Good afternoon, Sen. Cassano, Rep. McCarthey-Vahey, Sen. Hwang, Rep. Zullo, and members of the Planning & Development Committee….
My name is Fred Camillo, a former member of the Connecticut General Assembly, and the current First Selectman of the Town of Greenwich.
I am here today to testify on HB 5361, AN ACT CONCERNING PUBLIC ACCESS TO CERTAIN COASTAL RESOURCES.
I stand in opposition to the part of this legislative proposal that seeks to prohibit municipalities from restricting nonresident access to municipal parks and beaches that are accessible to residents or imposing fees for such access that are greater than fifty per cent of any fees charged to residents.
If we truly believe in local autonomy, then bills such as this conflict with this long held belief and tradition. In the case of my town, we do allow beach access to non-residents, have reasonable entry fees, and welcome all to come to enjoy them.
Our fees charged to non-residents are both fair and necessary as we maintain our parks and beaches without state or Federal assistance. They are also in line with our neighboring communities. To demand and mandate that we lower fees would amount to basically asking our town’s residents to subsidize non-resident usage.
We also have capacity limits that are driven by concern for public safety.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Fred Camillo is the First Selectman of the Town of Greenwich
