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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 Monday, December 5.

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut
Special welcome to all of our new readers! Photo by Kelly Prinz.

Monday, December 5

Happy Monday! There’s a lot happening this week with communities starting to work on their budgets—see what their budgets looked like last year—while others discuss funding security initiatives at schools.

Before we dive into that though, a quick ICYMI: We’ve started doing explainer videos for some of our enterprise stories. Check out our latest videos on the water quality in the Long Island Sound.

Let’s see what’s happening this week around the region.

Stamford

The Zoning Board will be reviewing an application for 160 Atlantic Street at its meeting on Monday, December 5 at 6:30 p.m. The applicant is proposing to “maintain the existing building (formerly used as a bank) and add 9 additional stories for an 11 story hotel containing 82 rooms and 10 suites with a ground-floor restaurant, banquet/meeting rooms and a rooftop patio.”

The Planning Board will review a draft of the capital budget at its meeting on Tuesday, December 6 at 6:30 p.m. The capital budget is used to fund projects throughout the year, such as school construction, paving, and other investments. This is the last review before the board finalizes the draft budget that will then be put up for a public hearing for residents to give their feedback in January.

Other meetings this week include:

Norwalk

The Norwalk Department of Transportation, Mobility, and Parking is hosting a Transportation Master Plan Open House on Tuesday, December 6 at 6 p.m. The meeting will include a presentation on a draft of the transportation plan, which includes “goals, strategies, and implementation steps to guide policy and project development.”  In addition, residents can meet with city staff and consultants to learn more about the plan. The goal of the plan is to create “a vision for mobility for all users, addressing six key themes: equity, environment, safety, resiliency, technology, and transportation choice.” City officials said that “the plan will form the basis for transportation policy and investment over the next 10 to 20 years.”

The Planning & Zoning Commission will meet on Thursday, December 8 at 6 p.m. and hold a public hearing on zoning regulations for retail cannabis establishments. Learn more about the city’s decision to legalize retail sales of cannabis. The meeting will also include a public hearing on the city’s updated regulations for accessory dwelling units. Learn more about why communities are updating their regulations around ADUs.

Other meetings this week include:

Fairfield

The Board of Selectmen will meet on Monday, December 5 at 4 p.m. and vote on a resolution supporting a local nonprofit, Operation Hope, for its proposed use of the building at 488 Tunxis Hill Road. The property is a city-owned building, but it was acquired from the state in 2001 with multiple restrictions. The resolution would allow the town’s First Selectwoman to “pursue a ground lease with Operation Hope” and “work with the State legislative delegation” to allow for changes to the agreement to allow Operation Hope to use the site. The nonprofit has “expressed interest in this property in order for it to relocate its administrative offices, food pantry and other support operations serving the most vulnerable members of the Fairfield community.”

Other meetings this week include:

Greenwich

The Board of Estimate and Taxation Budget Committee will meet on Tuesday, December 6 at 1 p.m. to vote on authorizing $500,000 to finance security work, including a new vestibule, at Greenwich High School.

On Monday, December 5 at 7 p.m., the town’s Energy Management Advisory Committee is hosting a Zero Energy Ready Building Workshop. The workshop aims to help explain terms such as “Zero Energy Ready” and “Net Zero Energy.” The workshop will also discuss “green building design,” including how they “can be built affordably, utilizing tried and true technologies, and provide substantial improvements in indoor air quality, operating performance, and energy cost savings over the life of the building.”

Other meetings this week include:

  • Monday, December 5: Land Use Committee at 7 p.m. | Education Committee at 7:30 p.m. | Finance Committee at 7:30 p.m. |  Legislative & Rules Committee at 7:30 p.m.| Public Works Committee at 7:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, December 6: Board of Selectmen Special Meeting at 12 p.m. | Planning & Zoning Commission at 4 p.m. | Health & Human Services Committee at 7:30 p.m. | Parks & Recreation Committee at 7:30 p.m. | Town Services Committee at 7:30 p.m
  • Wednesday, December 7: Special Meeting of The Nathaniel Witherell Board of Directors at 10:30 a,m.
  • Thursday, December 8: Board of Selectmen at 10 a.m. | Board of Selectmen Special Meeting at 11:30 a.m.

Darien

Three committees of the Representative Town Meeting will meet this week to discuss and vote on supporting plans from the Board of Education to spend $335,000 for “security capital  improvements” on doors across the school district and the Board’s request to hire seven new school security officers at the elementary schools. The Public Health & Safety Committee will meet on Monday, December 5 at 7 p.m.; Finance & Budget Committee will meet on Monday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m.; and the Education Committee will meet on Monday, December 5  at 7:30 p.m.

Other meetings this week include:

Westport

The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet on Monday, December 5 at 7 p.m. to discuss a “conceptual affordable housing development” on Maple Lane. This will be a pre-application meeting, meaning no official plans have been put together.

The Board of Education will meet on Monday, December 5 at 7 p.m. for preliminary budget discussions with the Board of Finance, Representative Town Meeting Education Committee Chair, and Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee Chair.

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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