Politics & Government

Zombie Threat of Injunction Has Town Considering Skate Park Relocation

Documents from the Town of Woodbury obtained by Patch through a Freedom of Information Act request reveal new information about the ongoing issue of noise at the skate park.

If Rob Zombie has his way, the Woodbury Skate Park will be moved away from his house. And with the famous rock star’s attorney raising the possibility of filing an injunction, the town is considering a relocation.

“If the town refuses to relocate the skateboard facility, our clients will consider taking appropriate action to obtain the relief they are seeking including temporary and permanent injunction,” writes Zombie’s attorney Lewis Wise in a letter to First Selectman Jerry Stomski.

The letter, dated July 16, was among several obtained by Patch this week via a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

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Stomski told Patch Tuesday that relocation of the activity is currently under consideration, as are all other options, including further noise reduction efforts.

“We are in discussion with the neighbor who had complained and have agreed to seek a mutually agreeable and beneficial resolution to the issue,” he said.

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The skate park was opened in March 2013 at Hollow Park behind the rear property line of the Zombies’ home, which is located on a 19-acre parcel at 59 Sycamore Ave. The couple has argued that the noise at the Woodbury Skate Park is too much to bear and the town should move the park.

Where Would The Park Go?

There are limitations on where the skate park can be relocated in Hollow Park, due to the fact that most of the area is in a flood plain, Stomski said.

In email correspondence with Zombie on May 14, Stomski apologized for the inconvenience the park had caused and said he is determined to continue to resolve the issue.

“Yes, I agree with your suggestion of moving the skate park and ramps, would ultimately help in resolving the problem,” Stomski writes. “The associated cost in doing this may be problematic, but this idea will be given serious consideration.”

There are currently no cost estimates associated with relocating the skate park, according to Stomski.

In another email — this one to a Woodbury resident who wrote the first selectman on July 30 to express concerns about the park hours — Stomski said moving the park is not an option.

“There are no plans to move this park,” he said. “We will continue to find ways to co-exist with the neighbors that are bothered by this, at least one of the neighbors.”

When asked if anything had changed since his correspondence with the town on July 16, Zombie’s attorney declined to comment.

“I’m not able to discuss this matter at all at this point,” Wise said. “I’d like to, I’m just not free to do so right now.”

Wise did not say when he or his client would have a statement on the issue, saying that it depended on what events unfold with the situation going forward.

Town Spends $3,250 on Noise Reduction Efforts

In response to the complaints from the Zombies, the town has taken steps to reduce noise at the park. Hours have been cut back, to the dismay of parents whose children use the skate park.

The town also spent $3,250 to have Stockholm Builders install fabricated plywood panels around each platform and ramp, according to an invoice obtained in the F.O.I. request.

Zombie remained less than satisfied following the town’s attempt to buffer the noise.

“I see that they have finished the work on the skate park, but unfortunately it really hasn’t solved the problem,” Zombie writes in an email to Stomski. “The plywood has slightly dampened the sound, but it is still very loud and a huge problem for us. Our quality of life has really diminished because of this.”

Zombie’s complaint was the only formal complaint sent to the town, according to the documents of the F.O.I. report. However, other neighbors have complained about the noise to media outlets.

Questions Raised About Skate Park Approval Process

In his correspondence with the town, Zombie’s attorney claims that his client was not properly informed of the plan to build the skate park at Hollow Park in the first place.

“Our clients were particularly upset that neither they nor their neighbors remember receiving any notice that a skateboard facility had been proposed for this location,” he writes in the letter to Stomski.

According to the town’s online archives, the item was properly noticed in a Zoning Commission meeting agenda on May 8, 2012. The commission voted unanimously to approve the park at its location that same evening.

Wise contends that a site plan and special exception application — as well as a public hearing — should have been required by the Zoning Commission at that time.

In the minutes of the 2012 Zoning Commission meeting, Stomski stated that he was unsure if a skate park would be a zoning issue or not, to which Chairman Martin Overton said, "It seems to me that a park is a park is a park."


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