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The What

The What: Make Your Voice Heard; Route 1 Public Workshop; and more

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of March 24.

The What: Make Your Voice Heard; Route 1 Public Workshop; and more
We're excited for later sunsets to come now that we've passed the spring equinox! (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Monday, March 24

Happy Monday! It’s a busy week around the region, with many opportunities for you to get involved in your local community and share your thoughts on your community’s budget, local road improvements, and more. Let’s dive in.

Highlights 

This section gives a brief overview of the key items in the newsletter.

  • Four communities—Norwalk, Fairfield, Greenwich, and Westport—all have budget hearings this week, which is your opportunity to tell your elected officials what you like—or don’t like—about the proposed budgets for your city or town. Check out our budget breakdown piece that shares some highlights from each community’s budget.
  • There will be a Route 1 Public Workshop on Monday, March 24 at 5:30 p.m. in Norwalk, where residents are invited to provide feedback on designs for a better, safer Route 1. While this study particularly focuses on a portion of the road in Norwalk, Route 1 runs straight through our region and is a major connector.  
  • Speaking of connections, in Greenwich, there’s a Shore Road Sidewalk Project- Public Info Meeting on Tuesday, March 25 at 6 p.m. to learn more about the town’s plans to add a new sidewalk from Sound Beach Avenue to South Crossway. 

Spotlight

This section features our main reporting each week.

With opportunities for public input coming up, we’re exploring the top five things you should know about budgets across southwest Connecticut. 

You can find the top five things to know about your community’s budget, or take a look at our overall themes and findings that have come up across the region. 

Stamford | Norwalk | Fairfield | Greenwich | Westport

1. Education costs continue to rise and it remains the biggest expense for all municipalities. 

2. Across the region, local officials are proposing to raise taxes on residents to cover increasing costs. 

3. Outside of education, officials highlighted a need to invest in local infrastructure, particularly making roads safer and communities more resilient, as part of their budgets. 

4. Uncertainty about federal funding is on the top of minds for some officials across the region.

5. Hearings and review sessions for local budgets are underway across the region, meaning there’s an opportunity for changes and adjustments to take place over the next few weeks. 

Dive deeper into these takeaways or learn more about your community’s budget. 

This Week at a Glance

This section aims to highlight the most important meetings and news taking place each week.

  • In Bridgeport, the Board of Education will be discussing and potentially voting on eliminating 11 “restorative practice” positions in the district as well as 2:1 paraprofessionals—or paraprofessionals who support two students—for kindergarten at its meeting on Monday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. All of those positions were funded by federal COVID-19 relief programs that have expired.
  • Also in Bridgeport, the Education & Social Services Committee of the City Council will meet on Wednesday, March 26 at 5:30 p.m. for an informational session with the Board of Education Facilities Manager, Jorge Garcia, to discuss school construction projects.
  • In Norwalk, as mentioned above, there will be a Route 1 Public Workshop on Monday, March 24 at 5:30 p.m. where residents are invited to provide feedback on designs for a better, safer Route 1.
  • Also in Norwalk, the Common Council will meet on Tuesday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. and vote to approve a vape shop ordinance in an effort to help regulate the growth of these retailers that officials said “pose serious health risks to the public…especially the city’s youth.”
  • In Fairfield, the Town Plan and Zoning Commission will meet on Tuesday, March 25 at 6:30 p.m. to review an application for a 96-unit development, including 30% affordable housing, at 4480 Black Rock Turnpike. The applicant had previously planned to build 150 units on the site, but has scaled its proposal down. The commission will also continue reviewing a proposal for 2179, 2199 Post Road, and 29 Fairfield Place for 40 units, including some affordable housing units, along with first floor retail and restaurant opportunities; as well as a proposal for 441 Post Road to get rid of the Circle Hotel, and replace it with a new “luxury New England inn” and apartment complex. 
  • In Greenwich, as noted above, there will be a Shore Road Sidewalk Project- Public Info Meeting on Tuesday, March 25 at 6 p.m. where residents are encouraged to attend to learn more about the project that would add a new sidewalk from Sound Beach Avenue to South Crossway, ask questions, and provide feedback. Officials said the project “was created due to an abundance of community interest and it was identified as a pedestrian safety enhancement by numerous studies. Shore Road is utilized by approximately 2,250 vehicles daily and has several school bus stops.”
  • In Westport, the Planning and Zoning Commission will continue its public hearing on the Hamlet at Saugatuck proposal, a new commercial center that includes 57 residential units, retail, restaurants, a hotel, and a rehabilitated office building on Monday, March 24 at 6 p.m.. In addition, the commission will conduct a field review of the site earlier that day at 12 p.m. 

Plan Your Week

This section includes a list of meetings, events, and programming happening around southwest Connecticut each week.

Bridgeport

Stamford

Norwalk

Fairfield

Greenwich

Darien

Westport

Stay in touch!

As we continue to grow and evolve, please join us! You can do that by:

Please note: All of these agendas and information here are current as of Sunday night. Meeting times and agendas may get adjusted throughout the week.

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times

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