The Borough of Stonington continues to be separated from the town of Stonington by an impenetrable wall. That’s too bad because the town has a rich diversity of talent and resources to handle any number of issues between neighbors such as Architectural Design Review, Conservation, Charter Revision, Stonington Beautification and the list goes on. And the best part is – the committees are made up of people who have the background and knowledge to make informed decisions.

The borough, on the other hand, continues to fumble by allowing questionable projects to happen and even seeming to struggle with basic procedural issues. Recent additions include the enclosed tower at the “Black House” (which by the way is proposing yet another project on a plot already groaning with structures), a 7-foot high fence blocking the public from public water vistas, hot tubs, you name it. The procedure for the last project at 11 Water St. was a colossal fail. Let’s hope the Black House’s next endeavor gets handled with care.

While we appreciate they are volunteers, how are the members of the borough zoning board qualified to make informed decisions? Even if I had a ruler I don’t know how to measure FAR. Our chief zoning officer spends 1.5 hours per week in the borough because we’re borrowing him from Groton. And yet we continue to keep ourselves sequestered from town resources, which may actually help us preserve law, order and the integrity of a little historical seaside village of which so few remain.

Eric Baum

Stonington

Editor’s note: The writer lives in New York and Stonington.