Politics & Government

Commission Reviews Early Plan for Long Beach West

Talks of an easement deal with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sprung up, but were stifled by most members.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would like to purchase an easement over the property of Long Beach West, which is attached to a wildlife refuge that it already owns and manages.

The chairman of a new commission charged with developing a plan for the barrier beach would like to keep it in the town's hands. 

"[US Fish and Wildlife] would like to own the property for the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge -- own it, and Stratford isn't going to sell it," Long Beach West Blue Ribbon Commission Chairman Patrick Gribbon said at the commission's Sept. 13 meeting.

At the meeting, Gribbon passed around copies of a conceptual plan of how the beach could be made into a place where the public could observe and learn about the tidal marsh refuge and, on the other side of the sand, Long Island Sound.

"What we're trying to do is come up with a recommendation for the mayor to put forth to the people of the town," Gribbon said after the meeting. "What we're suggesting right now is nothing more than what's already there. The parking lot, the concession stand and the boardwalk is very minimal."

The redesigned parking lot would extend about 1,750 feet west from a renovated gateway area, located at the end of Oak Bluff Avenue. In the conceptual plan, a concession stand would be placed at the end of the parking lot and be part of a visitors' center that would also feature bathrooms, changing rooms and an educational kiosk.

A proposed elevated wooden boardwalk would extend the length of Long Beach West to the Bridgeport border. Other suggested changes include a canoe and kayak access area, camping facilities, beach and dune trails lined with a string fence and a gazebo with a raised observation platform.

However, being a protected barrier beach that is connected to a federal wildlife refuge, some aspects of the plan were met with criticism by members of the commission representing the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

"It's a barrier beach, you can't extend sewer lines for a comfort station," said Carol Szymanski of the DEP. Extending water lines and paving over sand dunes are also against regulations, and permits are needed for the launches, she added.

Andrew French, a project leader with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and a non-voting member on the commission, said after the meeting that the boardwalk could potentially complicate the environment.

"You put in a boardwalk, it's going to have an impact on wind, on migratory birds using the area," said French. "There's a lot of different things you have to consider." 

Shortly after Szymanski and French weighed in on the proposed changes, talk turned to the US Fish and Wildlife's longstanding effort to acquire control of Long Beach West through an easement package.

"We would not close any more than 50 percent of the beach," French said in the case of an easement being settled between the town and the federal agency. He said the town, which at this point ultimately decides what it wants to do with the land, could use funds from the deal to invest back into a plan for the Lordship barrier beach. "What we're talking about doing is interfacing people with wildlife and interfacing wildlife with people in a way that doesn't preclude the needs of the other."

In the event of an easement deal being reached, French said his agency would have a better chance at securing federal funding for the project, such as through the Public Lands Highways Program.

"Without us having a facility out there, going after certain funding I believe it excludes you unless you find another federal agency," he said. "I can help get projects through the federal level."

However, the commission chair and several commission members were firm in their opposition to selling the land for profit. Gribbon said although French's agency enabled the recent removal of 50 cottages on Long Beach West, he has read "controversial news that the refuge is not very well taken care of."

"People in Stratford deserve to have their property taken care of, to protect their way of life and also their property values," said Gribbon. "If everything is left to go to ruins, then where are we?"   

Gribbon said a deal to sell the land to the US Fish and Wildlife Service for $10 million was made in 2008, but never came to fruition, although the public voted to sell the property.

Marcia Stewart, a local environmentalist who serves on the commission, was open to the idea of working out an easement deal with Fish and Wildlife, saying that Stratford has worked with the agency in the past on many successful projects in town.

Stewart is the president of Protect Your Environment, an organization she formed in Lordship in the 1960s. On Monday, Sept. 12, she attended a Town Council meeting where she passed around a photo to Council members of the damage Tropical Storm Irene caused to the parking lot at Long Beach. 

"It's not designed for development," she said Monday. "It's developed for animals that need a place to rest and raise their young. Keep the species alive."

Gribbon said he hopes to have a plan submitted to the mayor and Town Council before the end of the year.

What are your ideas concerning Long Beach West? Tell us in the comments section below.

Find out what's happening in Stratfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here