SAC Field Signed Over For Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Site

SAC Field Signed Over For Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Site

The Newtown Bee

Alissa Silber

Published: March 9, 2017

The Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Commission (SHPMC) has announced that SAC Field, the six-acre property at 28 Riverside Road, has been signed over to the town for the site of a permanent memorial to 12/14.

SAC Field Board of Trustees member George Lockwood signed the legal document to transfer the property from the SAC Field Board of Trustees to the Town of Newtown as a contribution to the town.

SHPMC chair Kyle Lyddy said, “Our commission has worked hard to get to this point and, while this is an important step in our process, we are reminded with every decision we make as to the reason we are doing this work. It’s important that never be lost through this process.”

Based on the new charter specific to Planning and Zoning, the Board Of Selectman and Legislative Council will go through the government process to grant full approval. This step is tentatively planned for next month. The process is outlined on pages 68 and 69 of the new charter, Mr Lyddy explained.

The Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Commission will present a map of the property lines from George Benson of the Planning Department at the commission’s March 9 evening meeting.

The land includes a lower meadow intended for the actual memorial and an upper meadow likely to be utilized for parking, as well as two ponds located toward the back of the property.

Moving forward, the commission’s next task is to design the memorial. During this phase of the process, it will include discussions about the surrounding properties and the entrance to the memorial.

Mr Lyddy said, “We never thought this would be perfect, and we’ve always known there would be challenges. This allows our commission to take a deep breath and begin focusing on the design phase of the project.”