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April 30, 2007
 

Advocate

Survey: Views of the Sound may be all wet

By Tim Stelloh
Staff Writer

April 30, 2007

Most people who live in the Long Island Sound watershed do not know what a watershed is and do not believe their behavior damages the Sound, according to a study.

The Stony Brook University Center for Survey Research and the federal Environmental Protection Agency surveyed more than 1,200 people who live in watersheds - land from which water drains into the Sound - from New London to Fairfield to the Bronx, N.Y. Residents were asked how polluted they believe the Sound is, where they think the pollution comes from and whether their behavior affects it.

Of those surveyed in Connecticut, 77 percent said they do not do anything to harm the water quality, and 61 percent said there is nothing they can do to improve it.

Yet 73 percent said that if "most" residents changed their behavior, water quality would improve.

Among the key findings was a lack of awareness about how residents affect the Sound, researchers said.

For example, 30 percent of respondents said they fertilize their lawns several times a year, and 37 percent said they wash their cars at home. Both pollute the Sound, according to the EPA's Long Island Sound Study.

Nutrients in fertilizer can suck oxygen from the Sound, causing hypoxia, and soap can wash down storm drains and end up in the Sound.

"There's a disconnect between the knowledge and understanding of what causes problems," said Mark Tedesco, director of the EPA's Long Island Sound Office. "That reveals a lot about humanity. We always think that problems are with other people."

Yet most watershed residents "overwhelmingly" support environmental protection, Tedesco said.

According to the study, 76 percent would rather see a healthy environment more than economic growth, and 73 percent agreed with the statement that "if things continue on their present course, we will soon experience a major ecological catastrophe."

Most surveyed in Connecticut did not know that storm-water runoff is one of the most harmful contributors to pollution in the Sound. Sixty-three percent said industrial plants, development, boats and sewage cause the most pollution, and 18 percent said runoff.

Sewage treatments plants are a significant contributor to hypoxia, but the problem has been curbed since the 1980s, according to a 2006 report by the Long Island Sound Study. Technological advancements allow treatment plants to limit releases of nitrogen, which causes hypoxia, the report says.

Fossil fuel power plants, pesticides and car exhaust also release toxic chemicals into the Sound, though direct chemical and airborne releases have declined significantly since 1988, the report says.

Doug Mears of Norwalk, who took part in the survey, said he did not know that storm-water runoff is harmful. He said he thought sewage and dumping are problems, but not the rain that carries pollutants as it makes its way to the Sound.

Asked whether watershed residents should worry about the health of the Sound, Mears said, "It depends if people care about how clean the water is. If people care about that, they should definitely care about this issue."

The director of the survey, Leonie Huddy, attributes the confusion to old information.

"This is outdated thinking on water pollution. Colorful examples sway public opinion if other information isn't disseminated widely," Huddy said. "It's like smoking. Look how long it took to change people's views on that. Right now, we're in a green moment. It's a good time to tell people if you want to be green, if this matters to you, you can change your behavior."

Tedesco said results of the survey likely will lead to the creation of an outreach program, though it is too soon for details.

"We wanted to better understand the perceptions of the public, to be able to say, 'What are the messages we need to be able to get out to people?' " he said. "It helps us understand what they understand and what they don't understand."

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

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February 25, 2007
 

Hour

Forum to eye funding of schools with property tax

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — Paying for public education through local property taxes — a sore subject for many Norwalk taxpayers — will be the topic of a forum Monday evening at Norwalk City Hall.

"This forum, while sponsored by the Norwalk Democrats, is about a problem which transcends partisan differences in our city. Changing the state funding formula for education has long been a primary need for Norwalk," said Kenneth J. Slapin, past chairman of the Democratic Town Committee and a member of Democratic State Central Committee. "The panel will include three of the most important figures in this year's developing debate. This is for the purpose of examining the problem. We know what are needs are. This is not a rally. It's for everyone can be informed."

The forum, titled 'Will We Finally Fix The Way We Fund Our School?," is scheduled for Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Community Room of City Hall, 125 East Ave.

Scheduled to participate as panelists are state Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn; state budget Director Robert L. Genuario, a Republican who represented Norwalk in the state Senate; and Stephen T. Cassano, executive director of the Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding.

The state's Education Cost Sharing formula bases school aid for municipalities mainly on property values rather than student population, achievement and need. Local Democrats and Republicans concur that the formula leaves Norwalk and Stamford, which have relatively high property values, shortchanged compared to cities such as Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford — even as both cities face urban challenges.

Among those planning to attend the forum is Jody Bishop-Pullan, chairwoman of the Norwalk Board of Education. She said she hopes to learn from the more about how state aid is allocated to local school districts.

"I think it will be interesting. I'd like to hear what some of the plans are. There's a lot of talk about the governor's budget and how it will affect education," Bishop-Pullan said. We need "a change in the formula so Norwalk gets as much as some of the other districts that are similar in need to us."

"Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport get a lot of money. Because of our location and the value of our property, it seems that's we don't get as much money," she said.

Michael W. Coffey, president of the Common Council, said he will try to attend the forum.

"It's very important that the members of our state delegation, both in the house and (senate) work to get us our fair share," Coffey said. "Clearly right now, we're not getting a fair return from what we send up to Hartford.

 

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February 22, 2007
 

Hour

Ethics watchdogs must remain independent

In Tuesday's The Hour, the council president is quoted as saying "There's some discussion if the ethics board is best left in the council, or if it should be an (appointed) commission." Did we read correctly? Some discussion? I picture Jon Stewart waiting for the some to sink in. Folks, we need tons of discussion.

Some time ago city employees and appointees were asked to comment on the proposed code of ethics. It seemed to me that the code itself was not the primary issue, but the manner of its enforcement. So I did some simple research, and Googled "City Ethics Committee." Even though I deliberately looked for committees, I found zero out of 12 cities with an ethics committee formed of elected officials. Twelve out of 12 cities had formed independent ethics commissions. There are powerful reasons why this is so.

More than any other appointed body, an ethics commission needs to be trusted by the public and by appointed, elected and salaried officials. The public would naturally and logically assume that a committee of the Common Council would have a political agenda: Councilors are elected precisely because they have a political agenda, as was pointed out to me by a colleague on the ZBA.

Besides inspiring cynicism in the public, a committee of the Common Council would also cast a serious pall of anxiety over salaried and appointed officials who, while honestly pursuing their duties, occasionally find themselves at odds with a councilor's or the mayor's favorite project. The fear of retribution would inevitably impede their effectiveness. Whether these fears are justified is not the issue: The presumption of political bias is reasonably assumed.

In most cases, members of ethics commissions are chosen by elected officials, but in Tampa, Fla., the five members are appointed this way: One by the president of the University of South Florida; two by the 13th Judicial Circuit; one by the dean of Stetson Law School; and one by the mayor.

In Dallas, no member of the commission may be: (1) a city official or the spouse or domestic partner of a city official; (2) a city employee or the spouse or domestic partner of a city employee; (3) an elected public official; (4) a candidate for elected public office; (5) a person who, for compensation, represents the private interests of others before the city council; or (6) a paid campaign worker or a political consultant of a current city council member

Mr. Coffey is quoted as defending a council body because "It's hard enough to find people who can serve (as appointees)." The same Google search uncovered a useful list of organizations from which unbiased candidates are drawn in various cities: colleges, bar associations, the courts, civil service board, school boards, state officials, etc. I made an off-hand suggestion that it be staffed with pastors, priests and rabbis, which met with approval by another ZBA member — ethics is, after all, one concern of prelates. But if Mr. Coffey is right, it is far better to be without an ethics commission for lack of volunteers than to set up an ethics committee of the Common Council.

In their research, the councilors may have missed City Ethics, an online organization dedicated to ethical urban government. The following comments found at http://www.cityethics.org/mc/introduction deserve quoting:

"The fact that elected officials like to have the final say (on the decisions of an Ethics Commission) is itself a conflict of interest, because it is certainly not in the public interest to give them this final say. The more independent the ethics commission, the more it will be trusted by city residents, the less it will be used for political purposes and the more respect its decisions will be given. When an ethics system is not perceived as independent, and ethics accusations are politicized, the ethics system can actually undermine the very confidence in government it is supposed to protect."

Because of this built-in conflict of interest, we cannot rely on a committee of the Common Council to act as an ethics commission. Such a body just by its existence will do far more damage than any good a code of ethics might do.

I call on the Common Council to hold an open discussion on this issue in which public comment is invited. This could most effectively be done by holding hearings on the issue through the neighborhood associations, either individually or through the Coalition of Norwalk Neighborhood Associations. To do less is to insure public cynicism and the failure of the current effort toward better ethical standards.

The problem is not the ethical qualities of this or that collection of councilors and the mayor. It is that an ethics committee formed of elected officials is intrinsically unethical. We citizens must oppose it with all our vigor, and help in crafting a proper alternative: Namely, an effective, completely independent ethics commission.

 

Gordon Tully

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February 8, 2007
 

Hour

Residents ask city to speed up funding to halt flooding

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — Residents of Lockwood Lane, Buckingham and Olmstead places — and other often-underwater areas of Norwalk — urged the city's Planning Commission Wednesday night to spend capital dollars sooner, rather than later, to halt flooding in their neighborhoods.

"I'm asking on behalf of my neighbors and all flood victims in Norwalk to the fix the flooding first in your recommendations," said Diane Cece of Olmstead Place. "We respectfully ask that you approve the full amount requested for flood remediation (this year). Even if you recommend every dollar asked for this year, we will continue to flood for the next two to five years."

"For that reason, please consider recommending the total amount for the full five-year plan that is directly related to the original seven flood-study areas, and move ... this to fiscal year 2007-08," Cece said.

Cece was one of nearly two-dozen residents to speak before the Planning Commission at City Hall Wednesday night on the city's unfolding 2007-08 capital budget, which now stands at $12.1 million.

Within that, Director of Public Works Harold F. Alvord has asked for $2.7 million for 2007-08 for storm-water management projects. Of that, $650,000 is sought for permitting, engineering and design work related to fixes for Buckingham Place and Lockwood Lane; $350,000 is requested for Olmstead Place. Overall, Alvord seeks nearly $19.4 million through 2011-2012 for design and construction work related to storm-water management.

In word and photographs, residents related their flooding woes to Planning commissioners Wednesday night.

Gwendoline Street resident Margaret Peterson wore a sign — "My dreams of home ownership have been flushed down the toilet" — as she took the podium.

"In the three years I have lived in Norwalk, I have gotten flooded seven times. Each time the water has gotten higher and higher," Peterson said. "The last flood on Aug. 27 brought over two feet of stormwater and raw sewage, which filled my ... garage and crawl space." Alvord's recommendation to spend $2.7 million in fiscal year 2007-08 rests on the findings of Tighe & Bond, the engineering firm that studied seven flood-prone areas of Norwalk. While many speakers at the public hearing urged more to be spent in the first year, that may not be possible, according to Alvord. Speaking afterward, he indicated that the projects take time, from design through construction.

"It doesn't make sense to take that out-year money and push it up to 2007-08, because we couldn't spend it anyway," Alvord said. For "Buckingham/Lockwood, engineering and permitting will take at least a year."

Of the nearly 60 people attending the budget hearing in the Community Room of City Hall, nearly all were interested in flooding, based on several shows of hands asked by speakers. Two Noah's Lane residents urged the commission to restore $350,000 for flooding fixes for their neighborhood.

The Planning Commission review marks the second step in the formation of the city's annual capital budget. City departments and the Board of Education have requested nearly $28.4 million for 2007-08, which begins July 1.

City Finance Director Thomas S. Hamilton, citing rising debt service related to school renovations, and a desire to maintain the city's favorable bond rating, has recommended paring that to $12.1 million.

By contrast, the departments and school board sought nearly $30.3 million for 2006-07. The Common Council approved $11.4 million.

The Planning Commission and Mayor Richard A. Moccia have yet to weigh in this year's requests, before the Common Council adopts the final 2007-08 capital budget this spring.

While most speakers addressed flooding, several urged giving departments capital dollars to continue improvements at Cranbury and Irving Friese parks, put in new carpet and air conditioning at the Main Library, create affordable housing through the Redevelopment Agency, and establish a citywide database through the Information Technology Department.

One speaker said such a database will help the city crack down on illegal apartments.

"Illegal apartments continue to be a major concern to the Golden Hill area," said James Del Greco, president of the Golden Hill Association. " The city needs to have one common citywide database. ... Our hope is that (more money) will be put into the budget and that you all will champion a citywide database."

Walter O. Briggs, Planning Commission chairman, invited residents to submit their written concerns about the 2007-08 capital budget to the Planning and Zoning Department no later than Friday at noon.

"We will start our budget deliberations the following week," Briggs said.

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February 6, 2007
 

Hour

Redevelopment Agency looking to define Wall St. historic district

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — The Norwalk Redevelopment Agency is grilling local preservationist groups on its plan to place three dozen Wall Street-neighborhood buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

The agency's question: Did we miss any important buildings?

"None of us at the Redevelopment Agency are experts at historic preservation. You guys are," said Munro W. Johnson, senior development project manager at the agency, speaking recently to the Norwalk Historical Commission. "We can take (your recommendations) back to our consultant. If you think there is something missing ... then we're going to go back and tweak (the boundaries)."

The proposed district, unveiled last month by Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Redevelopment Agency officials and historical commissioners, calls for registering the Wall Street Bridge and three dozen buildings in the area on the national register. Under the plan, property owners would become eligible for what Johnson described as "irresistible incentives" in the form of state and federal tax credits to renovate their properties. The credits, for example, could cover half the costs of a $50,000 renovation project, Johnson said.

A draft application shows the district covering nearly six acres and including such buildings as the Regent Theater, known as the Globe Theater, built in 1915 at 71 Wall St.; The Norwalk Savings Society, now Bank of America, built in 1922 at 48 Wall St.; the Bishop Building, built in 1935 at 64 Wall St.; and a host of other structures built between 1854 and 1955 along Wall and Commerce streets.

Architectural historian James Sexton, acting as consultant for the agency, prepared the application to place the bridge and buildings on the national register. All have features embodying distinctive characteristics of a particular era.

"The majority of the buildings in the district were constructed in the last quarter of the 19th century," Sexton wrote. "These share many characteristics: Deeply overhanging bracketed cornices; decorative masonry, often in the form of contrasting lintels or sills; and brick or brick veneer construction."

Redevelopment Agency staff have spoken to members of the Norwalk Preservation Trust about the proposed district and plan to do the same for the Norwalk Historical Society. Norwalk historical commissioners, meanwhile, expect to get back to the agency with their suggestions in about two weeks.

For now, Historical Commissioner William M. Krummel would like to see a portion of the river included in the proposed district, given its importance to Wall Street.

The agency anticipates sending its application to the state Commission on Culture and Tourism in a couple of months for review and then onward to federal government for consideration. Ultimately, Wall Street property owners would have to approve the district by a vote of at least 51 percent.

Charles L. Yost advised the agency to speak with affected property owners now.

"Educate the property owners before the state calls and says, 'It's up or down,'" Yost said.

While some property owners may have picked up on the national historic district plan when city officials unveiled it on Wall Street last month, others remain unaware.

"I don't know enough about it. I don't know all the ins and outs of it," said Michael D. McGuire, owner and redeveloper of 64 Wall St., before offering his advice to fellow property owners. "Make sure you get on board with an accountant that understands the specific tax-credit issues."

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January 11, 2007
 

Hour

Veterans Park proposed as site for miniature golf

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — Visitors to Veterans Memorial Park someday will be able to enjoy a game of miniature golf, as part of the Department of Recreation and Parks' long-range vision to boost interest in the East Norwalk park.

For Jerry Petrini, owner of My Three Sons Family Fun Center on Wall Street — the vendor recommended by the department to operate the miniature golf course — it would be a long-term dream come true.

"Before starting My Three Sons, I'd thought about a miniature golf course," Petrini said. "This came through and I thought it was a great idea. Miniature golf is just a great recreational activity. We're not putting in a carpet golf course. This is going to be heavily themed with waterfalls and lagoons."

The plan comes six months after Petrini withdrew his application to the city to install a rooftop mini-golf course at his business at 62 Wall St. Petrini described that proposal as "still kind of pending."

The city, after issuing a request for proposals, has since selected Petrini as its vendor to operate the proposed 36-hole miniature golf course at Veterans Memorial Park. On Tuesday night, Petrini and Michael Mocciae, the city's director of recreation and parks, outlined the plan to the Planning Commission.

"We're looking favorable on it. We think it is a good addition to the park and it only takes a quarter acre," said Planning Commission Chairman Walter O. Briggs afterward. "We're waiting to see a better description of it."

A miniature golf course is part of parks department's larger plan to turn the 35-acre park off Seaview Avenue into a family friendly destination. The course would be built on the east side of the park between the restrooms and the baseball area. The area is currently unused save for a service road, Mocciae said.

"It would be fully landscaped. It would enhance the park. It would be a lease agreement (with My Three Sons) where (the city) would get a percentage," Mocciae said. "We're going through a pre-review with planning. Any questions they have they'll forward to me. All said and done, by this fall, hopefully we'll break ground."

The plan has the backing of the Common Council's Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs Committee, according to Fred A. Bondi, committee chairman. He pointed to other elements of the larger master plan for the park, including revamping the ball fields and putting in an amphitheater. Collectively, the efforts are aimed at making Veterans Memorial Park a destination.

In fact, a shuttle might someday run from the Maritime Garage taking people to concerts and other events at Veterans Memorial Park, according to Bondi.

"We've got a 750-space garage. It's ideal for people to shuttle to the park," Bondi said.

Robert Koch covers Norwalk City Hall. He can be reached at (203) 354-1007.

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December 21, 2006
 

USA Today

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November, 2006

Smart Growth News

National

The High Price of Parking: Housing Costs Inflated by Minimum Requirements for Parking Spaces

Spawned by suburban sprawl in the 1950s, local requirements for the minimum of one or more parking spaces per unit have abetted car dependency and - letting builders fold the $30,000-$40,000 per slot into unit prices - pushed housing costs especially high in big cities, some of which are now eliminating or revising parking space minimums to boost transit and lower housing costs, with University of California-Los Angeles Professor Donald Shoup saying, ''In the future, we will look back at minimum parking requirements as a colossal mistake.''

Author of ''The High Cost of Free Parking'' (American Planning Association, 2005), Professor Shoup tells New York Times writer Linda Baker that with its expensive housing and cheap parking, the nation ''got it the wrong way around,'' but the change is under way. Condominiums without parking are already common in Manhattan and a few other East Coast city cores, the writer reports, but downtown Los Angeles still mandates 2.25 parking spaces for any unit, and Houston requires 1.33 spaces for a one-bedroom and 2 spaces for a three-bedroom, with a committee reconsidering these minimums along the light-rail line.

Portland, the writer continues, eliminated central city parking minimums six years ago; Seattle reduced the parking minimums for multifamily housing in three major commercial corridors last year and may eliminate them in six core districts and near light-rail stations next month; and San Francisco, which gained more downtown housing in the last few years than in the previous 20, replaced downtown minimums with a maximum of 0.75 parking space per unit.

''The city's modus operandi is 'transit first,''' stresses city planner Joshua Switzky, pointing out that now downtown builders must ''unbundle'' the price of parking from the price of a condo and adding, ''Buyers aren't obligated to buy a parking space, and developers don't have the incentive to build spaces they can't sell.''

In downtown Seattle's neighborhood of Belltown, where the average condo has 1.5 parking spaces, the 251-condo Moda project, now under way, includes 83 units without parking, 125 with access to permit parking, and only 43 with assigned spaces, each priced at about $30,000 more than the others, and all 251 sold within a week.

The same happened with 24 condos without parking in the 261-unit Civic project under construction near bus and light-rail stops six blocks from downtown Portland. The Gerding/Edlen Development Company ''decided to test the water and see if there was a market for units without parking spaces,'' says project manager Tom Cody. ''We're always looking for ways to promote smart growth.'' -- New York Times  11/12/2006

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November 12, 2006

 

 

No Parking: Condos Leave Out Cars

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October 25, 2006

 

Hour

Report: No big-box stores for Westport Ave.

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — Fewer curb cuts, more trees and street lamps, underground utilities and curtailing the possibility of more big-box stores are several recommendations within a draft plan to be presented to The Main & Westport Avenue Corridor Study Advisory Committee Thursday night.

"I think it's a well-balanced plan. It gives us lots of opportunities to work with. We look forward to getting some public input after Thursday's public gathering," said Frances DiMeglio, advisory committee co-chairwoman and a member of the city's Planning Commission.

On Thursday night, Phillips Preiss Shapiro, a planning and real-estate consulting firm based in New York City, will present to DiMeglio's committee — and to the public — its draft plan for the Main and Westport avenue corridor, which stretches from the Merritt Parkway to the Westport border.

The presentation is scheduled for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Common Council chambers of Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Ave. Committee members and the public may ask questions afterward.

The "mini master plan" eventually will be worked into the city's updated Master Plan of Conservation & Development. That larger plan, now being assembled, will serve as a blueprint for zoning regulations.

The Main & Westport Avenue draft plan addresses land use, transportation, urban design, zoning and economic development policy changes that "could be used, either together or separately, to affect the corridors over the next 10 years," according to Phillips Preiss Shapiro.

The 105-page plan includes maps of recommended traffic improvements and breaks up the corridor into six sections with specific recommendations for each.

"It is recommended that big box retail development be limited to the northern end of Main Avenue, where the Stop & Shop is now located," reads the land-use recommendation for the northernmost section. "This location is logical for this type of development, because it is next to a large employment and residential center, has excellent highway access, and has the potential for improved transit connections."

For central Main Street and Main Avenue, the plan recommends that retail stores be limited to 10,000 square feet and that drive-through facilities be prohibited. For lower Main Street and North Avenue, Phillips Preiss Shapiro recommends limiting individual retail stores to 5,000 square feet.

Along Westport Avenue, approaching the Westport border, the plan recommends against big-box stores. Near Stew Leonard's, it recommends no land-use changes as there are "no apparent soft sites ripe for development."

"What they're recommending is that (zoning regulations) try to preserve the smaller retailers on Main Street and also Westport Avenue," said Michael E. Wrinn, assistant planning and zoning director for the city. "I think (the recommendations) are in keeping with what we're hearing."

In addition to land-use and zoning recommendations, the draft plan includes urban design recommendations. They include large storefront windows, awnings and overhangs, broken and textured facades and other features aimed at creating an "interesting walking environment for pedestrians."

The plan recommends placing parking behind rather than in front of storefronts, limiting the number of curb cuts into which traffic enters and exits, and adding street trees and street lamps.

For lower Main Street and North Avenue, the plan recommends village district zoning to "give the city additional control" over site-plan approval. For lower Main Street — and possibly upper Main Street and Main Avenue — the plan recommends a special services district.

In special service districts, municipalities can enact legislation allowing property owners to impose a higher tax rate in exchange for special services, such as extra street cleaning, added police protection and marketing. Stamford's downtown is a special services district. Norwalk currently has no such district.

Former Mayor Alex Knopp launched the Main & Westport Avenue Corridor Study Advisory Committee. The initiative followed his administration's pattern of turning to outside consultants for areas of the city that the mayor says are subject to development pressures and therefore need added attention.

"In particular, I want to avoid the traffic congestion and over-concentration of large-scale retail on Westport Avenue that occurred in the past on Connecticut Avenue," said Knopp, speaking last year.

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October 19, 2006

 

Hour

New committee reviewing Head-of-the-Harbor plan

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — The newly formed Wall Street Parcel Three Land Disposition Agreement Review Committee received Tuesday a draft version of the agreement that will guide M.F. DiScala & Co. in reshaping of the Head-of-the-Harbor portion of Wall Street.

"We are working on what terms would be acceptable, such as if there are any infrastructure costs to be borne by the city, the size and scope of the project, the responsibilities with regards to public works," said Michael W. Coffey, Common Council president and co-chairman of the new committee. "We're hoping that this (committee) helps us ... cut through red tape while looking at the projects. Instead of just elongating the process and taking many years, we're hoping we can reduce some of the time frame."

M.F. DiScala's plan calls for 20 townhouses in four-story buildings facing Main Street; retail, restaurants and 61 residential units in a six-story building on Wall and High streets; and a 294-space parking structure. Between Smith Street and the Norwalk River will rise a five- to seven-story condominium building with 80 units and 156 parking spaces. A 15-foot-wide public boardwalk is planned for along the river.

Land-disposition agreements — legal documents spelling out each party's responsibilities on land use, roadwork, public parking, affordable housing and other issues — are part of the redevelopment process.

Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Timothy T. Sheehan recommended formation of the ad hoc committee to address council members concerns about not having a large enough role in the approval process. That process sends draft land-disposition agreements through the Redevelopment Commission, the Planning Commission, the council's Planning Committee, and lastly the full council for approval. The new committee will allow representatives of each body to review the unfolding agreements.

Co-chairing the review committee are Mayor Richard A. Moccia and Coffey. Also on the committee are council Majority Leader Carvin J. Hilliard; Minority Leader Douglas E. Hempstead; Planning Commission Chairman Walter O. Briggs; Redevelopment Commission Chairman Paul L. Jones, and commissioner Emil Albanese. Sheehan and Redevelopment Agency Assistant Director John L. Burritt Jr. are staff.

"The reason for the joint committee is to streamline (the agreement) through the process," Jones said. "It's our mission to be completed (with the Wall Street agreement) in five meetings. We are trying to stay on schedule each week. We hope to have it up (to the council) in six or seven weeks."

From there, the project would go through site-plan and other review, and onward to construction.

The committee's work will not end with the Head-of-the-Harbor land-disposition agreement. Next to be reviewed: A land-disposition agreement between the city and POKO Partners LLC.

POKO Partners, the chosen developer for the Isaacs Street portion of the Wall Street neighborhood, plans to reshape the area bounded by West Avenue and Wall, Leonard and Isaacs streets with 349 housing units; 93,000 square feet of public open space; 45,500 square feet of retail; and 845 public and private parking spaces. The plan also calls for restoring the former Norwalk Theater.

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October 18, 2006

 

Hour

Official: Stopping flooding will cost millions of dollars

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — Conservation commissioners received Tuesday night an engineer's assessment of flooding problems in Norwalk and what is needed to fix them.

Director of Public Works Harold F. Alvord unrolled a map of 16 flood-prone areas of the city. The causes range from undersized or clogged storm-water pipes to too much rainfall. And correcting them will require additional public works staffing, equipment and dollars, according to Alvord.

"We've identified areas where there are blockages or partial blockages," Alvord said. "Our storm-drain system you should clean every year, because you don't know who's throwing frozen turkeys in there and bowling balls. And then you've got the sand off the streets."

"We need operating budget dollars to do the cleaning and hopefully add to that vacuum trucks" in the capital budget, Alvord said.

The Conservation Commission, which is responsible for reviewing development applications for properties that include or are located near ponds and other wetlands, called the meeting to "review flooding and drainage issues within the city," after East Norwalk residents last month urged them to reject a condominium development for the former Fitch School property on Strawberry Hill Avenue.

Commissioners approved the storm-water management plan for the condominium development, which they concurred will reduce storm-water runoff from the site. At the same time, however, they called for a special meeting to address flooding problems citywide.

Councilman Kevin M. Poruban and eight residents who've experience flooding problems — including Olmstead Place resident Diane Cece and Buckingham Place resident Lisa Rivieccio — attended the special meeting at City Hall Tuesday night.

"There's just so much need in terms of fixing infrastructure in Norwalk," Rivieccio said. "The Department of Public Works ... is trying to catch up with years of neglect. You're talking millions of dollars to brings back quality-of-life to residents."

Alvord compared undersized storm-water pipes and clogged drains to neglected roads and outdated traffic signals in the city. The city has 200 miles of storm-water pipes, he said.

In equipment, the public works department currently has three operational vacuum trucks to clean clogged storm-water drains and pipes, Alvord said.

"We hope to get a fleet of eight trucks, which should give us the ability to maintain the system," Alvord said.

In July, the city commissioned Tighe & Bond, a Westfield, Mass., engineering firm to study eight flood-prone areas of the city, and lay out possible solutions along with costs. Alvord said preliminary results of that study are due back later this month. The public works department hopes to have dollars placed in the city's 2007-08 capital budget to fix the flooding problems — and then study other areas.

"But that's only going to do a few areas of the city," Alvord said.

Anne Cagnina, Conservation Commission chairwoman, welcomed the map and presentation as needed information for commissioners, as they review future development applications.

"We needed to be informed. When any applicant comes in, look at the impacts of the projects," Cagnina said.

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October 15, 2006

 

Advocate

Giving affordable housing a boost

By Brian Lockhart
Staff Writer

October 15, 2006

NORWALK -- The zoning department is circulating new regulations that would force developers to build affordable housing units in some business and residentially zoned neighborhoods.

The draft proposal, issued in late summer and altered in recent weeks by the Zoning Commission, is expected to go before a public hearing next month, Planning and Zoning Director Michael Greene said.

"It's evolving," he said.

The proposal also is being reviewed by the city's Planning Commission. On Friday, the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce established an ad-hoc committee to weigh in on the plan.

"They will report to the board at our November meeting," Chamber President Edward Musante said. "Generally speaking, we have been" supportive of affordable housing.

He added: "Now you have a specific proposal and the specifics need to be looked at. . . . Is it written in a way that's productive, fair and equitable?"

The so-called inclusionary zoning or workforce housing policy was crafted over several months earlier this year by a liaison committee of the planning and zoning commissions.

The draft was forwarded to the Zoning Commission for initial review in August -- more than four years after former Democratic Mayor Alex Knopp's administration first began touting the need for such regulations.

But the administration never moved forward, relying instead on an informal process of negotiating with various developers.

As first proposed, the regulations would have made at least 15 percent, and in some cases 20 percent, of the units in new, multifamily developments affordably priced.

Greene said that number has since been decreased to 10 percent, the level used in many other cities.

The units would be affordable for households earning less than 80 percent of the state median income, or $65,000 for a family of four.

"To be perfectly honest, the Zoning Commission has met with various developers and with representatives of the Chamber (of Commerce) and they've been (advocating) a simpler version" with more modest requirements, Greene said.

"Everyone's saying, 'That's what we should do first and over time fine tune it,' " he said.

The regulations still will allow developers to increase the density of projects to accommodate the affordable units; transfer the requirement to another development site; or pay a fee in lieu of housing to a special fund for other affordable housing projects.

The fee is currently calculated at $218,700 per unit, Greene said.

He said another change to the initial draft proposal is the inclusion of an equity-sharing program.

Often affordably priced condominium units are assigned deed restrictions to keep them from reverting to market-rate units when they are sold.

Greene said the equity-sharing program would allow developers to instead build non-deed restricted units that the owners could later sell at market-rate prices, splitting any profit with the city's housing fund.

"So you do lose the unit as affordable, but the person has built up equity to move to a market-rate unit and the city has built up equity to build more affordable housing," Greene said.

Robert Keyes, chairman of the Zoning Commission, said the draft regulations have been revised to be more palatable to officials who do not support mandatory affordable housing.

Republican Mayor Richard Moccia and at least three zoning commissioners -- unaffiliated voter Larry Bentley, Republican James White and Independent Andrea Light -- have said they oppose mandatory regulations.

"Ultimately, we're not trying to make a regulation that's a hammer to developers. We want to make it so this is something they can work with," Keyes, a Democrat, said. "I'm very excited about this. Hopefully, we get it passed and approved."

Light said while she appreciates "efforts at compromise" like the equity-sharing proposal, she probably will not vote for the regulations.

"I have real concerns about the impact on our operating budget," Light said. "When you have two identical units -- one that's deed-restricted, one that's not -- the deed restricted unit has a lesser assessed value so you're paying less in taxes. That shifts the burden to. . . the middle-class population."

Proponents of inclusionary zoning argue since multifamily housing construction is increasing in Norwalk, the regulations are needed to help the city continue to meet the state guideline of having at least 10 percent of its housing stock affordably priced.

Cities and towns that do not meet the standard are open to lawsuits from developers whose zoning applications for high-density housing that include below-market-rate units are rejected.

According to a state Department of Economic and Community Development survey released in April, 11.45 percent, or 3,864 of Norwalk's 33,753 housing units, qualified as affordable last year -- down from 11.77 percent, or 3,972 units, in 2004.

Light believes the city will remain above 10 percent for the near future, although others are skeptical.

The Norwalk Redevelopment Agency has said the state count is artificially high because it relies on housing data from the 2000 census and the city could find itself at or below 10 percent in 2010 when the numbers are updated.

Assistant Redevelopment Director Jack Burritt said agency staff recently completed double-checking the state numbers and believes it over-counted by 329 units, decreasing the percentage of affordable housing to 10.47 percent.

"They had some double counting and projects that hadn't been developed," he said.

Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

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October 7, 2006

 

Advocate

Parties meet to discuss fate of historic building

By John Nickerson
Staff Writer

NORWALK -- Negotiations yesterday between the owner of the Norwalk Inn and Conference Center and preservationists did not yield any results, but the two sides said they were encouraged by the dialogue.

The preservationists are trying to save a historic home threatened by the hotel's planned expansion.

"I don't want to say we have more hope that we can save the building, but we have a better opportunity to do that now that we are talking," Mayor Richard Moccia said after attending a noon meeting with hotel owner Chris Handrinos and Norwalk Preservation Trust President Tod Bryant.

The participants have agreed to meet in the future but have not set a date, Moccia said.

Two weeks ago, Handrinos applied for a demolition permit for the historic Grumman-St. John house at 93 East Ave. to make way for a 43-room expansion.

The trust invoked the city's 90-day demolition delay ordinance, that can hold up tear downs of structures more than 50 years old for three months.

Bryant said the white mansard-roofed building should be preserved because the core of the structure dates back to 1741.

If Bryant's claim is correct, that part of the building would date to before the Battle of Norwalk, making it one of a handful of structures that remain after the British burned the city in 1779.

Bryant said yesterday's meeting at City Hall, which included city attorney Robert Maslan, Planning Director Michael Greene and his assistant Michael Wrinn, was positive and everyone agreed to explore ideas to save the building.

He declined, however, to get into specifics.

"It's too soon to get into any kind of detail," Bryant said. "I think it was a productive meeting. It was good that everyone was in the same room and talking, which hasn't happened in five years."

Last week, after it was announced that the building made the 2006 Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation's Most Important Threatened Historic Places list, Handrinos reiterated his offer from five years ago that he would save the home if he could put a third story on his hotel.

The building zones in which the hotel is situated, however, would not allow a third story without zoning regulation changes or a variance.

Greene also declined to share the details of yesterday's talks.

"There were a couple ideas that we talked about, and there are issues that were discussed that need to be looked at by the parties involved," Greene said. "I'm always hopeful when people are talking."

A message left for Handrinos at the Norwalk Inn was not immediately returned.

Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

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September 27, 2006

 

Hour

Commission declines vote on Fitch site condo plan after residents protest

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — Olmstead Place residents told the city's Conservation Commission Tuesday night that their flooding woes will increase if a proposed 29-unit condominium development is built on the site of the former Fitch School on Strawberry Hill Avenue in East Norwalk.

Assurances from the developer's attorney and engineers that the housing development would reduce storm-water runoff and improve the site didn't seem to alleviate their fears. Those fears stem from a slope leading downward from the site into a pond, which sometimes floods onto their properties.

"We have a problem now. It's going to be worse," said Demetrius Arnone, who lives at 39 Olmstead Place. "I really wish you would consider turning this proposal down, because we're going to get inundated with more (water). Every time the sky opens, I have to keep my fingers crossed."

Arnone and his wife, JoAnne, were among nearly two-dozen residents to sound off Tuesday night against DT Development Co. LLC's application to raze the former school and two adjacent houses at 61 and 63 Strawberry Hill Ave. and build 29 condominiums. After the public hearing and discussion, conservation commissioners postponed action on the application.

"We all just agreed we weren't ready to vote on it," said Commissioner Marny Smith afterward. "We all felt that considering the opposition, we had to look more carefully at the drainage report. We were all quite surprised about the degree of opposition. None of us were prepared for that kind of opposition."

"We'll probably make a decision at our next meeting on the 10th of October," Smith added.

The slope, located on city-owned land immediately behind the former school, mandates Conservation Commission review of the application. DT Development also needs the city's Zoning Commission to lift the cap on planned residential developments to permit 29 new units.

On Tuesday night, Norwalk attorney David F. Waters and three consultants representing DT Development pitched the storm-water drainage plan to distrustful residents. The plan includes additional landscaping, erosion controls on the slope, and underground detention tanks designed to catch the first inch of rainfall and slowly release it into the soil.

"A good percentage of the water is going into those (tanks). You get a lot gentler flow," said landscape architect Don Strait of Norwalk-based Grumman Engineering LLC. "It infiltrates down into the soil. That's what prevents that spike of water coming through."

Many residents shook their heads in disbelief.

Among those speaking against the condominium development was Diane Cece, who has frequently asked the city to help eliminate flooding on her property at 37 Olmstead Place.

"Because we know that even in a moderate rainstorm, the pond has overflowed into several of our back yards, and in serious rainfalls can and has caused substantial damage, we oppose any development that calls for additional runoff to the pond, or any areas southwest of the (former) school," Cece said.

Commissioner Matthew A. Caputo asked residents how long they have experienced flooding on their properties, then pressed the developers' representatives for numbers.

"What kind of calculations do we have for maybe different (rainfall) events?" Caputo asked. "If you're contending you're decreasing (runoff), show us the numbers — it's a 5-percent reduction, it's a 10-percent reduction?"

Strait said the condominium development would reduce the amount of impervious surface — paved areas, rooftops, etc. — from 80,588 square feet to 53,732 square feet. The drainage system would reduce runoff from a 25-year storm from 43,800 cubic feet to 36,900 cubic feet of water, he added.

Said Waters: "The wetlands and pond that already exist will not be impacted in a negative manner."

East Norwalk Councilman Kevin M. Poruban, speaking to The Hour last week, pointed to water channels cut into the slope. Poruban said he hadn't seen DT Development's plan, but added that he also has concerns.

"Whatever they do, they cannot add to the problem we have here," Poruban said.

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September 21, 2006

 

Hour

90-day demolition delay requested for 93 East Ave.

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — The president of the Norwalk Preservation Trust on Wednesday asked the city to impose its 90-day demolition delay ordinance to save a house at 93 East Ave.

The house stands in the way of the Norwalk Inn & Conference Center's long-planned expansion.

"Both the Norwalk Inn and your office are in possession of a letter from the Connecticut Historical Commission. ... Please stop the demolition permit process pursuant to this letter," wrote Preservation Trust President Tod Bryant, in the first of two e-mails to Norwalk Chief Building Official William Ireland. "Please invoke the 90-day delay of demolition on 93 East Ave."
 

In response, Ireland wrote that the city's Building and Code Enforcement Department has not yet received an intent-to-demolish application. Ireland continued that he is aware of the letter from the state commission.

Byrant e-mailed Ireland Tuesday after reading a legal notice announcing the intent-to-demolish application, and again Wednesday after seeing a sign announcing the application posted outside the house. The Preservation Trust maintains that the house at 93 East Ave. is historic and should be preserved.

"The whole idea of a demolition delay is to get the parties to try to negotiate a way to save the building," Bryant told The Hour.

The Norwalk Inn, located at 99 East Ave., plans to demolish the house to accommodate a 40-room expansion. The project has been tied up in court for several years, after neighboring property owner Dr. Rishon H. Stember in 2001 and 2002 appealed decisions by the city's Zoning Board of Appeals and Zoning Commission allowing the expansion to proceed.

The inn and Stember earlier this year reached a settlement that would shift the proposed new inn wing and common driveway away from Stember's business at 91 East Ave., but still raze the house at 93 East Ave. Stamford Superior Court has yet to review the settlement.

Norwalk Inn co-owner Chris Handrinos said he was not surprised to learn of the demolition delay request.

"The preservationists are trying every means, whether proper or improper, to delay," Handrinos said. "That is costing us a lot of money. We'll offer (the house) to them, not only to take it, but to pay some of the expenses to move it."

Handrinos said the inn pulled intent-to-demolish paperwork from the city and plans to return it by Friday. He described the demolition as separate from the court issues regarding the expansion.

"We intend to demolish the house, no matter what. It's not connected with the court case. The court issue is about a change in zoning. It has nothing to do with (93 East Ave.)," Handrinos said. "All the court issues have to do with is planning and zoning."

Bryant, in his e-mail to Ireland Tuesday, wrote that a letter from the Connecticut Historical Commission — now the state Commission on Culture and Tourism — dated Jan. 11, 2002, remains binding.

According to Bryant, the letter states in part that "the office of the Attorney General requests that you provide the commission with written assurance that you will not 1) file an application for a demolition permit or 2) undertake any physically-destructive activities to the subject property prior to appearing at a future public meeting to discuss your proposed project."

Bryant said Susan Chandler of the History Division of the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism has assured him that the letter remains in effect "since the Norwalk Inn has never appeared before the commission."

Chandler could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

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August 5, 2006

 

Advocate

http://www.norwalkadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.pepperidge5aug05,0,7109246.story?coll=nor-news-local-headlines

Pact may clear way for condos

By John Nickerson
Staff Writer

August 5, 2006

NORWALK -- A tentative settlement has been reached that could allow a 235-unit luxury condominium development to proceed on the old Pepperidge Farm bakery site on Westport Avenue.

Attorney David Waters, who represents developer FF Realty LLC, said an "agreement in principle" has been reached between the Texas-based developer and two homeowner associations who filed appeals against the city's Conservation and Zoning commissions.

The panels approved the project in June and July 2005.

The project planned for the 15-acre site at 595 Westport Ave. has been in limbo for a little more than a year since the appeals were filed in state Superior Court in Stamford by the neighboring Birchwood Townhouses Condominium Association and Terra Nova Homeowners Association.

Waters said a compromise plan may come before the two panels in the next month.

"There are some changes being made to the plan that will require further review by the Conservation and Zoning commissions," he said last week.

Budd Schwartz, treasurer of the 66-unit Birchwood Townhouses Condominium Association and a plaintiff in the appeals, said he thinks the settlement is a step in the right direction.

He said FF Realty has brought in a new architect to redesign the development, putting what was planned to be an underground 500-car garage above ground.

Schwartz said the homeowner associations were against the underground garage because it would require excavation blasting and long lines of dump trucks coming in and out of the site to remove the debris.

Schwartz said plans now call for the construction inside the Pepperidge Farm site to be pulled further back from Hills Lane, the site of the Birchwood and Terra Nova developments.

Some of the units will have to be reduced in size to make the plan work, he said.

"It appears we are going in the right direction and I'm hopeful that we can resolve it soon," Schwartz said. "They ended up with a much better design than what they had before."

The appeal seeking to overturn the Conservation Commission's decision said that evidence was ignored indicating the development would create stormwater runoff problems and threaten wetlands.

The appeal against the Zoning Commission decision argued that evidence, which pointed to the project's noncompliance with zoning regulations regarding building height and setbacks, also was ignored.

The suit also said that the project would hurt property values.

Waters and Fairfield attorney John Fallon, who is representing Birchwood and Terra Nova, declined to comment on what the new plans would look like.

"I will not have any comment with regard to any aspect of that case. The cases are pending before the Superior Court and I will have no comment with regards to any settlement discussions that are ongoing," Fallon said in a phone message. Calls seeking further comment were not returned.

Waters said he expected that the two commissions would look favorably at the new plan.

Planning and Zoning Director Michael Greene declined to comment on the plans, saying he had not seen the new plans.

When proposed last year, project plans called for the construction of three residential buildings, totaling 450,000 square feet, in nearly the same place the shuttered bakery now stands.

The buildings, each four stories, would surround an 11,000-square-foot clubhouse with a pool. The proposal also included a 33,000-square-foot expansion of Pepperidge Farm's existing 78,000-square-foot corporate offices next door.

Copyright © 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

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July, 2006

Smart Growth News

Connecticut

Whitman, Glendening Speak Out on Government's Role in Growth Patterns

Quite sure that much of Connecticut's ''misplaced development is aided and abetted, and even subsidized, by state policies and practices,'' as it was in their own states when they took office in 1994 and 1995, former New Jersey Republican Governor and 2001-03 EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman and former two-term Maryland Democratic Governor, now Smart Growth Leadership Institute President Parris N. Glendening point out in a Hartford Courant commentary that growth pattern changes ''cannot be accomplished in any lasting way unless the state government plays a major part'' and that ''it certainly helps if the governor makes it a personal priority.''

Maryland, they write, was ''funding infrastructure and school construction in areas where neither the locality nor the state had planned for development'' until lawmakers passed the 1997 Smart Growth Act, under which the state ''began to remove subsidies for sprawl and instead steer funds toward communities that had planned to absorb growth in a smaller, better-planned footprint.''

New Jersey was losing open space while cities struggled to revitalize until voters approved the 1998 bond issue which will raise more than $1 billion to preserve 1 million acres by 2010 and the state ''took steps to make it easier to redevelop in existing areas, reclaim industrial brownfields and adopt older buildings for re-use.''

Not always easy, the moves gained strong bipartisan support when the public understood their benefits such as ''holding down property tax bills, creating alternatives to traffic congestion, creating healthy communities, and expanding recreational and other opportunities,'' the two former governors and National Smart Growth Council co-chairmen write, stressing the need for three elements to ensure reform continuity ''beyond the current governor.''

There must be ''a statewide smart planning and investment framework'' codified in law; a nongovernmental advocacy organization -- like 1,000 Friends of Connecticut or Maryland or New Jersey or any other state -- must keep watch, to prevent erosion of commitment to smart growth; and governments and nonprofit groups must ''invest in an ongoing public discussion of the issues,'' they write, crediting The Courant for ''making a tremendous start'' in that area.

Specifically, they continue, the state leadership should focus on four goals. It should ensure that planning happens and incorporates ''meaningful'' public input, and that there is a state agency responsible for planning and a cabinet post ''for coordinating state agencies overseeing transportation, environment, housing'' and related sectors; connect transportation and land use, because ''(i)f you build communities so every activity requires a long car trip, no amount of pavement will cure congestion;'' work with employers and businesses on economic development, because they ''want to know that workers can find housing and transportation close to jobs;'' and make sure ''tax policies are working for, and not against, community and state goals,'' with too heavy dependence on property taxes often forcing localities to take ''a development-at-any-cost-attitude,'' and compete for commercial projects or zone only for the most expensive housing.

''Based on what we've seen, Connecticut has the elements necessary to become a national model for innovations in guiding growth for betterment of the state's people,'' the two former governors conclude. ''All that is needed is public, private and community leadership to put it in motion.'' -- Courant  7/9/2006

Click here to view the source article.
Click here to view the source publication.

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July 6, 2006

 

Hour

New state law adds surcharge to moving violation tickets

By JILL BODACH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — Motorists caught by police violating the rules of the road will now have to pay an additional $10 surcharge for their wrongdoing.

A new Connecticut law, which goes into effect this month, will add the surcharge to every ticket issued for speeding, failure to yield, making an illegal turn and numerous other violations.

Currently, the money earned off speeders is given to the state but the new surcharge was added so that the municipalities who fund the work of the patrol officers can receive the funds. The accumulated funds will be forwarded to the municipalities four times a year.
 

Police Chief Harry Rilling said that the new law will probably yield approximately $50,000 to $55,000 per year for the city. This money will be put into the city's general fund and likely be used to hire officers for selective motor vehicle enforcement.

"Motor vehicle enforcement is very labor intensive because it generally involves assigning an officer or two to a particular area to spend a significant amount of time watching for violations," Rilling said. "These officers are typically pulled off other duties to do this."

Speeding and other motor vehicle violations are serious issues in Norwalk, Rilling said.

"I'm appalled at how many times I see people blatantly go through red lights two to three seconds after the light has turned red as if they never had any intention of stopping at all," Rilling said. "People are not as focused on their driving as they used to be and there are motor vehicle violations occurring all over the place."

For the past four years Senator Bob Duff, D-25, has pushed for the approval of this legislation. Now that it has passed, he is hopeful that Norwalk's roads will become safer for motorists and pedestrians.

"I supported this from the beginning because speeding is one of the biggest complaints I hear about from residents of Norwalk and it's really a quality of life issue, but with our limited resources we can't afford to just have police officers sit and wait for speeders," Duff said.

The money paid to police officers who man speed traps is primarily from the overtime budget of the department. Some of it comes from grant money from the state awarded to departments for use in selective motor vehicle enforcement of any kind.

Those against the law think that the added incentive of monetary compensation for issuing tickets might lead to a surge in tickets being given to the public.

Duff said no.

"I think the surcharge is fair and not so outrageous that it is going to become a revenue stream for the city, but it will provide money for the city to pay officers to increase their presence on streets where speeding and other violations are common," Duff said.

Rilling said that regardless of the financial returns to the city officers will not issue violations unless they are warranted.

"There might be more tickets as result of this but not because they are doing it for the incentive, but because there is more money available to hire these patrols," Rilling said.

Rilling said that the law is fair because it is punishing those who violate the law, not the law abiding taxpayer.

"I don't think it's unreasonable for the person responsible for the violation to pay for the efforts of enforcement of these violations," Rilling said.

Money aside, the main issue is safety and Duff said he hopes that the availability of additional officers will increase safety.

"I just think that this will help the quality of life in Norwalk and make our local roads safer," Duff said.

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July 6, 2006

 

Hour

P&E site sold for $16M

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — The former Perkin-Elmer Corp. property at 761 Main Ave. has been sold for $16 million, according to the Town Clerk's office.

Perkin-spinoff Applera Corp., located at 307 Merritt 7, sold the property to i.park Norwalk LLC, c/o National Resources, 485 W. Putnam Ave., Greenwich, for $16,027,200, according to paperwork filed with the clerk's office.

The Tax Assessor's office has the property valued at $15.7 million on the city's 2005 Grand List of taxable property.

Officials at National Resources could not be reached Wednesday afternoon to comment on their plans for the property.

An image posted on the company's Web site, however, shows a mixed-use development with a four-story apartment building, two three-story condominium buildings, a health club with a 50-meter indoor pool, and other space at the address, which straddles the Norwalk-Wilton border.

According to i.park, the property lies in a "prime location" off the Route 7-Interstate 95 Connector and a quarter mile from the Merritt Parkway, and has good connections to the Norwalk Wheels Bus Services and Metro-North Railroad.

The development would follow i.park's pattern of converting corporate and industrial buildings into what it describes as "intelligent" energy-efficient spaces that offer rents 25 percent below market."

Projects to date include the conversion of the Lockheed Martin property in Lake Success, N.Y., into a business campus office. In Yonkers, i.park Hudson has resulted in 750,000 square feet of office and flex space along the Hudson River.

The Norwalk property was once headquarters to the Perkin-Elmer Corp., which manufactured optical equipment for, among other things, the Hubble Space Telescope. The company was one of Norwalk's largest employers.

The Norwalk portion of the property spans 18 acres and includes a two-story steel-frame brick industrial building that was constructed in 1950. The property is listed as in fair condition, according to the Assessor's office.

The city will receive $80,136 from sale of the property through the real-estate conveyance tax; the state will get $160,272, said Town Clerk Andrew S. Garfunkel.

On the Web:

http://www.ipark2000.com/norwalk.html

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June 30, 2006

 

Hour

'Quality of life' more than trite description for us

"Quality of life" has become the buzzword phrase of the year, and it's tossed around by politicians and bureaucrats at all levels of government. Its frequency of use may make it seem trite, but there is something to be said for it — or at least for making it a fact of life.

Mayor Richard A. Moccia has called for a focus on such issues, and it's hard to fault the approach. Much of the quality of life depends on the enforcement of existing building codes, zoning regulations and even motor vehicle laws.

When you start talking about what an individual does — or doesn't do — with his or her property, there's always a danger of infringing on those rights.

We agree that there should be enforcement of the laws as it pertains to illegal apartments, parking of vehicles on sidewalks and even on front lawns. Whether it can be extended to such items as an overgrown lawn is something else again.

Neighborhood associations have taken the leadership in making residents aware of the problems in their area, and how to best work to remedy them.

How far a municipality can go in pressing property owners to clean up their act is a question for the lawyers. We hope we're not at the stage of the "lawn police" yet.

We have urged stricter zoning regulations as one way of controlling development. Whether the city can develop a "blight ordinance" remains to be seen. Blight, like beauty, too often is in the eye of the beholder.

Along those same lines of quality of life, we are happy to see the return of "slow down days" in Norwalk.

This means Norwalk police will be stepping up enforcement of the speed limits, among other motor vehicle laws.

They also hope to crack down on noise violations, particularly annoying in the summertime. Whether it's motorcyclists or hot-rodders or just plain old jalopies with blown mufflers, they are all a nuisance.

Now that school's out, there needs to be special attention to speeding. With youngsters out riding bikes and the like, drivers need to be alert.

Nothing will make an impression on a motorist like a hefty speeding ticket.

While the police are at it, we hope they enforce other motor vehicle laws, such as wearing seat belts, use of proper child safety seats, observance of the "no right turn on red' signs, and the requirement that all vehicles displays both front and rear license plates.

Now that's a full plate for "slow down" days.

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June 30, 2006

 

Hour

Spinnaker appeals Norden Place rejection

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK — Developer Spinnaker Cos. has appealed the Zoning Commission's rejection of its plan for multifamily housing on the Norden site, adding to litigation against the city over the development.

"The defendant Zoning Commission denied the application (to allow multifamily housing) despite the fact that the city of Norwalk Planning Commission unanimously approved the amendment," reads a portion of the appeal prepared by attorney Elizabeth A. Suchy of the Norwalk law firm Tierney Zullo Flaherty & Murphy PC. The commission "denied the application ... despite the undisputed and uncontroverted testimony and evidence presented to it that industrial and manufacturing uses and tenants are no longer locating to Fairfield County or Connecticut."

Today was the last day for Norden Place LLC — a Spinnaker spin-off — to appeal the Zoning Commission decision made June 7. In May, Norden Place appealed the Conservation Commission's denial of its application.

"Obviously (Norden Place) feels there are grounds for appeal and the court will make a decision," said Zoning Commission Vice Chairman Robert Keyes, who voted against the zoning change.