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| Bushinsky Arboretum entrance on Shelton Road |
Here's a peaceful Land Trust property on the Shelton/Trumbull line you don't quite expect right off of the busy intersection of Bridgeport Avenue and Huntington Street. It's only four acres, but the pond and landscaping are picturesque. Turning down the Bushinsky driveway off of Shelton Road, one enters a completely different world. (Note that Bridgeport Ave. changes its name to Shelton Ave Road as it heads south into Trumbull). You will need to click on the panorama below to really see it.
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| Panorama showing the contrast between the arboretum and the busy intersection. |
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| A peaceful retreat |
This property formerly held the Bushinsky's home, but the house was a maintenance issue and removed, leaving just the landscaping and pond. Volunteers with the Land Trust have made a lot of progress cleaning it up the past few years, but there is now a proposal to squeeze 22 condominiums on just 2.1 acres on the adjacent property. A wall of condos overlooking this peaceful retreat would be very sad. The proposal is not "as of right" since the area is zoned for one-acre residential homes, but the Planning and Zoning Commission has the right to grant a PDD overlay zone, which essentially removes all the zoning restrictions. By the way, I should note that the Shelton Land Trust is a private 501c3 non-profit organization (many people confuse it with the City of Shelton).
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| Plaque on the entrance sign |
The plaque on the entrance sign reads:
"BUSHINSKY ARBORETUM"
This property was a gift to the Shelton Land Conservation Trust, Inc. by
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Bushinsky,
to be protected and maintained as a nature preserve for the benefit and enjoyment of all.
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| The pond - Google suggested this artsy edit for me. |
The pond is obviously pretty shallow and is covered with green duck weed in the photos. It is long and narrow, extending north onto the neighboring property where they want to build the condos. The photo above is looking south towards Trumbull. The photo below is the same spot, but looking north to where they want to build condos. (Click
here to see additional documents related to the proposal).
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| The backdrop here may be all condos some day :( |
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| Aerial showing where the 22 condos would be built |
If you are local and haven't visited this property yet, I suggest you do it now before the condos are built.
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| Nice place to read a book |
