrook Park, but for the Town to step back and take a more measured environmentally sound response to what appears to be a helter skelter approach to removing trees in Stratford.
Over 100 people showed up at Stratford Town Hall to participate in the Public Hearing on February 24th for the appeal of the removal of trees for the tennis court project at Longbrook Park. Twenty-five residents signed up to speak.
The Stratford Crier approach is not single minded. It is responsive to the nuance and complexity of cities and community life. It is cooperative among different priorities. Every voice, especially yours, adds a valuable perspective on how to build a financially resilient, prosperous future, protect our environment and increase economic development by protecting our town’s history and culture.
Next Steps:
The proposal to save the trees and move the location of the tennis courts still has to go before the Stratford Town Council for a vote. The next regular meeting of the Town Council is on March 14th. The Public Forum begins at 7 p.m. in the Town Council chambers. The Town Council meeting follows at 8 p.m.
