Groton Open Space Association

Instead, the committee agreed to follow the recommenation of town planning staff to step up efforts to protect a public drinking water supply through a comprehensive regulatory approach. This would include a study, public education and the development of local laws aimed at protecting the watershed.

The town was being asked to accept the conveyance, easements and convenants negotiated by The Downs-Patterson Corp. and the Groton Open Space Association. The documents were drdafted in an attempt to end a legal dispute between the two groups over the developers’ plans to build 51 homes on 125.4 undeveloped acres east of Great Brook and north of Route 184.

Great Brook, which is located in the town, feeds into Groton city-owned reservoirs that serve more than 35,000 people.

The covenants set tree-clearing limits and regulate the use of herbicides, pesticides and other products that could be harmful to the water. Under the covenants, the town would have had the option to enforce restrictions that would help prevent the pollution of the brook.

The City of Groton already has agreed to accept that role, which would be shared with the new development’s homeowners’ association.

By getting the town involved, Councilor Paulann H. Sheets said it would give the public, which depended on the water supply, an extra layer of protection. Sheets is a member of GOSA.

But Councilors Thomas J. Skrmetti and Frank O’Beirne Jr. objected to the idea, saying the town should not get involved in a deal negotiated between two private parties without any town involvement.

Skrmetti and O’Beirne, along with Mayor Harry A. Watson Jr. and Councilors Heather Sherman Bond and Catherine Kolnaski voted to support the town staff’s recommendation and reject [participation in] the deal between GOSA and the developer.