Four major local and State documents back up this philosophy. The 2001 Westport Downtown Plan, the 1997 Westport Town Plan of Conservation and Development, the 2004 Connecticut State Plan of Conservation and Development and the 2003 State Planning and Development Committee's Blue Ribbon Panel Report on Sprawl.

These current and definitive plans and reports make it clear the Y should remain Downtown and not relocate to a designated rural conservation and residential area.

Downtown Plan

The Downtown plan and its revisions makes it clear the Y should stay downtown. $150,000 and time was spent to form this plan

"A new center for seniors, the YMCA, the Arts Center, other institutions and cultural and civic programs will help to maintain the dynamic mix of retail, commercial and institutional uses that currently enrich Westport's downtown."

The plan laid out a two building approach, but this need not be the only way this can be accomplished. the larger building could be two stories and accommodate that much more. A meeting of the minds of the Y, the Town and residents should occur to bring this concept to fruition.

Here is some of the text of the plan related to the Y. The full Downtown plan and sketches can be seen here specifically in section 4.

Two separate buildings are proposed to accommodate YMCA's broad range of programs and activities. A 60,000 square foot building for swimming, gymnasium, locker space and support facilities is placed on the under-utilized Imperial Avenue parking lot, while child care, administrative and other community uses are located in an approximate 20,000 square foot building located between the library and the police department headquarters. This division of functions helps to address the issue of building scale and disperses the parking and traffic that will be generated by YMCA staff and members.

The larger building is designed primarily as a single story structure. Access is proposed via a new bridge crossing Dead Man's Creek, connecting eastward to the existing road access from Imperial Avenue. The site plan illustrates a parking lot for approximately 100 cars, located to the north of the building, with a drop-off at the main entry point. The site's location gives the new YMCA building commanding water views and will help to establish this underutilized area as an active and vital part of downtown.

The second building for the YMCA is proposed as a two-story structure located in close proximity to the library. A two-story parking structure, sited immediately to the south of the police building, provides parking at the upper level for YMCA use and an enclosed garage for police department use at the lower level.

There is now the 2007 Town Plan which guides us the same way.

The underlying philosophy of this Plan is to:

• Restrict commercial development to existing commercial zones.
• Protect residential neighborhoods.
• Actively pursue the acquisition of open space; ensure that land is retained for future needs.
• Conserve and protect natural resources.

The Town Plan in clear and plain English says "continue to locate community facilities within Westport Center or close to it, as long as additional parking needs can be accommodated." As noted above the Downtown plan creates such parking.

The Y boards say in every statement that the Y is largest part of Westport's Community.

"Westport Center is the Town’s focal point. It is the center of town government and business, and of much of the Town’s cultural life. It has become a regional shopping center while still managing to preserve much of its small town look. "

The Town Plan also calls the Mahackeno site "Open Space" and lists it as a possible site for town purchase. So allowing the construction of 94,000 plus paving 3 acres for parking would destroy open space remove another potential piece of town owned open space.

The Westport Town Plan is available to read on-line

The 2004 State Plan of Conservation and Development

This just released plan, first of all, designates Northwestern Westport as a rural area which gives it a conservation priority rather than one of development. And the Mahackeno site added conservation status with preservation and all ready preserved areas delineated.

"For the purpose of this Plan, development areas are Regional Centers, Neighborhood Conservation Areas, Growth Areas and Rural Community Centers

This part of town (the White Area) is not supposed to be developed and is actually supposed to be protected.

The goal of the plan, for our issue, is two fold:

• "Redevelop and Revitalize Regional Centers and Areas with Existing or Currently Planned Physical Infrastructure"
• "Conserve and Restore the Natural Environment, Cultural and Historical Resources, and Traditional Rural Lands"

Redevelop

Main Street Development:

"Many towns and cities in Connecticut have traditional town centers that are in varying states of economic health. Some are popular, attract investment and continue to be centers for economic and community life. Other town centers have difficulty attracting investment are plagued with vacant storefronts and are in a state of disrepair. Revitalization of these main street areas is important not only because they are usually the historical, cultural, civic and geographical center of the community, but because they are also an alternative to the forces that fuel low-density development at the fringe of growth areas."

Conserve and Preserve

"A goal of this plan is to preserve diverse landscapes that offer outdoor recreation, preserve fragile natural communities and habitats for plants and animals, and that offers green spaces accessible to residents both in the country and in the cities. These natural, scenic, recreational, and historic areas of the state are essential to the quality of life, are important economic assets in Connecticut, and must be maintained and protected from adverse effects. Preserving this heritage is a challenge in such a small, densely populated state with a limited land and water resource base.

In recognition that the natural resources of the state were finite and precious and that a growing population and expanding economy were having a profound impact on the life-sustaining natural environment, the General Assembly declared the policy of the state "is to conserve, improve and protect its natural resources and environment and to control air, land, and water pollution in order to enhance the health, safety, and welfare of the state.""

State Blue Ribbon Panel on Smart Growth and Sprawl

The State Commission of Planning and Development put together a 17 member commission made of prominent elected officials from accross Connecticut, include Mayor Alex Knopp of Norwalk, to investigate Sprawl and Smarth Growth. They delivered a report in October 2003 outlining the planning goals for the state.

The report was clear that core centers of towns are to be reinvested in and our ring rural areas protected

The Report "encourages development where infrastructure already exists, and conversely away from where it doesn't and where development would harm environmentally sensitive and precious land."

"The Commission recommends...that municipalities promulgate land use regulations and Plans of Conservation and Development (PCDs) that encourage development in existing urban centers."

"We are well on our way to becoming wall-to-wall suburb. Such development brings with it more roads, more congestion, and more pollution...We are losing our remote rural character, and the central urban core has become increasingly distressed."

In other words sprawl.

"This sprawl means that development does not occur where the infrastructure to support it already exists but instead occurs in previously undisturbed areas where new roads, schools, sewers and other infrastructure must be built. The present system promotes disinvestments in our cities and urbanized towns. This adds to traffic woes, the loss of open space and disfigures the face of Connecticut."

"Sprawl is a significant threat to our quality of life in Connecticut."

Smart Growth is the answer.

"By its simplest definition, Smart Growth is a comprehensive planning process that encourages more efficient land use patterns of development that accommodate sustainable economic growth, reduce transportation congestion, protect natural resources, preserve the traditional character of communities."

Having the Y reinvest in Downtown IS Smart Growth.

CT Blue Ribbon Panel Report on Sprawl is also available to read on this website.