Letter to the Editor: Different Ideas for ‘Tender Love and Care’ on Halls Road

To the Editor:

I find it fascinating that Jason Hess, a lawyer and principal for Zelco, begins his opinion piece by expressing his company’s “tender love and care” for the Old Lyme Marketplace. 

Just check out their current and future projects here.

It’s no surprise that Zelco counts “local members of the community as investors,” and admittedly I can’t say who those investors are, but it’s hard to believe they have no connections or influence on local politics. 

Zelco has done nothing wrong.

As Hess says, “having government officials that answer questions on rules, regulations, policies and procedures is an essential function of government.”

Agreed.

But as we all know, not only has the new state housing law put local regulations for commercial development on the table, but the town also is in the second year of a two-year rewrite of its zoning rules. Nowhere in Old Lyme is affected by these changes more than Halls Road.

Who met who, where and when, dating back to 2025, is confusing if nothing else.

Enter Paul Orzel, chair of the Zoning Commission.

Wouldn’t dealing in good faith dictate having these meetings with Zelco “on the record” or as part of an informal public discussion with zoning, especially in light of the controversy surrounding the overlay, the rewrite and general public skepticism?

A developer two months back was on the zoning agenda to have an “informal discussion” about developing the Cherrystones property. Why didn’t Orzel suggest the same for Zelco?

Or we can easily cut to the chase by limiting building heights to 27 feet and limiting density to 10 units (two-bedroom each or equivalent) per acre – at least as a starting point.

Now that would be tender love and care!

Sincerely,
Sloan Danenhower
Old Lyme