To the Town of Wilton and its Residents:

On Mar. 9, Wilton’s Planning and Zoning Commission pressed ASML to explain why an international corporation needs an “emergency” access road cut through a quiet, narrow, sidewalk‑less neighborhood on Arrowhead Rd. The answers should alarm every Wilton resident who cares about public safety, property rights and the precedent this sets for our town.

ASML’s representatives made clear: this proposal is about protecting the company’s business continuity, not protecting lives. ASML attorney Matthew Mason described the decision as a “balancing test” and argued “the overall importance to ASML in the community and beyond would outweigh the inconvenience to the neighbors.” READ: a multinational corporation’s operational preferences are being weighed against the safety, stability and equity of a small residential street — and ASML believes it should come out on top.

More troubling is ASML’s acknowledgment that the scenario is “extremely remote.” Mason said ASML’s review going back to the 1980s found no records of flooding or other events that made their bridge impassable. Mason used that history to characterize the likelihood of needing this road as “extremely remote.” Yet Arrowhead residents are being asked to accept a permanent industrial‑style access road, designed to handle large trucks and tractor trailers, in exchange for a hypothetical that ASML concedes is improbable. That is not a reasonable public safety tradeoff; it is a one‑sided business hedge.

P&Z commissioners focused on the neighborhood reality. P&Z Vice Chair Mark Ahasic raised concern about large trucks, noting it would be a “different situation if it was an emergency vehicle… but if this is a potential in terms of truck traffic on Arrowhead, that’s certainly a concern.” ASML’s engineer, Craig Yannes, conceded that while the road is “passable,” it is “not ideal” for such traffic. For families on a dead‑end street, “not ideal” truck access is not an abstract planning term — it is a direct threat to the character and safety of our block. Furthermore, ASML has refused to determine exactly what they determine to be an emergency vehicle.

There is also the question of accountability. P&Z Chair Ken Hoffman asked whether ASML would be willing to compensate Arrowhead residents for inconvenience and damages should the use of the road extend beyond a predetermined time. Mason replied, it would be “very challenging” to make such a calculation. Hoffman pushed back, “difficult and impossible are two different things, just as an extraordinarily unlikely event is impossible to predict,” adding, “I don’t think that negotiations that are difficult are any more difficult than predicting extraordinary events.” The exchange reveals ASML wants the benefit of an emergency outlet that runs past its neighbors’ front doors but is unwilling to restore or compensate those neighbors if the promised limits on use are exceeded.

To construct this road, the costs to Arrowhead residents would begin long before any “emergency” use. ASML plans months of blasting, excavation, and heavy construction activity immediately adjacent to homes. The project would raze 39 Arrowhead Rd. and carve into the hillside to build a new roadway supported by 20-foot high retaining walls. That means prolonged construction practices and the loss of an existing home, followed by a permanent, engineered corridor looming above our properties.

First SelectmanToni Boucher’s vision for Wilton aligns with our Arrowhead Community Association request. Wilton should “strategically invest in the infrastructure and amenities that support residents of all ages and that sustain a vibrant business environment,” while “protecting our rich colonial history… and the architectural heritage that helps shape our identity” and “safeguarding Wilton’s long-term character and quality of life against development pressure.” She also stressed that growth should be managed, individual taxpayers should not be unfairly burdened. Wilton’s future depends on decisions respecting existing neighborhoods and the people who live in them — the standard Arrowhead Community Association is urging P&Z to apply to ASML’s proposed Arrowhead Rd. access.

The Arrowhead residents recognize ASML’s importance to the local and regional economy. What we are asking is that Wilton not rewrite the rules of residential zoning to privilege the operations of a company over the safety, home values and lived reality of an existing neighborhood, especially when that company’s own spokespeople call the triggering scenario “extremely remote.”

This case establishes a town wide precedent. If P&Z accepts ASML’s framing, when a large corporate landowner wants an “emergency” outlet through a residential area, it need only argue that its economic footprint “outweighs” residents’ “inconvenience.” Once that door is opened, it will be difficult to close.

The Planning & Zoning Commission should reject ASML’s SP#538 and CHZ#26-425 as conceived. Approving it would signal that in Wilton, a powerful corporation’s fear of a remote and theoretical disruption outweighs the very real, present‑day rights and welfare of an entire neighborhood.

Jeff Musor
President
Arrowhead Community Association