Guilford Voters Decide Nov. 2 on 34-Acre Bluff Head Open Space Transfer

GUILFORD, CT — Guilford voters will decide Monday, Nov. 2, at 8:30 a.m. at Town Hall whether to waive the town's right of first refusal on 34 acres off Bluff View Drive and Durham Road.

The Oct. 5 Board of Selectmen agenda lists the special town meeting for that time. Patch reported that it is scheduled alongside the board's regular meeting at Guilford Town Hall, 31 Park St.

The Bluff Head Estates Association has held the land since 1988 and has 45 unit owners. Its members voted to give the property to the Guilford Land Conservation Trust as a donation. In an Aug. 17 letter to First Selectman Matt Hoey, Association President Joseph Guerra wrote that members' desire to own and operate the land has diminished, Patch reported.

A 1988 Rule Gives the Town First Refusal

A legal review found a 1988 requirement that the land be offered to the town first. Waiving that right would let the Guilford Land Conservation Trust accept the property. Patch reported that the land connects to the trust's 870-plus-acre Bluff Head and Northwoods property, where it would be preserved as open space.

A Second Easement Vote on the Same Night

Voters will also decide whether to accept a 19,118-square-foot conservation easement at 217 Saddle Hill Road. The easement stems from a re-subdivision the Planning & Zoning Commission approved in 2015.

The Oct. 5 Board of Selectmen agenda scheduled public hearings and special town meetings for 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 2 on both the Bluff Head waiver and the Saddle Hill easement.

The same agenda set a third public hearing and special town meeting for that morning, on an ordinance amendment covering farm property tax exemptions, and a public hearing on an amendment to Chapter 218 of the town code, which governs peddling and soliciting.

Got a tip? Reach out to us at tips@thequinnipiacpost.com.