Tolland Struggles to Preserve Past While Prepare for Future

By Jeremy Katz

TOLLAND—Towns throughout the country are struggling with two competing interests as the needs of populations change: conservation and development.
Like many small communities in Connecticut, the fourth most urbanized state in the nation, Tolland seeks to retain its New England charm while developing economically and increasing revenue, which comes mainly from property taxes.
A 10-year development plan recently adopted by the Tolland Planning and Zoning Commission seeks to balance meeting the growing needs of its more than 14,000 residents while preserving the town’s open space and small-town appeal.
Supporters say the plan will establish a town center and will meet the changing housing needs of the town’s citizens. Critics say the plan will lead to more urban sprawl and have little effect on homeowners’ tax bills.
“Tolland should stay a small town,” says Jackie Gracizyk, a homeowner who has lived in Tolland for 32 years. “My homeowner’s taxes have still gone up even with new businesses like Big Y (supermarket) coming in.”
“As far as development, there are pros and cons,” says Mandla Tuthill, a homeowner who moved to Tolland in January. Keeping the historical town green and surrounding buildings intact are important, but from an economic standpoint development could be good, creating jobs in town, says Tuthill.
Gracizyk says that while homeowners shoulder much of the burden in Tolland, more businesses have not proven to lower taxes in the past.
“Stop spending money on useless things,” says Gracizyk.
Tuthill, who purchased a house in Tolland along with his wife Colleen after looking at 50 houses during a 10-month search, says he would not be opposed to new development.
Adopted Nov. 15, 2009, the plan seeks to establish a town center and address the need for a more diverse range of housing, centering on plans to develop along Route 195 between exit 68 off of Interstate 84 and the historic Tolland Town Green.
The development, called the “Tolland Village Area,” will include senior housing, townhouses, businesses, walkways and bikeways.
The plan provides guidelines so that development is “consistent with New England village architecture.” Goals are to develop more intensely along the “gateway area” adjacent to Interstate 84, and provide a transition leading into the Historic District, which is less than a mile up the road.
Linda Farmer, director of planning and community development, says that during public meetings older residents expressed a desire to downsize their homes as they got older without moving out of the town.
“There was an overwhelming request for more apartments, condos, and townhouses,” says Farmer.
She also says there has been interest in building a hotel near the exit, which could accommodate visitors to the nearby University of Connecticut.
During the two years of developing the plan, the one issue that was continually raised by residents was how to preserve the character and feel of the town, which was named the “27th Best Small Town To Live in America” by Money Magazine in 2009.
Gracizyk supports open space programs in the town, and spoke of a recent petition to support a dog park near Crandall Pond.
She is strongly opposed to the 10-year plan, and is an employee of a Mobil station located right in the center of the planned development along Route 195. Gracizyk says that the one thing the town needs is a “nice Country Restaurant” where people could go out and eat dinner at.
Tuthill said that he was aware of Tolland’s small town appeal, but recalled driving through the town green area for the first time with his wife.
“As I was driving through, I was like this is it,” says Tuthill. “This is the center of the town.”
He said he was not opposed to the proposed development, but could see how people would be wary of increased traffic.
Farmer says that the development will use “open space overlay,” meaning a combination of open space areas abutting the new development. She also says that the town’s Open Space and Conservation Plan has designated for preservation over 1,000 acres of open land in the last 10 years.
A central theme Farmer expressed was “sustainable development,” which emphasizes minimizing the impact on the environment and maximizing the use of the commercially zoned land in the town. The plan seeks to take advantage of the space along Interstate 84, and build multiple story buildings with some storefront businesses and housing above, says Farmer.
According to the town plan, the last decade saw rapid population growth in Tolland, but things have slowed recently. The town consists of 93 percent single-family housing, which paid over $30 million in taxes in the fiscal year 2008, but received almost $32 million in services. The new development attempts to create more diverse housing options, such as apartments and condos, both of which paid more in taxes than they received in services in 2008.
Tolland has over 26,000 acres of land, according to the 2009 Plan of Conservation and Development, with only one percent zoned for commercial and industrial use. Open Space compromises 19 percent of the land, with 33 percent of the town’s land vacant.
The town’s open space program consists of state and town-owned land, along with resident-owned land. A state law designed to preserve land throughout Connecticut, includes three categories: farm, forest, and open-space. Open space land can be applied for if the area exceeds 10.5 acres, and is approved after a public hearing, says Walter Lawrence, Tolland’s Tax Assessor.
The land cannot be developed for a period of ten years, says Lawrence, with a sliding-scale penalty to be paid upon change in the land’s use. The owner pays lower taxes on the land, based on the assessed value outlined in the state law, which is adjusted every 5 years.
The challenge remains how to balance economic development with the town’s preservation programs, which Farmer says are some of the most effective in the state.
While Tolland struggles with how to retain the identity of a small town, the surrounding towns have experienced similar struggles.
Gracizyk mentioned Manchester and Ellington, communities that have developed in recent years, as examples of what Tolland should avoid.
As Connecticut is a small state with many citizens to support, the struggles over conservation and development will only intensify in towns all over, especially in the current economic climate.
“We’re looking for a combination of both,” says Tuthill.