In-depth news for Southwest Connecticut
Subscribe
The What

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of April 11.

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut
Enjoy the spring/summer weather we're supposed to get this week! (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Tuesday, April 11

It’s Earth Month across southwest Connecticut, where communities are coming together to highlight ways to make the planet—and their local municipality—just a little bit greener. We kicked off the month at Wastefree Greenwich’s “ReThink Waste” fair and there are many more events, activities, and programs taking place around the region this month.

P.S. We’ll be at a few of them so be sure to come by and say hi!

———

ICYMI, it’s been a busy past couple weeks across our region, so check out some of our recent pieces:

And if you haven’t already, please fill out our form related to housing in our region. We also have a Spanish language version available! We’re starting to contact those of you who already did—THANK YOU!—so please feel free to continue to share with your networks.

Now, let’s see what else is happening this week.

Stamford

Two boards will be reviewing $2.8 million in plans to support updates and improvements to the “pedestrian infrastructure at the signalized intersections with reported pedestrian-related crashes” throughout Stamford that aren’t already part of other projects. City officials said these improvements will take place “all across Stamford” and include both safety and ADA compliance measures. The Planning Board will review the item at its meeting on Tuesday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m., before the Board of Finance reviews funding for the project at its Thursday, April 13 meeting at 7 p.m. Stamford is in the process of implementing pedestrian safety measures across the city as a part of its Vision Zero efforts.  

There are also multiple Fiscal Committee Budget Presentations taking place this week: on Tuesday, April 11 at 5:30 p.m. and Thursday, April 13 at 5:30 p.m.; as well as a joint meeting with the Board of Finance to review pension and benefit obligations on Wednesday, April 12 at 7 p.m. Learn more about Stamford’s proposed budget.

Other meetings this week include:

Norwalk

The Ad Hoc Sustainability and Resilience Committee of The Common Council will meet on Wednesday, April 12 at 6 p.m. and receive an update from its consultant on its assessment of the sustainability and climate change plans. Check out some of the climate change-related planning and efforts happening in Norwalk and around the region. The committee will also receive recommendations from the Mayor’s Water Quality Committee on areas the council could support including addressing chemicals in drink water, regulating discharge of stormwater, and investing in green infrastructure.

Other meetings this week include:

Fairfield

The Town Plan & Zoning Commission will meet on Tuesday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. and review a request to update the town’s zoning regulations for the transit-oriented development (TOD) section around the Fairfield Metro train station.

“Since the TOD study, there has been a significant change with the global pandemic,”  Attorney Christopher Russo, who is representing the applicant who is looking to develop the area, wrote in a letter, adding that for example there’s been a shift in demand for office space, with the rise of remote and hybrid work. “Regardless, the goal for the Fairfield Metro area remained the same under the TOD Study, which was to create a ‘a district to work, live, learn, and play.” The proposed text amendments seek to implement the recommendations of the TOD study to achieve this goal.

Some of the proposed amendments include allowing for “coworking office space,” increasing the maximum number of bedrooms allowed per acre from 50 to 75, and increasing the required “below market units” from 10% of the development to 12%.

Other meetings this week include:

Greenwich

The Board of Estimate and Taxation Budget Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 11 at 1 p.m. and review a request from the Board of Education for $545,000 to address flood damage at the Havemeyer building, as well as some overtime expenses.

Other meetings this week include:

Darien

The Darien spring paving program is kicking off this month, after the town elected not to pave last fall due to high costs. Check out our piece on how communities pave their roads and why it’s important and see this year’s planned program for Darien.

Westport

On Wednesday, April 12, Board of Finance will meet at 7:30 p.m. and consider any requests for funding to be restored that the board voted to remove from the proposed budget earlier this month. After those are settled, the Board will approve its recommended budget which then heads to the Representative Town Meeting for final approval. Learn more about Westport’s proposed budget.

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

Read next