Hands Off Waveny: Keep Waveny Park a Park

 

To the New Canaan Board of Selectmen and Town Council:

 

Waveny Park is not surplus land. It is the heart of New Canaan — 300 acres of public parkland that generations of residents have walked, played, and gathered on, held in trust for the people of this town. We are asking you to keep it that way.

 

A proposal now under consideration would place a large-scale Continuing Care Retirement Community on Parcel E, currently a town-owned open field within the Waveny Park zone off Lapham Road. As described, the project would bring a multi-story residential campus, underground and surface parking for hundreds of cars, and more than 150 residential units onto land that today is open, undeveloped parkland used and enjoyed by the entire community.

 

We understand the need behind this proposal. New Canaan does need more options for seniors who want to age in place close to family and friends. But that need does not have to be met by developing parkland. Waveny Park is the one piece of New Canaan that can never be replaced once it is built on — there are other sites in town that could house a project like this. There is only one Waveny.

 

By signing this petition, we are asking the Board of Selectmen and Town Council to:

 

• Reject any proposal that develops Parcel E, or any other portion of Waveny Park, for a Continuing Care Retirement Community or similar large-scale residential use.

 

• Commit publicly to preserving all of Waveny Park's current open space and recreational land for the public, undeveloped and undiminished.

 

• Direct that any future senior housing or care facility proposal be sited on non-parkland town property, with full public input before any land-use decision is made.

 

• Guarantee a transparent, public process — with adequate notice and opportunity for resident comment — before any further steps are taken on this or similar proposals.

 

Waveny Park belongs to everyone in New Canaan, not to a single project.

 

Once it's developed, it's gone for good. We're asking you to keep your hands off Waveny — and keep Waveny a park.

 

Sign this petition to tell the Board of Selectmen and Town Council: Waveny Park is not for sale