On June 29, 2007, the city of Milford and Westwood Ranches LLC, of Katonah, N.Y, entered into a Historic Preservation Covenant regarding the historic Cadley property on Old Field Road.

The language and intent of the Covenant were clear: preserve the existing farmhouse. The terms of the Covenant prevent the new owner from initiating any changes to the building's exterior which would, "affect more than marginally and insignificantly ... the historical, architectural and cultural qualities of the property." Even the building's exterior color could not be changed, according to the agreement, without the express written consent of the City.

Given the restrictive nature of this Covenant, the City agreed to offer the developer a $200,000 reduction in price. This price reduction, along with the language of the covenant, makes imminently clear the intent of the city of Milford was to preserve this unique and historic landmark.

Yet, from the blue and out of whole cloth comes Mayor Richetelli now claiming that the plan all along was to tear the house down.
Public suspicion understandably grows as the details of the incident emerge.

On October 19, 2007, unbeknownst to the Board of Aldermen, the Planning and Zoning Board and the City Historian, the Mayor and developer signed a release, giving the developer a thumbs-up to demolish the city landmark. An illegal permit quickly followed and the historic farmhouse was no more.

While some of the original house's components were salvaged, the process was clearly a razing not a "dismantling," as the Mayor chooses to spin it now. A historic dismantling involves careful and rigorous labeling, documentation and cataloging, piece by piece, with the goal of restoring the original structure. Such a process is time consuming and laborious.

The farmhouse was demolished. In fact, there is not even the pretext of rebuilding the original structure. The developer now wants to build a new structure on an ancient Indian burial ground on the site.

The will of the people of Milford has been counteracted and the public trust violated. I hope the Board of Aldermen will review this incident and determine where the mistakes were made and by whom. Surely, if we do not acknowledge mistakes, we're destined to make them again. I for one believe the people of Milford, not out-of-state developers, should decide the fate of our historic landmarks.

Charles Montalbano
Chairman, 5th District Democrats

Democrats sweep 4 of 5 seats in Milford's 5th District

Congratulations to our winning candidates in the 5th District in the election on November 6, 2007:

For the Board of Aldermen:
Ben Blake & Bob Nunno

For the Board of Education:
Jim Santa Barbara

For the Planning and Zoning Board:
Victor Ferrante

MILFORD (5TH DISTRICT) – Former Board of Aldermen Minority Leader Ben Blake, D-5, led Milford’s 5th District slate of municipal candidates to victories in four of five races in the city election held on Nov. 6, 2007.

In December after the election, Blake was voted the new Chairman of the Board of Aldermen, as Milford Democrats took nine of 15 total seats and now hold a 9-6 majority. Chairman Blake is joined on the board by fellow 5th District Alderman Bob Nunno, who won a solid victory in 2007 after a narrow defeat in 2005.

Also winning in the 5th District was Jim Santa Barbara, who joins the new Democratic majority on the city’s Board of Education.

In addition, Attorney Victor Ferrante won his bid for a seat on the city’s Planning & Zoning Board, where city Democrats also captured a majority for the first time in several decades.