Stop the Multiplex!!

Sailing through the approvals' process? That would   accurately describe the progress of the application to build a 1,200 (1,400?) seat eight (or ten) screen Multiplex next to the post office. Check the minutes of  the most recent Southbury Planning Commission meeting and you will see that the Commission has  determined  that the project’s Senior Traffic Engineer presented “compelling evidence that the eight-screen theater, restaurant, (and whatever else is going in there- 14,000 sq. ft. of retail, restaurants, and apartments) will not significantly affect traffic on Main Street South.” On its face, it is a completely ridiculous assertion, but Southbury’s Planning Commission appears to believe it and as a result the rest of us are going to have to live with it forever.  If you decide to attend land use meetings related to this project, I recommend wearing muck boots.

On the bright side, residents with bored out-of-town guests will finally have  something “to do.” For those of us that need to go to the post office, Pomperaug Elementary School, or Union Square, we  may  want to be sure to have drinks and snacks in the car when  our fifteen-minute errands turn into  fifty-minute treks.

I continue to be stunned that we are allowing this to happen. The Commission   believes that the residents  want the theater, citing  the non-scientific, internet-based responses from self-selected participants in the Southbury Economic Development Commission’s so-called “Shopper Survey.” As a former candidate for the Board of Selectman who lost to a seasonal resident (Marcia Gore, wife of Planning Commissioner Ed Gore)  by a four to one margin, I can only assume that  our elected officials and commissioners are more in tune with the desires of the community than I. 

Pack your patience and enjoy the show!

Or, make your voice heard at the Land Use meetings where the project will be considered, i.e. the Zoning Commission meeting of January 7 at 7:30 pm Town hall (check time in case it is changed). o