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The What

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of March 25.

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut
Happy last week of March! (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Monday, March 25

Happy Monday! We’re back from our vacation and heading right into a very busy last week of March. But first, we wanted to dive into the latest on plans for the North Seven development in Norwalk, which we’ve covered as part of our All Aboard Series. 

Despite years of planning and discussion, the future of the proposed North Seven development is suddenly up in the air after developer Building and Land Technology pulled its application for Phase 1. 

Attorney David Waters, who was representing the developer, withdrew the application during  the March 20 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting after commissioners seemed likely to require Building and Land Technology (BLT) to underground the utilities in the area, something Waters said would “make the project economically not viable.” 

As commissioners were discussing requiring the undergrounding of the utilities—but before any official vote was taken—Waters spoke up and said that “the applications are hereby withdrawn. There’s no need to take any further action.”

Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Lou Schulman called the withdrawal “unfortunate.” 

“I don't particularly appreciate the attempt to manipulate us in this way and I think that’s what it is,” he said. 

That leaves the future unclear for not just the first phase of the project—which included 266 residential units, about 8,000 square feet of retail space, a town square, and a dog park—but the entire plan for the area, which called for more than 1,200 housing units, retail, a park, and more around the newly renovated Merritt 7 train station. 

The developer could come back with a revised application, they could work to sell the property, or they could sell just the rights to the construction of the project, but Steve Kleppin, the city’s director of Planning and Zoning, said that he believed this wasn’t the end of BLT’s plans. 

“I think they’ve made a very considerable investment in this area,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve heard the last of them.”

Learn more about the latest on North Seven or check out our video on what the next steps could be. 

Let’s see what else is happening this week. 

Stamford

There’s a few budget review meetings taking place this week including: 

On Wednesday, March 27 at 7 p.m., the Transportation Committee is hosting a public hearing on an ordinance that would allow the use of automated traffic enforcement safety devices in the city. Learn more about why local representatives advocated for automated cameras in school zones as a way to support traffic enforcement efforts. 

Other meetings this week include: 

Norwalk

Following last week’s public hearing on the budget, the Board of Estimate & Taxation is hosting a special meeting on Thursday, March 28 at 6:30 p.m. to continue discussions on the city’s proposed $440.6 million operating budget. 

Other meetings this week include: 

Fairfield

The Board of Finance will meet on Tuesday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. for a budget follow-up meeting, where it will discuss some outstanding questions on the city and school budgets, ahead of the Board of Finance Public Budget Hearing scheduled for Saturday, March 30 at 9:30 a.m.

Other meetings this week include: 

Greenwich

There will be a Board of Estimate and Taxation Public Hearing on the proposed 2024-25 budget on Monday, March 25 at 7 p.m. ahead of the Board of Estimate and Taxation Decision Day on the budget, which will take place on Wednesday, March 27 starting at 9 a.m.

Also on Monday, March 25, there will be an Affordable Housing Trust Board and Planning and Zoning Commission Joint Session at 1 p.m. which will feature a discussion on the process for proposed affordable housing developments that are submitted under state statute Section 8-30g. Communities that have less than 10% of their housing stock qualified as affordable are subject to this statute, which allows developers to bypass certain local zoning requirements as long as 30% of the development is affordable.

Other meetings this week include: 

Darien

On Tuesday, March 26, there will be a Board of Finance Budget Work Session at 7:30 p.m., which will include budget discussions on a variety of departments, including land use, parks and recreation, human services, and more. 

Other meetings this week include: 

Westport

Town officials will present their updated plans for Parker Harding Plaza and Jesup Green to the Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday, March 25 at 7 p.m. The proposal includes transforming the parking areas there to “add public waterfront access to the Saugatuck River and other amenities, and to expand the parking lot at 20 Jesup Green.”

On Wednesday, March 27, the Parks and Recreation Commission will meet at 7:30 p.m. and receive a presentation of the Compo Beach playground renovation project.

Other meetings this week include: 

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.

Thank you for reading! As a reminder, we will be off next week!

If you are interested in being a part of our reporting or just want to share your thoughts, please reach out at coastalconnecticuttimes@gmail.com. 

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times

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