Members of the Wesleyan University community, supporters of local businesses, and town residents appear ready to draw the line in response to the proposed relocation of the campus bookstore to a prospective commercial development at the intersection of Pearl and Washington streets.
Not one commenter in a standing-room-only forum at the school's Public Affairs Center Tuesday expressed support for the project that is currently under discussion between Middletown-based development firm Centerplan and the administration.
No actions have been taken on the plan to bring Broad Street Books to this proposed development on Route 66, however opposition had been mounting even before the forum Tuesday evening.
The gentlest responses Centerplan CEO Bob Landino received were a few scattered questions seeking information about the plan, but they were mostly lost amidst a sea of strong inquiries in opposition to the project.
One young woman spoke of an impending "pitched battle" over the proposal. Another student escalated the discussion further. "What would it take for you guys to decide this is not what the community wants? Would you wait for civil disobedience?" she challenged.
But, Wesleyan students and faculty members were not the only ones voicing strident opposition. The most frequent objections raised at the meeting pertained to worsened traffic safety near the intersection of Washington and Main streets, a section that many residents already believe is dangerous.
Objectors alluded to past accidents and fatalities that had occurred on the stretch in graphic terms.
"I heard her head. It sounded like a watermelon," said one man, voice quavering, as he recounted the experience of seeing a woman killed in a car crash.
Advocates of downtown business also applied vivid criticisms.
"I've seen some local businesses claw their way up tooth and nail," protested one resident, who predicted that the commercial businesses that would occupy other spaces on the property would detract from the business of Main Street shops.
Landino attempted to defend the notion that local businesses and chain stores could co-exist, pointing out that, "Rite-Aid didn't take business from Mondo" when it moved downtown. After audible crowd objection forced him to acknowledge the inconsistency of the example, by comparing a pizza place to a pharmacy, Landino admitted "Mondo is an independent enterprise, and there aren't any independent pharmacies."
"Any more!" came the cries almost in unison, the implication being that chain pharmacies had driven small-town druggists out of existence.
Speaker after speaker received lively applause for their sarcastic interrogation of the developers. And when informed that the university supported the proposal because it involved "no additional cost to move the bookstore," according to Associate Vice President of Finance Nathan Peters, the crowd turned their questions on the administration.
"Does Wesleyan support the re-zoning of this area into high density retail?" an alumnus asked.
Other supporters of the project were similarly derided. After hearing that the mayor had endorsed the plan, audience member David Schultz muttered, "Why did we ever elect Dan Drew?"
Drew recently pointed out that the project could bring $6 million in influx of funds to the local economy.
Peters stressed that the proposal is only an idea at this stage. "Wesleyan has not made a decision," on the plan, he said.
An agitated commenter retorted, "If the the zoning commission was to pass this, one lawsuit will kill it."
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