To: Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Norwalk Common Council, and Oak Hills Park Authority
Save Oak Hills woodlands from driving range
Victory! The creator of this petition declared the campaign a success. You can still sign the petition to show support.
We call upon Norwalk's Mayor, Common Council and Oak Hills Park Authority to reject any driving range plan that destroys the woodlands and nature trails in Oak Hills Park.
Why is this important?
On August 15, 2013, the Oak Hills Park Authority voted unanimously to work with the developer proposing a driving range on existing golf course land, and *NOT* to pursue the plan to destroy the woodlands. While this signals victory for our current petition, we don't want to have to fight this fight again. We invite you to sign our new petition to have the woodlands set aside as permanent open space:
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/protect-oak-hills-woodlands
History: The Oak Hills Park Authority (OHPA), a governing body appointed by Norwalk’s Mayor, intended to destroy the last remaining natural wooded area in Oak Hills by hiring a private contractor to construct and operate a golf driving range. If this natural area is destroyed, we will never get it back.
The League of Women Voters of Norwalk voted on July 15 to oppose the destruction of the woodlands and to support this land being designated as permanent open space. This position is in accord with the LWVUSA position on land use and open space.
As of June, OHPA had received two driving range proposals: one would locate the driving range on existing golf course acreage, while the other would destroy the woodlands. At a public meeting on June 20, OHPA stated that they are studying both proposals.
Before issuing the Request for Proposal in May, OHPA claimed that a driving range is needed to make money because the golf course is not making enough money. However, OHPA has not disclosed financial details to show why the golf course is not making enough money, nor how much money a driving range would cost to construct and operate versus how much money it would bring in. The natural wooded area is unsuitable because it is steep, rocky, heavily wooded, bordered by a wetland, and close to neighboring homes. The erection of protective netting 110 feet or more in height would make the driving range unsightly. Furthermore, a driving range would impair the quality of life in the area with lights, noise and traffic, and would make the park inaccessible for those who don’t play golf.
For all of these reasons we opposed the plan to construct a driving range if it would mean destroying the woodlands.
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/protect-oak-hills-woodlands
History: The Oak Hills Park Authority (OHPA), a governing body appointed by Norwalk’s Mayor, intended to destroy the last remaining natural wooded area in Oak Hills by hiring a private contractor to construct and operate a golf driving range. If this natural area is destroyed, we will never get it back.
The League of Women Voters of Norwalk voted on July 15 to oppose the destruction of the woodlands and to support this land being designated as permanent open space. This position is in accord with the LWVUSA position on land use and open space.
As of June, OHPA had received two driving range proposals: one would locate the driving range on existing golf course acreage, while the other would destroy the woodlands. At a public meeting on June 20, OHPA stated that they are studying both proposals.
Before issuing the Request for Proposal in May, OHPA claimed that a driving range is needed to make money because the golf course is not making enough money. However, OHPA has not disclosed financial details to show why the golf course is not making enough money, nor how much money a driving range would cost to construct and operate versus how much money it would bring in. The natural wooded area is unsuitable because it is steep, rocky, heavily wooded, bordered by a wetland, and close to neighboring homes. The erection of protective netting 110 feet or more in height would make the driving range unsightly. Furthermore, a driving range would impair the quality of life in the area with lights, noise and traffic, and would make the park inaccessible for those who don’t play golf.
For all of these reasons we opposed the plan to construct a driving range if it would mean destroying the woodlands.