Valerie Burns

As a resident of New London who owns two properties in the Pleasant Lake Watershed, very near the shoreline, I fully appreciate the degree to which the protected shoreland is one of the most critical areas for lake and river health. This natural buffer is the last line of defense, filtering pollution, stabilizing soils, and reducing runoff water before it reaches lakes and rivers. Automatically allowing ADUs in the protected shoreland can - AND WILL - lead to more impervious surfaces, soil compaction, land clearing, and polluted runoff, increasing the risk of water quality impacts. Human nature, in all its glorious entitlement, assumes an attitude of domination over the natural world as well as over those who are marginalized. I know: I am a clinical social worker who researches, studies, and works with diverse populations to treat trauma resulting from attitudes of power and control. HB 1540 is a targeted fix that applies only to the protected shoreland. It restores a municipality’s ability to decide whether detached ADUs are appropriate near the water, helping communities balance housing flexibility with the shoreline protections our lakes depend on. Our lakes cannot speak for themselves. We must listen to them, hear their silent cries as so many reach environmental tipping points, and advocate for their health, which translates into health for human populations as well.