Time for Fact, Not Fiction
Old Hill area readers, and all Westporters, should be aware of the tactics being used against the Y at Mahackeno by the Y Downtown group in general, and Amy Ancel (RTM District 3) in particular.
A flyer dated January 15, 2008 entitled “Say No to Mahackeno” [click on photo above] signed by RTM Member Ancel contains so many factually inaccurate statements, exaggerations, and unethical, if not illegal, tactics that a proper response is probably too long to be posted here.
Below is just a sample:
1. The bolded and underscored opening sentence reads: “Can you afford to add ten minutes or more to your driving times every day?” That is the first of six exaggerated references to traffic. Where is the information to back up this claim? The extensive traffic reports submitted with the Planning and Zoning application will be subject to a careful and thorough review by experts hired by the Town and paid for by the Y. According to the submitted studies, there is not one spot at any hour of the day that will even reach one tenth of Ms. Ancel’s claim. Let’s let the Town’s experts weigh in to see whose information seems more credible. Also, why do they need money to hire more experts? We have taxpayer supported local and state experts that will be involved in the review process in addition to the objective consultants hired by the Town.
2. Claims that the “Old Hill Area” is a “residential only district” and should be protected from “commercial encroachments” are false on both counts. All single-family residentially-zoned property in Westport is subject to Special Permit uses. Special Permit use approval is in no way synonymous with any kind of special treatment. Westport’s Zoning Regulations are very clear and list dozens of non single family residential uses that are permitted in single family residential zones, See Sections 11-22 and 2.3 (i.e., government buildings, schools, daycare centers, places of worship, country clubs, riding academies, boarding stables and commercial kennels, hospitals, etc.). There are also stringent requirements to establish any such use. For examples, see Section 32 (Supplemental Use Regulations); Section 35 (Landscaping, Screening and Buffer areas); Section 43 (Special Permit and/or Site Plan review procedures); and Section 44 (Special Permit and/or Site Plan Documents Standards and Objectives) which contain dozens of pages that outline which non-single family uses can be established under which set of strict guidelines. Trying to use inflammatory word images like “commercial encroachment” to cast the Y like some out of place commercial office complex belies not only the law but also the position this important institution has in our community.
3. The flyer claims “we are working tirelessly to protect your property values…” Again, no factual information is provided that supports the claim of negative impact. The Y’s application contains information that the new facility will have no measurable impact on “Old Hill Area” property values. Are there people who prefer not to live next door to the Y? Sure. Are there people who would love to have this community amenity in their backyard? Absolutely. I know a family that recently moved to the Mahackeno area for this very reason.
The Y Downtown folks certainly have the right to express their opinion, but when they disseminate “misinformation” that tries to scare people, cloud the truth, waste community resources, they should be held to the same “burden of proof” standard that the Y has been held to during this entire application process. To date, when the State DEP, the Conservation Commission, the Flood and Erosion Control Board and the RTM have sorted out fact from fiction, the Y’s approval has been approved, or upheld, at every step.
The last step in the local approval process is the Planning & Zoning Commission and the Y’s P&Z application is on file in Town Hall. Read the information in the record, do your own research, come to the public meetings and draw an informed conclusion. The Planning and Zoning Commission and staff are sure to do their usual in-depth analysis. Let’s support the process that works. Let’s focus on the facts, not fiction. To do less is a disservice to the entire community.
Steven Halstead
Click on the name of the newspaper to read about Ms. Ancel’s controversial flyer in the Westport News and in the Westport Minuteman.
[Editor's Note: Steven Halstead is a former chairman of the Westport Board of Education and husband of Rosemary Halstead, a member of the board of directors of the Westport Weston Family Y.]
Pingback by Mahackeno Now » Amy Ancel and Sean Timmins Headline Anti-Y Petition
February 16, 2008 @ 9:40 am
[...] petition. Ms. Ancel’s anti-Y work outside the RTM is well known. (See Steven Halstead’s entry below about Ms. Ancel’s fund raising efforts for Y [...]
Pingback by Following Flyer Flap, Mandell Disperses Aspersions « Politicus Machamux
February 20, 2008 @ 5:47 pm
[...] that Steven Halstead, former Chairman of the Board of Education, got too much publicity when he wrote to local newspapers, complaining about Ms. Ancel’s disinformation [...]