CHAPTER
ONE : INTRODUCTION
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Town of Branford encompasses about 28.0 square miles,
22.0 of which is land, and is located in New Haven County.
Much of the Town is located in the South Central Eastern
Regional Complex of the South Central Connecticut Coastal
Basin situated at an elevation between 360 ft and sea
level. The landscape has been shaped by a variety of
processes, most notably glaciers and tectonic activities
of the past and, more recently, anthropogenic modifications.
The Town of Branford was home to Amerinds (native Americans)
before being settled by European colonists during the
early 1600's. Within the last 350 years the Town has
grown to a population of 28,683 (Source: 2000 Census)
living in 13,342 housing units. Owner-occupied housing
units account for 8,601 units and rentals account for
3,942 units. The remainder of units are split between
"other families" (non-traditional families) and unoccupied
space. The median household income is over $50,000/year
with an average of 2.26 persons/household at an average
age of 41.4 years old. There are over 1050 business
establishments in Town with combined retail sales of
over 620 million dollars. The Town offers a variety
of municipal services including libraries, education,
recreation, waste removal and recycling, sewerage treatment,
and police and fire services among others.
Due to its position on the coast between New York and
Boston, a number of major transportation routes service
the area including Interstate 95, Route 1 and the Northeast
Corridor railroad line (Amtrak) with a Shoreliner station
in Branford. Although not as important as in the past,
its coastline is well suited for marine transport services
(Branford and Stony Creek Harbors).
The climate is typical of this area of Connecticut.
The average yearly temperature is 53 oF being slightly
moderated from its proximity to the Long Island Sound
(NOAA 1981). Snowfall typically occurs between December
and March with annual accumulations of about 25 inches,
although this has dropped slightly in recent years.
The Town of Branford is somewhat representative of both
the region and the State. Table 1 shows some of these
comparisons based on the 2000 census. For example, Branford
has fewer individuals per household than any other town
within the region. Age wise, the Town is slightly older
than the average for the region. Median age is 41 and
Branford has the 4th highest percentage of people 65
and older (16.9%) while being 2nd lowest in 18 years
and younger (20.7%). Within the Town, 94% are Caucasian,
1.3% are African Americans, 2.6% are Hispanic and 2.7%
are Asian. Within the region and the State, 77.6% and
81.6% are Caucasian, 12.9% and 9.1% are African Americans,
9.8% and 9.4% are Hispanic and 2.8% and 2.4% are Asian,
respectively.
NATURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY
In response to the Town of Branford's need to compile
a central database for its natural resources, a Natural
Resource Inventory (NRI) was commissioned by the Town's
Conservation Commission. Natural resource inventories
are important documents that can be utilized in a number
of ways, including formulating conservation plans, providing
information on open space acquisitions, and identifying
problem areas in the environment that may require additional
action.
The information in this NRI was obtained from a number
of sources including the CTDEP, the Town Planner's Office,
the Inland Wetland & Watercourse Agency, the Fire Dept.,
the East Shore Health District, the Town Engineer's
Office and the Parks & Recreation Dept among others.
Included in this report are the holdings of the Branford
Land Trust, Inc., a private non-profit organization
important in maintaining open space in Town. Although
the information in this report could never be considered
complete (resources are constantly changing), it does
provide a snapshot into the Town's resources that should
be useful to Town managers for years to come. By providing
the information in a single source, it becomes easier
to update the inventory every ten years or so and keep
the information relevant into the future.
The NRI has been divided into a number of chapters based
on the available information. General landscape characteristics
and mineral resources are noted in the Physical Features
and Water Resources chapters. Plants and animals are
listed in the Biologic Communities chapter with some
additional information in the Land-Use chapter. A separate
Problems chapter has been included and lists both natural
(i.e., flooding) and anthropogenic (i.e., landfills)
sources. In order to facilitate assessment of the information,
much of the data is presented on maps located throughout
the report. The narrative does not attempt to repeat
the information contained on the maps, but rather is
used to single out important concepts and examples for
discussion purposes only. The information contained
in this report is meant to identify general trends and
should not be used for site-specific data (e.g., flood
hazard information for home insurance purposes). For
detailed information on any one site or problem in Town,
it is suggested that the Town offices be contacted directly
(e.g.., Town Engineer for flood hazard maps and current
regulations).
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