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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 September 19.

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut
It's an exciting week at Coastal Connecticut Times! We hope to see a lot of you on Wednesday!

Monday, September 19

Happy Monday!

Reminder: We’re co-hosting a Sustainable Streets Happy Hour this Wednesday, Sept. 21 starting at 5 p.m. with our friends from the Norwalk Bike Co-op at 314 Beer Garden in Norwalk. This happy hour is a great chance to meet people interested in working to make our streets safer and more accessible for bikers/walkers or for really anyone interested in learning about what we’re up to! We hope you’ll come meet us—and the first 20 people to sign up for our newsletter (or who bring a friend to sign up for our newsletter!) can get a free drink on us.

Join us for a special happy hour on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. at 314 Beer Garden in Norwalk.

And ICYMI: We officially launched our TikTok channel last week! Check out our intro video and our piece on biking and walking infrastructure in the region—a nice teaser to Wednesday’s happy hour!

This week, Norwalk residents have a chance to participate in a virtual town hall on Monday, Sept. 19 at 5:30 p.m., where they can “hear from subject matter experts and ask questions about the proposed cannabis ordinance,” which will be in front of the Common Council’s Ordinance Committee on Tuesday, Sept. 20. We explored what the Norwalk ordinance could look like and what other communities are doing to regulate cannabis sales now that marijuana is legal in the state. Learn more.

Let’s see what else is happening around the area.

Stamford

The Fiscal Committee of the Board of Representatives will meet on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. to approve using CT Communities Challenge grant funding from the state for a proposal from ScrapWorks LLC that would “retrofit underutilized properties on Pacific Street to create a year-round beer garden and food truck lot” as well as a social co-working space, a pilot brewery project and more. The Board of Finance approved this item unanimously at its September meeting.

Residents near Haig and Crestview Avenue are invited to weigh in at the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m. about the proposal to install a pickleball court in the area.

Other meetings this week include

Norwalk

Learn more about the city’s proposed ordinance regulating cannabis sales at a virtual town hall on Monday, Sept. 19 at 5:30 p.m. and at the Ordinance Committee of the Common Council on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.

See what other communities are doing to regulate the sale of marijuana in our area.

Other meetings this week include

Fairfield

The Representative Town Meeting will meet on Monday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. and vote on allocating $400,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds to purchase property along the Rooster River to help deal with flooding issues in that area. The RTM will also consider the Board of Selectmen’s vote to put updates to the town’s charter on the ballot in November. Some of the updates include:

  • Updating standards of conduct, civility and operations
  • Streamlining budget and contract approval procedures
  • Modifying Board of Selectperson vacancy process
  • Codifying the current forty-member RTM with ten districts and the positions of Town Administrator and Chief of Staff
  • Modifying residency and qualification standards for certain department heads
  • Updating the Board of Library Trustees responsibilities
  • Amending the process for updating the town seal

Overall, the updates aim to make the charter easier to understand and modernize the language throughout.

On Tuesday, Sept. 20, the Harbor Management Commission will meet at 4:30 p.m. and discuss the water quality monitoring efforts that USGS is doing in the town. Learn more about how water quality monitoring in the Long Island Sound is done.

Greenwich

The Representative Town Meeting will meet on Monday, Sept 19 at 8 p.m. to consider opting out of the state law allowing accessory dwelling units in single family zones. The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 in favor of opting out and the last step is for the local legislative body to also vote—by a ⅔ majority—to opt out. Learn more about the process and what other communities around the region are doing.

Other meetings this week include

Darien

The Planning & Zoning Commission will meet on Monday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss and potentially vote on opting out of the state law allowing accessory dwelling units in single family zones. The commission needs to opt out before the local legislative body can vote on the matter. If the town does want to opt out, it must vote by Jan. 1, 2023. Learn more about the process and what other communities around the region are doing.

Other meetings this week include

Westport

On Monday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m., the Planning & Zoning Commission will open an application related to 124 Compo Road North. Homes With Hope, Inc. is proposing to make substantial interior improvements to a town-owned property which is leased to Project Return to operate a group home at the site.

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!

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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