By Bill Price. Editor
Published September 16, 2024.

The attached Letter to the Editor was received too late to be included in the September Sandisfield Times, but because its information is important to a scheduled September 30 Select Board meeting and residents have been encouraged to attend, we have issued this special information announcement. Printing the letter here - and the petition regarding the issue - are The Times' attempt to add clarity prior to the meeting.

Background on Little Bridge Proposal:
The subject of the letter, from Willard and Robert Platt, is their proposal to build an area for tent camping on their Clark Road property on the west side of the Farmington River opposite Roosterville Road in New Boston. They are seeking a Special Permit from the Select Board. They've been pursuing the required permits since the Summer of 2023. (For background, see the link here for our report on page 9 of the August 2023 issue of The Times.)

Willard and Robert Platt, whose family has owned the property since 1940 and have been good stewards of the land, seek to build a campground on their property where their family formerly operated a tent-camping facility. The family home, near the west end of the Clark Road bridge, is the only house on that side of the bridge.

The brothers believe their location near the Hanging Mountain climbing site would provide overnight camping for climbers who currently have limited places to stay in Sandisfield. The brothers have been told by several Hanging Mountain rock climbers that they would like a place to camp overnight when they visit Sandisfield. Many of the climbers cannot afford an Air BnB or the New Boston Inn and would prefer to camp out anyway.

In July 2023 about thirty residents attended a Community Outreach Meeting regarding a proposal for a camping bylaw. The meeting was conducted by the Town's Planning Board, attended by the full Select Board and representatives from the Conservation Committee. Concerns were discussed including sanitation requirements, firepits, parking, lighting, and noise, and enforcement, among others.

The discussion led to the Planning Board presenting a Camping Bylaw at the Annual Town Meeting in May this year. The proposal, which required a 2/3 majority to pass, failed by a vote of 21-20. The item came up near the end of a 3-hour meeting by which time several voters had left.

The brothers were encouraged to follow their plans via a Special Permit request to the Select Board, using the bylaw proposal as a guide. Thus, their letter, and the September 30 Select Board meeting agenda item.

Following is the Letter to the Editor from the Platt brothers:

"Little Bridge Farm Tent Camping

"Little Bridge Farm Tent Camping has entered the special permit stage of approvals. As you may be aware, the proposed tent camping bylaws failed at the annual town meeting. It was explained in depth to the voters that a "no vote" would not stop tent camping; it's just that there would be no town regulations on camping. So when the voters failed to pass the bylaws, the only take away is the voters did not want more regulations.

"In Sandisfield, you need a special permit for almost anything you do, whether it's an antique shop, riding stable or campground. The abutters need to be notified by mail before the select board’s special meeting, and everyone can present their case for or against the special permit. Nothing is done in secret. We have been more than open with our intentions over the last two years.

"It's come to our attention that people are spreading misinformation and untruths about the tent camping area. To clear some of this up, there will only be tenters - hence the name Little Bridge Farm Tent Camping. There will be no travel trailers or motor homes allowed. All activities at the campground will be monitored, and any unruly or out-of-control campers will be dealt with immediately.

"Special permits come with special conditions. We would welcome the select board adding tent camping only to the conditions in our special permit.

"Willard and Robert Platt"

The Petition re Little Bridge Farm Campground on Clark Rd.

The Platt brothers' letter was a response to a petition circulated through parts of Sandisfield by Dominic Konstam, a property abutter on the mountain-top above the Platt brothers home at the end of the Clark Road Bridge.

The petition reads: "We, the undersigned, do not approve the development of a campground at property owned by the Platt brothers at 4 Clark Road. We ask that the Board of Selectmen deny the application for a special permit for the purpose of the following reasons:

1. "The townspeople did not approve the proposed new camping bylaw designed to promote the development of campgrounds at a town meeting on May 18th, 2024.
2. "An increase in noise pollution disrupting the peace and quiet for all abutters and residents.
3. "Negative impact on property owners for adjacent landowners.
4. "Concerns about increased incident of trespassing on to surrounding properties.
5. "The increased risk of liability to the town relative to injuries and potential use of emergency services."

In an email message to The Times, Dominic Konstam wrote as follows:

"We have about 50 signatures literally collected in one morning by Carol Ivers and myself. We were told having about 30 would be good so we could obviously get a lot more if needed. On my run I only had 3 people out of about 25 who declined to sign with only one in favor of the campsite proposal and two wanting to be neutral because they were friends with the would-be campsite owners. Those who signed were overwhelmingly of the opinion that Sandisfield didn't need to evolve with campsites. So it was not out of sympathy for the abutters but concern for why the town should be bringing in campers."

The Select Board meeting where this issue is an agenda proposal is Monday, September 30, 6:30 p.m. Select Board meetings are held at Town Hall, open to the public, and are available for viewing on Zoom. See sandisfieldtimes.org for Zoom instructions and admission code.