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OLD SAYBROOK -- The Cornfield Point Association filed suit against the
town Wednesday, claiming that disputed road endings in their neighborhood
belong to the association and not to the town.
"This is nothing more than arrogance - these people are trying to
take the public's property away," First Selectman Mike Pace said
Wednesday. He promised the town would win, and the victory would have
a ripple effect in the state.
The lawsuit, according to Pace, could have far-reaching consequences potentially
affecting beach access claims throughout the state.
The planning commission is working to open up the swatches of land at
the end of roads that, in this town, have been made to look like private
land by neighbors.
In Cornfield Point, where the planning commission began its work to open
up these parcels to public use, the battle will now be fought in court.
The surprising premise of the suit is that the road endings, unlike the
traveled portions of the roads, were never deeded to the town back when
they were laid out in the 1920s.
Association President Theodora Kopcha said Wednesday that minutes of old
association meetings prove the endings actually belong to the association.
This was never mentioned in the many contentious meetings on the issue,
Kopcha said, because "we've been researching it."
Another angle that has not surfaced in the lengthy tug of war between
Cornfield Point residents and the town is the possibility that the town
will use the road endings in the neighborhood for underground collection
for small community septic systems.
Kopcha also brought up another little-talked about situation: Private
wells serving adjacent property owners rest under the ground in a number
of the road endings.
Still, it's not the road endings in Cornfield Point that make them valuable
in and of themselves. It's where they end at - Long Island Sound. A strip
of association-owned beach is what prevents visitors to the road endings
from using the water beyond.
How private those beaches will remain, at least in Cornfield Point, is
something Pace, as a result of the lawsuit, intended to pursue.
"They've opened up something that could have an effect on the whole
state," Pace said.
The planning commission acknowledged the lawsuit but continued to steer
its course, approving its recommendations to create several parking places
at a few road endings in Cornfield Point, remove hedges and trees that
act as false borders and erect signs and posts to draw attention to the
areas as public spots. These recommendations will now go to the selectmen
for their approval.
Go on to Part 2
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