[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 21 (Thursday, March 5, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1445-S1447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself and Mr. Dodd):
  S. 1718. A bill to amend the Weir Farm National Historic Site 
Establishment Act of 1990 to authorize the acquisition of additional 
acreage for the historic site to permit the development of visitor and 
administrative facilities and to authorize the appropriation of 
additional amounts for the acquisition of real and personal property; 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


                  weir farm visitor center legislation

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to join my friend Senator 
Dodd in introducing legislation that is vitally important to the future 
of Connecticut's only national park, the Weir Farm National Historic 
Site.

  As my colleagues may recall, Weir Farm was the home of the great 
American painter J. Alden Weir, who is widely considered a leader of 
the American Impressionism movement of the late 19th Century. The 
brilliant natural beauty of Weir Farm's landscape served as the 
inspiration for much of Weir's art as well as the work of several other 
renowned Impressionists who often traveled to the farm at the time. The 
splendor and serenity of this place also moved Weir's descendants and 
other artists who later made their home at the farm to preserve much of 
the landscape in the pristine state that originally inspired the many 
painters who visited there.
  Congress sought to protect this enormously valuable piece of our 
national heritage when it approved legislation that Senator Dodd and I 
cosponsored in 1990 to make Weir Farm part of the National Park System 
and the first site to honor an American painter. This legislation (P.L. 
101-485) authorized the Park Service to acquire 62

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acres of the original Weir property along with several of the buildings 
that Weir lived and worked in and many of the original furnishings. The 
State of Connecticut strongly supported this project and helped make it 
possible by approving a $4.25 million bond issue to purchase the 60 
acres of open space surrounding the Weir homestead. The legislation was 
also strongly endorsed by a coalition of 20 leading national 
conservation groups, including The Nature Conservancy, which owns a 
large preserve of open land adjacent to the park property that further 
enhances the park's conservation mission.
  Today, thousands of visitors who make their way to Weir Farm each 
year can get lost in the tranquility of the place. They can tour the 
studio where Weir and his successors toiled and the classic New England 
barn that caught the eye of many visiting artists and that was 
rehabilitated with a generous appropriation from Congress. But 
something is missing--the art itself.
  Sadly, these visitors cannot view the wonderful collection of 
Impressionist works that the park managers and supporters are in the 
process of acquiring through private donations. That is because there 
is simply no place to put them on the current site. The cramped 
historic buildings are ill-equipped to accommodate even a legitimate 
visitor center, let alone a museum-quality gallery. And the possibility 
of building an addition has rightly been ruled out of the question 
because it would distort the landscape and run counter to the park's 
mission of preserving the historic character of the property.
  The legislation we are introducing today would help fill that void 
and help the park fulfill another critical part of its mission, which 
is to reunite Weir Farm's historic landscape with the rich array of art 
it inspired. Specifically, our bill would authorize the Park Service to 
go forward with its plan to acquire a neighboring property outside the 
park's boundary and build a full-fledged visitor center to house the 
collection of privately-acquired paintings from Weir, Childe Hassam, 
John Twachtman and several others. A companion version of this bill is 
being introduced in the House today as well by Congressman Jim Maloney, 
who represents the district in which the park is located.
  The Park Service approved this project as part of Weir Farm's long-
term General Management Plan. The Park Service has already identified 
an ideal 13-acre site to house the visitor center, as well as an 
adjacent administrative and maintenance facility that was also called 
for under the management plan. The owners of the targeted site are 
willing sellers and the Trust for Public Land--with a donation from the 
Weir Farm Trust, the park's private partner--has generously agreed to 
act as an intermediary in the purchase by putting an option on the 
property to prevent it from being developed.
  But for the project to go forward, Congress must first approve the 
acquisition and a one-time change in the park's boundary. Our 
legislation would do just that, providing the Park Service with the 
authority to acquire up to 15 additional acres and expand the park's 
boundary to include this new land. It would also raise the 
authorization for land acquisition included in the original Weir Farm 
legislation up from $1.5 million to $4 million.

  The Park Service estimates that the total cost of acquiring the 
property for the future visitor center will be $1.6 million. Of that 
total, it is expected that approximately $500,000 would come from 
unexpended land acquisition funds already appropriated by Congress and 
state and private contributions. That leaves a Federal contribution in 
the neighborhood of $1.1 million, which the Park Service has indicated 
it will request in its budget for fiscal year 2000. The projected cost 
of building the visitor center and the adjoining administrative/
maintenance facility is $4.7 million, of which approximately half would 
come from private sources and the other half would come from Federal 
funding through the Park Service.
  This project not only has the strong support of the Park Service and 
the State of Connecticut but of the communities surrounding Weir Farm, 
which straddles the town line between Wilton and Ridgefield. A number 
of residents in Ridgefield, where the visitor center would be built, 
initially expressed concern about the impact the project could have on 
the neighborhood. But the park managers and the leaders of the Weir 
Farm Trust worked diligently to address those concerns and show the 
community that the visitor center would in no way threaten the pastoral 
nature of the area or significantly worsen traffic along the 
neighborhood's narrow, windy roads.
  In fact, the friends of Weir Farm showed that this plan would 
actually enhance the conservation goals of the park and the community. 
It would prevent the historic character of the Weir property from being 
disturbed. And the proposed visitor center site would link the park to 
an additional 119 acres of contiguous open space owned by the state and 
the Town of Ridgefield. Also, an independent study showed that the 
proposed visitor center would not significantly impact the flow of 
traffic in the neighborhood, and the Park Service is confident that 
this plan provides the best long-term solution for managing 
transportation to the park site.
  In addition to reaching out to local residents, the park managers and 
the Ridgefield town government collaborated closely with my office and 
Senator Dodd's office to help us craft the bill we are introducing 
today in such a way as to ensure that the natural and historic 
character of the site would be preserved and to ensure the town 
maintained control over how the property was to be developed. As a 
result of these efforts, both the Ridgefield Planning and Zoning 
Commission and the Board of Selectmen formally approved this 
legislation late last year.
  This was not an easy process, and I want to express my deep 
appreciation to Weir Farm's superintendent, Sarah Olson, and to the 
town leaders in Ridgefield for their cooperation and their commitment 
to reach a resolution that is for the good of both the community and 
the park.
  The visitor center we're proposing to build will help Weir Farm 
realize its full potential not just as a pastoral prize but as a true 
cultural landmark, one that will likely attract art lovers from 
throughout the region and hopefully the nation to see Weir's jewel and 
its splendid setting.
  The alternative, Mr. President, is that if this project does not move 
forward, we will have squandered a wonderfully unique opportunity to 
make Weir Farm the only place of its kind to wed art and artistic 
vision in this way. The Ridgefield Press and The Wilton Bulletin, the 
leading local newspapers, urged us not to let this opportunity slip 
away in a joint editorial published last year that strongly endorsed 
the visitor center project. ``Bringing the art to Weir Farm,'' the 
editors wrote, ``has the potential to turn the site into something more 
than a retreat for artists and hikers--allowing an unusual cultural 
experience of considerable depth.''
  Senator Dodd and I would ask our colleagues to help us seize this 
important opportunity by supporting this legislation, which would 
complete the mission we started eight years ago when we agreed to make 
Weir Farm part of the park system.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1718

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. WEIR FARM NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, CONNECTICUT.

       (a) Acquisition of Land for Visitor and Administrative 
     Facilities.--Section 4 of the Weir Farm National Historic 
     Site Establishment Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 461 note; Public 
     Law 101-485; 104 Stat. 1171) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:
       ``(d) Acquisition of Land for Visitor and Administrative 
     Facilities; Limitations.--
       ``(1) Acquisition.--
       ``(A) In general.--To preserve and maintain the historic 
     setting and character of the historic site, the Secretary may 
     acquire not more than 15 additional acres for the development 
     of visitor and administrative facilities for the historic 
     site.
       ``(B) Proximity.--The property acquired under this 
     subsection shall be contiguous to or in close proximity to 
     the property described in subsection (b).
       ``(C) Management.--The acquired property shall be included 
     within the boundary of the historic site and shall be managed 
     and maintained as part of the historic site.
       ``(2) Development.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall keep development of 
     the property acquired under paragraph (1) to a minimum so 
     that the character of the acquired property will

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     be similar to the natural and undeveloped landscape of the 
     property described in subsection (b).
       ``(B) Parking area.--Any parking area for the resulting 
     visitor and administrative facility shall not exceed 30 
     spaces.
       ``(C) Sales.--Items sold in the visitor facilities--
       ``(i) shall be limited to educational and interpretive 
     materials related to the purpose of the historic site; and
       ``(ii) shall not include food.
       ``(3) Agreements.--Prior to and as a prerequisite to any 
     development of visitor and administrative facilities on the 
     property acquired under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
     enter into 1 or more agreements with the appropriate zoning 
     authority of the town of Ridgefield, Connecticut, and the 
     town of Wilton, Connecticut, for the purposes of--
       ``(A) developing the parking, visitor, and administrative 
     facilities for the historic site; and
       ``(B) managing bus traffic to the historic site and 
     limiting parking for large tour buses to an offsite 
     location.''.
       (b) Increase in Maximum Acquisition Authority.--Section 7 
     of the Weir Farm National Historic Site Act of 1990 (16 
     U.S.C. 461 note; Public Law 101-485; 104 Stat. 1173) is 
     amended by striking ``$1,500,000'' and inserting 
     ``$4,000,000''.

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, today I join with Senator Lieberman in 
introducing legislation to add up to 15 acres to the Weir Farm National 
Historic Site in Connecticut for the creation of a visitor center and 
art gallery.
  The new property is located in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Because the 
land is adjacent to undeveloped State and Town land, the non-profit 
Weir Farm Heritage Trust can ensure that the proposed visitor center 
and gallery will be in keeping with the pastoral theme of the historic 
site.
  Eight years ago, Congress established Weir Farm as Connecticut's 
first national park and the only National Park Service site in the 
country dedicated to the celebration of an American painter. The 62 
acre historic site contains the home and studio of the founder of 
American impressionism, J. Alden Weir and this rich landscape is the 
inspiration for many of his paintings.
  Together, the National Park Service and the Weir Farm Heritage Trust 
seek to raise public awareness of the farm's historical and cultural 
significance and to preserve the farm's artistic tradition, while 
developing a world renown art collection and providing artist 
workshops. Through a Visiting Artists Program, several artists each 
year are invited to work within the surroundings of Weir Farm.
  More than eleven thousand people visited Weir Farm in 1996 and almost 
ten thousand came in 1997. The Park Service estimates that by the year 
2010, the number of visitors could increase to between 25,000-40,000. 
It is for these reasons that the Weir Farm Heritage Trust would like to 
acquire this land and convert an existing building into a visitor 
center and art gallery and construct a modest 30-space parking area. 
Language in the bill stipulates that the National Park Service will 
enter into a binding agreement with appropriate town zoning commissions 
to manage the projected increase in bus traffic and develop parking, 
visitor and administrative facilities.
  In December, the Ridgefield, Connecticut Selectmen voted in favor of 
the land acquisition proposal. In November, the Ridgefield Planning and 
Zoning commission also voted in favor of the plan, after convening 
several public hearings on the matter.
  This proposal is important to the people of Connecticut and all those 
who wish to see a bit of artistic history preserved in its natural 
state. I urge my colleagues to support this land acquisition proposal 
as well.
                                 ______