About us
The Park
Indian Hill Park is a 110-acre pristine natural sanctuary and wildlife refuge untouched for over a century. It is one of only two undeveloped parks in the town of Bedford.
The History
Indian Hill is rich with history. It started as a Native American village and is believed to be the site of the Indian Hill Massacre of 1644. Over the next century, the encroachment of Dutch and English troops and settlers pushed the American Indians further and further west as the Europeans realized the value of the meadows and farmland developed and occupied by the tribes that lived in the Bedford, Katonah, Bedford Hills, and Southeastern Connecticut areas.
Eventually, Indian Hill became the site of a land fraud scheme in the 1890s, which ironically kept the park undeveloped and untouched for over a century. The “Hill” was designated as a park by Bedford residents in a public referendum in 1961, and it is important to note, it is the current Bedford Residents that are now working to save this historic park.
Since its inception, successive Town Boards and Planning Boards have recognized the park as a non-renewable land resource and repeatedly taken action to enhance and protect it.
The Challenge
What is at Stake?
The current Planning Board has proposed to put an enormous industrial 120’ wireless tower in Indian Hill Park. The decision would result in the killing of over 400 trees, divert and destroy wetlands, natural habitats, and the wildlife that live there. Historically speaking, centuries-old Colonial and Native American stone walls and artifacts would be lost forever.
How is this possible?
The Town Board recently revised the Town’s wireless code to designate all town-owned land, including parkland, as the #1 priority for locating wireless facilities.
What is the Town of Bedford’s mission statement with regards to the protection of open space and parkland?
The Town Board and Planning Board are taking actions directly contrary to Bedford’s open-space culture and master plan which clearly states, “Permanent preservation of the natural environment shall receive the highest priority in the overall planning of future development in Bedford.”
The Solution
IHPC has proposed that the Town pursue a less intrusive approach that takes advantage of existing utility poles and the use of discreet slim stick poles at smaller heights and widths. This low-impact solution provides as good or better service than large towers while preserving the integrity of Bedford’s open space culture as well as its important Colonial and Native American history held so dear by its citizens. To learn more, go to our News page and read the entire comprehensive plan as presented by Gunnerson Consulting to the Town of Bedford Planning Board on 1/25/21.