My wife and I own 26 School House, the property next to the planned dock. I am a a practicing physician, and a member of a Covid-19 response team. We don't currently live in Mystic, but visit often, and plan to live here when I retire a few years from now.
My grandparents built the house at 26 Schoolhouse Rd in 1946. As a child I spent summers at my grandparents exploring the cove and surrounding areas. This experience had a profound impact on me, teaching me to handle a boat, skin dive, and to appreciate the unique spot called Masons Island. I subsequently earned a degree in Environmental Toxicology from University of California, Davis. A considerable part of my studies involved the effect of human activities on marine environments. My experience as a child in Mystic made these issues much more personal and poignant.
I've grown up now, and have children of my own. They learned about the magic world along the Mason Island shoreline as I did (see photo). My grandparents and father have passed, and I inherited the house. Over all these years, however,..... the cove has remained essentially unchanged. Fisherman, kayakers, children, and sightseers have all been able to enjoy it.
In the past we had the opportunity to purchase the 28 School House rd. property for $375,000. We thought the price was too high since the property is mostly wetlands and is really unsuitable for a house. Also, the access to the property was also blocked by very high tides; we never imagined that somebody would, or could, bring in fill to create a driveway. We were never opposed to paying a fair price, and then allowing it to remain in its natural state; We always felt as a tidal wetland and part of a fragile ecosystem the property should be preserved. We were naturally concerned that somebody would purchase the property who did not share our environmental concerns. We thought state administrators would enforce rules and at worst, a small dock or launching site might be built. We never imagined that the property would be sold at a steep discount so that a huge dock with power lifts could be built on it.
I cannot understand how anybody could look at this wetland property and think, "This would be a great place for a big powerboat and jet ski at the end of a 100ft dock!" In the photo, I was rowing and showing my kids the same places I explored as a child. I don't really know what to say to somebody who doesn't instinctively see why building a huge dock here is such a horrendous idea. It is the antithesis of what I learned to value as a child exploring, as a student studying, as a physician, and as a father raising children.
Sincerely,
Chuck Law, MD
"They tortured the timber and stripped all the land. They dug for their coal 'til the land was forsaken. Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man" John Prine "Paradise"
