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Shelton's 'Dirty' Secret
Environmental group scores PZC over land use
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Business New Haven
12/9/2002
By: BNH
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Shelton's Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC) has earned one of the Toxics Action Center's annual "Dirty Dozen" awards for its "continual approval of projects that are harmful to human health and the environment," according to the anti-pollution advocacy group.
The center cited in particular the PZC for permitting Latex Foam Products to relocate to River Road after a fire destroyed its factory in Ansonia, as well as for allowing an asphalt plant and mining operation near a grammar school.
"The commission must prioritize the health of its residents in its future decision making," Kim DeFeo, field director of the Toxics Action Center, told the Connecticut Post.
PZC Chairman Joseph Pagliaro Sr. defended his group's actions by saying that the Latex Foam site is zoned for industrial development. So, he said, is the John J. Brennan Construction Co. property next to Lafayette School.
The award given to the Shelton commission makes it the first zoning board in New England to receive the designation, from the West Hartford-based environmental group. Other designees include General Electric, Pfizer and Pratt & Whitney.
According to the Toxics Action Center, the Shelton PZC has "a long history of approving projects that are detrimental to residents' health and that sacrifice the long-term good of the city's residents for short-term profits or political capital."
By relocating to Shelton, Latex Foam brought with it 200 jobs that would otherwise have left the state, Pagliaro said. Complaints about emissions leveled against the company when it was in Ansonia have been resolved, he said.
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