Table of Contents
Town Development
| There has been a lot of talk recently about the amount of development in town. It’s important to look at how several items work together to guide if/how development progresses in town. The Town Council is responsible with the Town Planning and Zoning Commission for creating and updating town zoning rules. This is the main way that the Town Council influences what can be built in town. These rules are then used by the Town Planning and Zoning Commission when they are evaluating new developments. Almost all development in town is approved or denied solely by the Town Planning and Zoning Commission. One of the only times Town Council is involved with development decisions is with Planned Area Developments (PADs). However, the Town Council can influence developments through zoning regulations, the Plan of Conservation and Development, design guidelines, and now with the village district overlay. All of these items are looked at when the Town Planning and Zoning Commission evaluates new developments. So anytime the Town Council looks to update any of these documents, a lot of thought is put into the wording and clarity of the documents. Ultimately, the Planning and Zoning Commission determines if a project meets the regulations and approves or denies a project based on that. They cannot deny a project if they just don’t like it. It must be based on not meeting the regulations. So it’s important that the Town Council develops the regulations in a way that drives the type of development we want to see in town. I am very proud of the work we’ve done with creating design guidelines to create a consistent look and feel in town that honors our past. We’ve also held off some initiatives by the State to implement zoning rules on towns. We voted to opt out of allowing cannabis establishments in town, new parking regulations from the state, and rules from the state on accessory dwelling units because we believe in local control in zoning decisions. Another way the Town Council can preserve key land in town through our Open Space program. Throughout my time on Town Council, we’ve preserved the former MDC property near Hebron Avenue and Keeney, Rose’s Berry Farm, the St. Paul’s property across from the Riverfront Community Center, and much more. All of these items work together to help us create the growth and preservation of the town we all love. |
Preserving and Celebrating our History
| As we head into this election season, I believe it’s important that voters understand the positions of the candidates. I am passionate about preserving and celebrating the history of Glastonbury. The roots of Glastonbury reach back to before the American Revolution. Our town had only about 2,000 residents at that time. We have grown 1700% since then, but no matter when you moved to our wonderful community, you are welcome here. In 2026, our country will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This is a milestone that should be celebrated. That moment sparked our great nation. While there have been dark moments throughout our history, what I love is that we are an aspirational country that is always striving to become that more perfect union. To help us mark this special occasion, I recommended and am the chair of a group that will plan events throughout 2026. We are hoping to make this a yearlong celebration. We’re forming this group now so that we will have enough time to plan events and fundraise for those events. Celebrating our history, however, is not only about planning parties. It’s about taking an active role to protect physical structures from our past. I am proud of the work we did to protect the wall at Cotton Hollow and the Gaines Hotel downtown. It’s important that we do not lose our connection to the past. To help ensure that Glastonbury maintains its connection, we created the Town Center District and the Architectural Design Review Committee. These will help the Planning and Zoning Commission ensure a consistent look and feel downtown that pays homage to our history. |
Growing Issue
| I grew up in a town just south of Buffalo. I attended a public high school that had almost no diversity. My first job out of college was in Puerto Rico. I remember showing a coworker a yearbook to show him that our high school Spanish club took a trip to Purerto Rico. While flipping through the yearbook, he made a comment that shocked me. He asked if I went to the KKK high school because there were almost no minorities. I hadn’t realized how strange it was that there was no diversity in my high school. My suburban town was the norm around Buffalo. To this day, my town is approximently 97% white, and as are most of Buffalo’s suburbs. The man who murdered 10 people and injured three in Buffalo was week, a self-described fascist and white supremacist, chose the supermarket because of the demographic, driving over three hours to get there. It is not surprising that he chose a Buffalo supermarket because of the wide segregation between the city and the suburbs. However he could have easily driven around the same distance to Hartford for similar demographics He wrote a 180-page manifesto citing a hateful conspiracy theory that the “white” race is under attack. One of the people he shot was my sister-in-law’s friend, Chistopher Braden. He luckily did not die; he was spared because he is white. The gunman apologized to him because he was specifically looking to kill Black people. It saddens me to see my hometown city in such pain. It’s an all-to-common experience these days. I hope this awakens people to combat the growing issue of white supremacy in our country. |
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