Published July 12. 2021 12:01AM
A question for Groton residents, including residents of Mystic like myself, is whether they want development, what kind of development, and for what kind of future? Opponents of the proposed development at Mystic Education Center are quoted as supporting single-family homes or housing for older people. Perhaps this is not surprising and reflects the lower population density, higher median house price and income, and older median age (nearly 50) in the Mystic zip code (admittedly both Stonington and Groton) as compared to the Groton zip code with a median age around 30, higher density, and lower median house price and income.
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Published July 07. 2021 5:58PM
Regarding The Mystic Education Center site at crossroads, (July 4), the Oral School project is a perfect example of the pitfalls of assumptions, especially unscientific ones. While the former school buildings look charming from a distance, close inspection reveals them to be old, derelict, and nothing of note. Town councilors assumed that retaining the existing buildings was unquestionably worthwhile, which is actually a decision that should be based on specific, in-depth research and economics. That assumption was, unfortunately, part of the RFP, which likely diminished the interest in the site, as it adds an enormous cost, as well as burdens the developer with maintaining and utilizing the existing buildings.
Mystic Scott Westervelt, who has lived on Boulder Court at the bottom of the hill from the former Mystic Oral School for more than 35 years, is concerned a large mixed-use development on the property would add traffic to narrow roads and disturb the neighborhood and environment.
“An overly dense population moving into this area would destroy the quiet solitude that we have down on Boulder Court,” he said.
He is a co-chairperson of the Mystic Oral School Advocates, a group of about 125 people in the surrounding neighborhoods and Groton, which he said is working to restrict the proposed mega development or prevent the zoning that would allow it to move forward.
Groton The developer proposing a mixed-use village at the Mystic Education Center property is “exploring all our options” after the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission made clear its concerns about overdevelopment of the site.
While the commission did not make any binding decisions, it came to a consensus at a workshop last week that the town should not initiate a new floating zone for the property.
The commission, however, would be open to a zone change, such as to a rural residential RU-40 zone or potentially RU-20 zone for part of the property, Planning and Development Director Jon Reiner said. Those rural residential zones call for lower density than what is included in the developer s proposal and allow for uses including single-family residential, attached two-family residential, some type of age-restricted housing and similar types of development, and some business uses. It s up to the developer to look at the zoning and then determine how to move forward.
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