But 13 pages of amendments to the 92-page bill came out yesterday — yes, Memorial Day.
And it could be voted upon today.
Danielle Dobin — former chair of Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission, and a current member of the Board of Finance — has been following the legislation closely. This opinion is her own.
A revised version of HB 5002 has just been posted. And while the bill’s authors claim to have scaled it back in response to the massive outpouring of public outrage to the original language, the changes do little to address the core problems.
If anything, the new language merely reframes unworkable mandates to appear more palatable — without meaningfully improving their impact on towns like Westport.
Under the revised bill:
Every commercially zoned lot in Connecticut could be converted as-of-right into up to 9 multifamily housing units, with no local public hearing required. Imagine the parcels surrounding our downtown (many include a portion zoned commercially) built up with 9 townhouses each, with no parking provided and no public hearings at all.
Off-street parking requirements for buildings with fewer than 24 units would be entirely eliminated. Think about all of the apartment buildings on the Post Road East and West, and proposed near downtown, that rely on public parking lots like Baldwin, and street parking on side streets in Old Hill, Long Lots and Greens Farms.
For larger developments (24+ units), parking requirements would be determined by the developer, who can propose little or even no parking— particularly in areas near train stations or public parking lots. The Planning & Zoning Commission will be prohibited from requiring any parking for any new multi-family buildings constructed around either of Westport’s train stations, or even on nearby streets like Hiawatha Lane, Ketchum Street or Ferry Lane West.
The bill continues to de-prioritize towns like Westport for critical state road and infrastructure grants, unless we comply with sweeping zoning changes. The so-called “Fair Share” mandate has been repackaged, but the core requirement remains: Westport would still need to zone for a more than 30% increase in the town’s total housing stock.
122 Wilton Road added 19 apartments to Westport’s affordable housing stock. Much more would be required, under HB 5002.
One of the most concerning provisions remains intact: towns could still be forced to pay a developer’s legal fees when defending against 8-30g lawsuits, if a judge so decides.
The only meaningful rollback in the revised version is the elimination of the as-of-right conversion of office buildings to multi-family housing, which has now been removed. But that alone is not enough.
This bill would fundamentally transform local zoning across the state — and do so without thoughtful planning, infrastructure investment, or real local input.
The vote is expected today (Tuesday). If you believe in balanced, locally informed planning, now is the time to act.
Contact our legislators and urge them not only to vote “No,” but to speak out against this bill and the entire idea of dropping complex bills on the public on Memorial Day itself. We deserve better:
Danielle Dobin is a current member of Westport’s Board of Finance, and the previous chair of the Planning & Zoning Commission. She submitted this opinion as a private citizen, and not on behalf of any board or commission.
Westporters don’t always see eye to eye — and that’s a good thing.
We are a community that cares deeply, thinks independently, and engages actively with each other and our local officials. Over the past few weeks we’ve seen spirited conversations around zoning decisions like the proposed Hamlet development, and debates relating to our schools, including the Board of Education soccer coach appeal and the possible implementation of a bell-to-bell cell phone ban at Staples.
But occasionally an issue comes along that is so consequential, so far-reaching, that it deserves our collective attention — regardless of where we stand on any particular local issue. Right now, that issue is House Bill 5002.
Just introduced in the state legislature, this massive omnibus “aircraft carrier” bill consolidates numerous housing and zoning proposals into a single piece of legislation — one that could be voted on as early as tonight or tomorrow.
Among its most impactful provisions:
Density Explosion: Every single commercially zoned lot in Westport (400+ parcels) in every single neighborhood in town will be automatically re-zoned to allow the development of up to 9 units of “middle housing” (townhouses, cottage clusters, etc.) without ANY public hearing, and with no off-street parking required.
Municipal liability for legal fees: Towns like Westport would be forced, at the court’s discretion, to pay developers’ legal fees when defending against 8-30g affordable housing lawsuits — even when we are trying to enforce reasonable land use protections.
Off-Street Parking: This bill eliminates ALL off-street parking requirements for buildings under 24 units, and only allows a P&Z to require off-street parking for larger developments based on a developer’s own parking assessment.
As-of-right office-to-residential conversions: This bill will allow the conversion of any office building in any zone to be turned into multifamily housing. The town will be prohibited from re-assessing the newly created multifamily or higher taxes for 3 years.
Fair Share housing mandates: Westport would be required to zone for 1,495–2,461 affordable and deeply affordable housing units. If those units are built as part of developments with only 20% affordability — as is typical — this would mean up to 12,305 new housing units, or we both lose infrastructure funding, and we’ll face a tougher battle seeking our next moratorium from 8-30g.
Work-Live-Ride transit district incentives: Towns that don’t preemptively create designated transit districts may lose access to critical infrastructure grants if they don’t allow high-density, as-of-right multifamily development with no off-street parking, especially where single family home zoning exists (Stony Point, Burritt’s Landing) near transit hubs like the Saugatuck station.
Loss of state infrastructure funding: Westport will have limited access to essential grants — such as STEAP, Main Street, and Town Aid Road – which will be tied to compliance with state-mandated zoning changes required by Fair Share and Work-Live-Ride.
What does this mean for Westport? It means a potential tidal wave of development with no parking. It means the erosion of local decision-making. And it means the financial burden of litigation costs that towns will be forced to bear.
Westport relies on state Town Aid Road grants for a significant portion of our annual paving projects. Westport utilizes STEAP grants, such as the $1 million grant we are seeking for the Cross Highway culvert replacement, to fund critical infrastructure projects.
Whether you support mixed-use development or housing only in Saugatuck; if you advocate for preserving Westport exactly as it looks today or with changes; whether you favor or oppose the closing of Church Lane to vehicular traffic; whatever your thoughts on the high school cellphone ban, every Westporter should be concerned about the loss of local control and the scope of mandates being imposed without adequate consideration of infrastructure, schools, traffic, or environmental impact.
This passage of this bill will immediately transform our zoning to allow for THOUSANDS of new units (via the rezoned commercial lots and office conversions), with little to no parking for the new residents.
This is a moment for Westporters to stand together.
I urge you to contact our state delegation today and share your perspective — before it’s too late:
State Senator Ceci Maher – ceci.maher@cga.ct.gov
State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg – jonathan.steinberg@cga.ct.gov
State Rep. Dominique Johnson – dominique.johnson@cga.ct.gov
We may not always agree — but we all deserve a voice in decisions that will shape the future of our town.
That question was asked several times, at last night’s Board of Finance meeting.
Perhaps that’s a bit much, was the eventual answer.
The discussion — the centerpiece of the BOF meeting at Town Hall — followed a request by Department of Public Works director Peter Ratkiewich for $222,000 for an architectural study, schematic design, land use permitting, and preparation of an opinion of probable cost for a new Parks & Recreation Department facility at Longshore.
The building would replace the current maintenance shed there. Located between the golf course’s 18th hole and the tennis courts, it dates back to at least the 1960s.
The new facility would be built where brush waste is currently piled, near where Old Cuttings Lane meets the exit road (close to the 12th hole green).
Approximately 35,000 square feet, it would include room to store equipment and vehicles, plus meeting rooms and locker rooms for employees.
The current shed is big enough only for meetings. It is “old, dilapidated and outdated,” Ratkiewich said.
The current Longshore maintenance shed.
If the new location is approved, it would free up space for 2 new paddleball courts. It would be the first step in the long-proposed renovation of Longshore.
In his presentation, Ratkiewich noted that the maintenance shed is not for golf course equipment and employees, but for all other town properties maintained by Parks & Rec — including nearby Compo Beach.
There is no other viable place besides Longshore to put the new facility, Ratkiewich said, due to its size.
Board of Finance member Danielle Dobin outlined 3 objections. The first was cost. “We should be shopping at a Ford dealership, not a Ferrari,” she said.
The second was that “this is not a great tradeoff for just 2 more paddleboard courts.”
The third was that the Planning & Zoning Commission — which she chaired, before her election to the Finance board — has not yet been asked for a positive 8-24 (land use) report.
“It doesn’t pass the common sense test,” Dobin said. “The juice is just not worth the squeeze.”
She and Ratkiewich engaged in a discussion about the “chicken and egg” sequence: Which should come first, the funding request or the 8-24 one?
The rectangle shows the approximate site of the proposed new maintenance facility.
Parks & Recreation Commission chair Dave Floyd advocated for moving the shed from its current “prime space” location to the new site. It would be more out of the way, he said, and would enable trucks and other vehicles to access it more easily than the current route, which circles through the golf course and past the Inn at Longshore.
BOF member Liz Heyer noted that Ratkiewich had called the $7 million figure a “placeholder,” meaning the final figure could be lower. “We can say we want only a $4 million figure,” she said.
Ultimately, no vote was taken.
First Selectwoman Jen Tooker’s administration will reach out to the P&Z, to solicit feedback at a future public meeting before returning to the Board of Finance. There will be time too for residents to weigh in with written comments.
Ratkiewich will lead a field trip for BOF members to the existing shed, and the proposed site, on January 24. Members of the public are welcome to attend.
Ratkiewich said that the Finance board’s message about the $7 million was heard, loudly and clearly.
(“06880” reports often on local politics — and Longshore, recreation and related issues. Please click here to support our work with a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
Nothing could deter dozens of Westporters, who gathered before dawn yesterday morning at The Conservative Synagogue.
They waited for 2 buses to take them to Washington, for a nationwide March for Israel.
Then they waited … and waited … but the buses never came.
Undaunted, they decided to drive. They figured out drivers, loaded their belongings, and — in 38 cars — headed south.
They arrived a few hours later. Danielle Dobin reports:
“The crowd of almost 300,000 fell completely silent as the families of hostages kidnapped by Hamas shared their painful experiences. Everyone present recommitted to bringing the hostages home. I hope people will take the time to listen to the powerful remarks of Rachel Goldberg, the mother of someone abducted from the music festival.
“An invading army of terrorists purposefully kidnapped people from their homes, from a concert, babies from their cribs … and some Americans are cheering this or sanitizing it with words like ‘justified resistance’ is hard to fathom. Standing up to oppose this is why we needed to drop everything to be present yesterday.
“This was a profoundly patriotic crowd. American flags were everywhere — woven into people’s hair, printed on shirts and hats, worn as capes, waving on flagpoles. There were also many, many Israeli flags.
“Attendees proudly showed their faces. No one was masked.
“Jews, Christians and Muslims marched. Some folks were ardent supporters of Netanyahu and others were vocal detractors. Republicans and Democrats spoke. Everyone put aside their differences to demand the release of the hostages, declare their solidarity with the state of Israel, and to decry the proliferation of antisemitism on college campuses.
“My brother and I met multiple large groups of non-Jewish Israel supporters from the Midwest and beyond who flew in just for the demonstration. Their expressions in the photo below capture their energy.
“The buses scheduled to bring us gathered at the Conservative Synagogue failed to show up. We don’t know if this was a result of incompetence by the bus company, or if it can be attributed to antisemitism. We mostly piled into cars and drove down in big groups. There was a vibrant contingent of Westporters present, from school-aged children to grandparents.”
Danielle Dobin (2nd from left), and friends.
Danielle Dobin also sent this photo, from the Metro …
(Photo/Danielle Dobin)
… while (below, from left) Rabbi Zach Plesent, Adam Blau and Bryan Bierman of Temple Israel gathered …
… and Arthur Hayes added this ,,,
From left: Arthur and Lisa Hayes with their son James, a Staples High School freshman. (Photo/Arthur Hayes)
,,, and Temple Israel executive director Bryan Bierman sent this:
Dan Donovan and his aunts, longtime Westport arts and history advocates Eve Potts and Marion Morra.
Westport Rotary Club stalwart Rick Benson, recent Staples High School graduate James Dobin-Smith, and Planning & Zoning Commission chair Danielle Dobin. (All photos/Dan Woog unless otherwise noted)
(Photo/Jo Shields Sherman)
Former Staples High School principal John Dodig and his husband Rodger Lawrence get ready for the sunset. (Photo/Susan Garment)
An “06880” reader wondered why — now that the pandemic has eased — the Planning & Zoning Commission still conducts Zoom meetings.
I asked P&Z chair Danielle Dobin to respond. She says:
The P&Z Commission votes every few months to determine whether we will continue with virtual (Zoom) meetings, or return to in-person meetings at Town Hall.
Here’s my take on why a majority of commissioners have opted to continue meeting via Zoom:
1. Electronic meetings are simply superior with regard to P&Z review (and the Zoning Board of Appeals too), which requires applicants and staff to discuss and review in great detail specific site plans, construction drawings and landscape plans.
Via zoom, we (the Commission and the public) are all on the same page, looking at the same plans and seeing the same drawings via screen share as a project’s specifications are reviewed in detail.
Members of the public examine plans, before a meeting.
In contrast, at Town Hall commissioners would peer across the room at poster boards (often not a complete set of plans) set up on an easel facing our table near the podium (making these images impossible for members of the public to see), or referencing printed-out, thick packets of which the public did not have physical copies.
Members of the public watching via TV from home could barely make out materials as they faced away from the camera, so they could listen along but could not follow.
Former Planning & Zoning commissioners Chip Stephens and Cathy Walsh, at a Town Hall meeting several years ago.
Details of final plans are often tweaked right before meetings, so applicants would also distribute new packets at the hearing to commissioners, and this new information wouldn’t necessarily be posted to the town website.
Consequently, members of the public would have no opportunity to review or see changes in the plans themselves. In my opinion, there simply wasn’t the same level of collaborative review of plans by the public and the commission when the P&Z met at Town Hall.
2. Zoom meetings have exponentially expanded public participation and engagement. Prior to the pandemic, we generally had 2-3 senior citizens attend regular P&Z public hearings.
Now, people of all ages and walks of life regularly join the Commission: moms with young children at home, people traveling for work, people commuting, etc. It’s been a wonderful change!
It’s impossible to predict when an item will be called and when the public will be asked for input. While many people can’t make the trip to Town Hall in the evening, or if they do, won’t wait around for 1 to 2 to 3+ hours to testify in person in the auditorium, they are able to Zoom in with their screens on or off, and jump in with a comment when their item is called.
Zoom meetings allow members of the public to be home to have dinner, tuck their kids in, help with homework, stay late at work, travel for work etc., and to also testify.
Zoom meeting.
3. P&Z meetings often last past 11 p.m. Zooming in from home makes a huge difference for the staff (who face a long commute home from Westport) and for the commissioners, all of whom work and are up early to commute, drive kids to school or travel for work. This also means we can participate in meetings while traveling for work, or even from the office.
4. An unexpected benefit of Zoom is that commissioners can look directly at each other’s faces and at those testifying. and vice versa.
At Town Hall, commissioners sit side by side. We have to crane our necks to see or make eye contact with each other and with anyone testifying. Those testifying look at us from an angle. If we arrange a table to look at each other in the auditorium, then some of our backs would be turned to the in-person audience and there would be no way for applicants to present plans so that we could see them along with the audience.
If we move the podium to the center gap in seats so folks will be looking @ the commission, the faces of those testifying will not be visible to the TV audience or on the recording. On Zoom, we all (public, commission and applicants) sit around the same virtual table looking at each other…for better or worse!
5. Lastly, when meetings were in person it was tough to stay after 11 p.m., as staff and the janitors would have to all stay with us.
On Zoom this isn’t an issue — the janitor doesn’t have to stay till midnight for us to continue meeting.
Danielle Dobin
For members of the public who have waited to testify or present their application through 4 hours of previous testimony, it is a boon to still be able to speak post-11 p.m.
Unless we’re falling asleep, we no longer follow the policy of only opening an application before 10 p.m. unless an applicant or the public asks us to postpone.
I hope your readers will join us via Zoom on Monday for our next public hearing. As is often the case, we have some interesting applications scheduled for that night.
(The next Planning & Zoning Commission meeting is tonight. Click here for the Zoom link.)
(Have a question about Westport? “06880” is happy to try to get an answer. Have a few bucks to support us? Please click here. Thank you!)
Dr. Nikki Gorman (right) and Danielle Dobin, hard at work. Gorman and Galia Gichon are the crosswalk’s sponsors.
A hardy crew of 11 — including Selectwomen Jen Tooker and Andrea Moore; crosswalk sponsor Dr. Nikki Gorman; Public Works Department director Pete Ratkiewich; RTM members Harris Falk and Sal Liccione; Planning & Zoning commission chair Danielle Dobin; Westport Pride founder Brian McGunagle, and members Nicole Klein, Bethany Eppner and Geoff Gaspar — gathered at the Jesup Road/Taylor Place intersection at 5 a.m. today, to install the crosswalk.
Putting down the crosswalk, as the sun rose.
The selectwomen unanimously approved the installation, for the month of June. If it holds up under traffic, it will become permanent.
On June 9, the Market’s partnership with Grow-a-Row Westport begins again. The organization helps market goers fight food insecurity in the area, by donating wholesome, home grown produce.
Home gardeners drop off their fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs at the Grow-a-Row Westport collection cooler, by the WFM information booth. Volunteers from Food Rescue US – Fairfield County bring the fresh produce to Fairfield County agencies serving food-insecure residents.
Last year, donated produce was shared among Westport Housing Authority’s 221 households, including seniors and children. It’s considered a luxury by many recipients.
The Westport Farmers’ Market takes place at the Imperial Avenue parking lot every Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., through November.
Westporter Cornelia Olsen donated a huge rutabaga last year.
The Democratic Town Committee’s slate of suggested candidates for November’s local elections has many familiar names.
But one of those names is in an unfamiliar slot.
The Nominations Committee has recommended these candidates to run for re-election: Lee Goldstein and Neil Phlllips (Board of Education); Paul Lebowitz (Planning & Zoning Commission); Jim Ezzes (Zoning Board of Appeals), and Nancy Dupier (Board of Finance).
The one surprise: Danielle Dobin, Planning & Zoning chair, was recommended to run for the Board of Finance.
Dobin — who has served on the P&Z since 2017 — is in the middle of her 2nd 4-year term. An attorney, she has a background in land use, real estate, acquisitions and business development.
The DTC will vote formally on the recommendations on July 18.
Last weekend, 150 artists from around the country came to town, for the 50th annual Fine Arts Festival.
Soon, hundreds of local students will display their own works. They’re the Fine Arts Festival artists of the future.
The Westport Public Schools’ visual arts exhibition — SPARK — is on view June 8-11 at MoCA Westport. Works of students from pre-K through 12th grade will be on display.
New at SPARK this year is a special exhibit by Westport professional artist Mark Yurkiw: “Help Build the Bridge: Westport-France-Ukraine.” Constructed by Yurkiw, and adorned with art from students, the goal is to extend messages of good will to children in Westport’s sister cities.
A reception is set for June 11 (2 to 4 p.m.).
Artwork by Staples High School student Sophia Kuhner.
Sherwood Island State Park celebrates Trails Day this weekend with 4 great (and free) events.
Kayak paddle (Saturday, June 3; 9:30 a.m.; arrive by 9:15, east end of East Beach parking lot). Bring your own kayak, canoe or other paddlecraft, plus a pump/bailer; life vest and whistle or horn are required. Bring waterproof binoculars for spotting birds, and/or a waterproof camera. It’s a long carry over the beach, so bring a kayak cart with wide wheels for sand if you have one.
Butterfly walk (Saturday, June 3; 2 p.m., Nature Center). Michele Sorensen leads an exploration of the gardens and natural areas of caterpillars, skippers, moths and butterflies. Bring binoculars, and a camera. Children are welcome (ages 4 and up).
Nature walk (Saturday, June 3; 2 p.m., Nature Center). Walk the beach; discover habitats, inhabitants and special features like the 9/11 Memorial, model airport, wetlands and pine forest).
Horseshoe crab walk (Sunday, June 4; 11 a.m., Nature Center). Be prepared to wade in shallow water. Learn about crabs’ distinctive biology, life cycle, medical uses and conservation needs.
Archaeology walk (Sunday, June 4; 1 p.m., Nature Center). Archaeologists Dawn Brown and Ernie Wiegand will highlight points of interest, terrain, and examine traces of past inhabitants of Sherwood Island, from 1000 BC to the 1940s, including Native American, early settlers and onion farmers. Artifacts, maps, old photos and recent recoveries will be used.
Among Westport’s many hidden gems, Blau House & Gardens may be the most unknown of all.
Located at the end of Bayberry Ridge — a narrow, rutted road off Bayberry — the house was designed by theatrical stage set designer Ralph Alswang. It’s set between towering great oaks.
The grand gardens — by advertising executive Barry Blau — were created in response to the house. They incorporate native plants interspersed with a blend of exotics. They must be seen to be believed.
On June 11, you’ll get your chance.
“The Last Lallapaloosa” includes a host of activities.
Tour of Blau Gardens: 10 a.m.; $20 per person (maximum 36 people)
Book reading and signing of “Pinkalicious: Fairy House” by author/ illustrator Victoria Kann: 11 a.m.; $15 per child (maximum 25 children). Each child received 2 Pinkalicious books; other activities include coloring, plant a bean to take home and watch grow; find the fairy houses in the garden.
Gentle yoga with Millie: 1 p.m.; $20 per person (maximum 20 people)
Book reading and signing of “The Frog Who Wanted to See the Sea” by author/illustrator Guy Billout: 2:30 p.m.; $20 per child (maximum 20 children). Also: find a frog along the stream; plant a bean to take home and watch grow.
Tour of Blau Gardens: 4:30 p.m.; $20 per person (maximum 36 people)
Garden reception: 6 to 8 p.m.; $75 per person (maximum 50 people). Help create a Blau House & Garden future.
Click here to register (deadline: June 5), and for information on payment and shuttle transportation from Coleytown Elementary School.
A small part of Blau Gardens.
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Did you hear the one about the dozen comedians who are taking the stage to raise money for writers?
Not the striking TV writers in LA. This event — “Lit & Wit” — is for the Westport Writers’ Workshop outreach program. It provides free writing instruction to underserved populations and communities.
The event is June 7 (7 p.m., Saugatuck Rowing Club; $50 per ticket).
Click here for tickets. And enjoy Jerry Kuyper’s very witty lit-minded logo below.
Longtime Westporter Marty Resnick casts off this week, on a month-long sailing voyage to Portsmouth, England. His crew mates are Roger Townsend and Gareth Thomas.
Fair winds!
Marty Resnick (left) and crew. (Photo and hat tip/Tom Roth)
As chair of Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission, Danielle Dobin keeps her eye on Hartford. The state legislature’s votes have a huge impact — sometimes unintended, sometimes very intendent — on our town.
A bill circulated yesterday — and voted on perhaps tomorrow — caught her eye. She writes here as a Westport citizen; she is not speaking for the P&Z.
A complex 87-page housing bill (House Bill 6781) was circulated late yesterday and could be voted on as early as tomorrow. If adopted, this bill would overhaul multi-family zoning in our state entirely, with the specific intent of spurring the development of substantially more apartment buildings — including in areas without sewers, like Coleytown, Red Coat and Long Lots.
Although Westport’s regulations have changed to thoughtfully encourage a diversity of housing types, many Connecticut towns have failed to do the same. However, legislation like this is not an appropriate response.
In the simplest terms, here are my concerns:
1) HB 6781 was drafted in a rush, and it shows. Portions are entirely nonsensical while others clearly have entire sections missing. I’ve been told a revised version may be released today.
2) By design, it is impossible to understand the exact scale of development required by this bill, so legislators will not know what they’ll be voting for exactly. The language demands that CT towns zone to address “the need” for affordable and extremely affordable housing without specifying any numbers.
Instead, all details are left entirely up to appointed bureaucrats who are to be advised by housing advocates and builders. Towns and cities will be forced to draft zoning codes to affirmatively incentivize the housing units allocated to their town.
1177 Post Road East includes affordable housing units. HB6781 could lead to more such construction.
How many affordable units will each town be required to deliver? No one knows. How many units overall state-wide? No one knows. What increase in overall density in market rate units will likely result from the allocation of affordable units to each town? No one knows.
Will towns like Westport, Simsbury and Ridgefield be required to double in size? No one knows. No legislator should vote for a bill that punts the actual ask of each town to an appointed bureaucrat to determine at a later date.
3) Instead of focusing on incentivizing proper planning including review of infrastructure constraints, major traffic issues, environmental concerns, historic preservation, wetlands and access to public transportation, the bill specifically requires that towns and cities zone for affordable housing in all areas equitably.
With language that purposefully liberalizes oversight over community septic systems, the intent of the bill is to ensure more intense development in more rural feeling areas like Coleytown, Long Lots and Red Coat.
Fairfield will need to zone for apartments in Greenfield Hill. Norwalk will be required to zone for multi-family in Silvermine. Stamford will need to do the same in North Stamford. Can you imagine multiple 2-acre lots in Coleytown with 40-units? This makes no sense from a planning perspective.
4) The proposed bill essentially requires towns like Westport to create areas around train stations allowing for the unfettered development of quadraplexes and townhomes, with no parking. Although our train station, like many along the New Haven line, is located adjacent to the flood zone, Conservation Commission review is expressly prohibited by the bill’s language. Failure to adhere to these standards likely results in adverse financial consequences for our town including the loss of state funds for bridge repairs and sidewalks.
The proposed bill could lead to multi-family housing near the train station. (Drone photo/Patrick Sykes)
5) If adopted, this proposal will set off a cascade of negative economic consequences for our state. New York is currently suffering through a budget crisis resulting from a net loss of high earning residents to other states. Many of those high earners moved to Fairfield County for our bucolic neighborhoods. These newcomers not only purchase homes here, but they have also moved their businesses here.
Westporters have been highly supportive of creating more multi-family where it makes sense in Westport. However, it requires no stretch of the imagination to recognize that folks will not remain living in a town where it takes 35 minutes to drive their child 3 miles to school or 45 minutes to get to the train to park their car for their lengthy commute to NYC.
The state income tax generated from high earners in Fairfield County, and our businesses here, is critically important for the fiscal health of our state. The state legislature needs to take this very seriously.
6) Like in New Jersey, where a similar proposal was adopted, this bill will result in massive waves of litigation against the state, towns and between residents. Why invite this colossal waste of time and money for all involved?
7) This entire process feels undemocratic. I’d expect this approach from Kevin McCarthy, but I’m deeply disappointed to see this type of gamesmanship from the Connecticut legislature. It is wrong to circulate 87 pages of complex text and then call for a vote only 2 days later. The right thing to do is to allow comments and feedback and then revive this conversation in the next legislative session.
This bill includes some smart changes to tenant rental protections and housing authority oversight, but it’s too much of a hodgepodge of concepts for even the most conscientious legislators to carefully review in such a short time. The updated bill text has not even been posted online as of this morning which is why I can’t link to it.
Our state senator Ceci Maher and state representatitves Jonathan Steinberg and Dominique Johnson have stated that they will vote against the bill, but Westport residents should reach out to friends and colleagues elsewhere in the state to ensure all members of the legislature truly appreciate the implications voting for this proposal.
Our legislative delegation can’t stop this bill on their own. Major changes like this should never be rushed.
Danielle Dobin wears many hats in Westport. One that most folks never see is her volunteer efforts helping Staples High School’s “We the People” team prepare for state and national competitions.
From her front row seat, she nominated social studies teacher Suzanne Kammerman as this week’s Unsung Hero. Danielle writes:
After placing 2nd in Connecticut and earning a spot at the national competition, Staples’ “We the People” team just returned from a trip to Virginia and Washington.
Suzanne Kammerman
[NOTE: “We the People” is part of the Advanced Placement Politics & Government curriculum. Kammerman took the course more than 25 years ago as a Shelton High School student. It made such an impact, she helped introduce the course at Staples.
[It’s a huge commitment outside of class. Students spend hours forming teams, researching questions, developing answers, then arguing them in front of judges who are professors and constitutional experts. Those who take the course are passionate about government — and Kammerman stokes that fire.
[There are 6 units of questions, on topics like political philosophy, theory and the Federalist Papers. Specific examples include “Philosophical and Historical Foundations of the American Political System” and “What Challenges Might Face American Constitutional Democracy in the 21st Century?”
[Working in groups of 3 or 4, students explore 3 questions each, in astonishing depth. Using critical analysis skills, they respond in writing to all 3 questions. They then respond to judges’ questions — without notes.]
While Virginia’s Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies from Richmond placed 1st in the country overall, the Unit 1 team from Staples — juniors Emerson Briggs, Alyssa Lee and Dylan Fiore — earned the highest recognition for their study of the philosophical foundations of America’s founding documents and institutions.
The Unit 1 national winners (from left): Emerson Briggs, Alyssa Lee, Dylan Fiore. (Photo/Danielle Dobin)
All of the “We the People” students are committed to excellence. Ms. Kammerman (affectionately known as Kamm) dedicates endless hours outside of school to prepping, practicing and inspiring her students. The entire “We the People” program exists in Westport due to her tireless dedication.
Andy Laskin has had 2 sons participate. He says, “I have seen how Kamm magically plants the seeds of legal knowledge, and inspires students not only to learn but to express themselves persuasively. The future is bright for those fortunate students who learn from Suzanne.”
The 2023 We the People team, at the Lincoln Memorial. (Photo/Danielle Dobin)
As one of the many parent mentors (like Andy) she recruited over the years, I want to highlight Kamm’s phenomenal support of her students, and her deep commitment to engaging young people in the study of civics. She is a real hero.
As her Unit 1 students would say: “Kamm truly embodies the classical republican ideal of civic virtue!”
(“06880” is proud to shine a spotlight on Westport’s Unsung Heroes. Please click here to help support this feature, and our work. Thank you!)
As chair of Westport’s Planning & Zoning Commission, Danielle Dobin keeps an eye on Connecticut’s state legislature.
There’s a lot going on in Hartford. Here — writing as a private citizen — is what Danielle sees and hears:
HB 6890 — “Live Work Ride: An Act Concerning Qualifying Transit-Oriented Communities” — proposes withholding, withdrawing, and even potentially clawing back discretionary state infrastructure funding from communities that fail to adopt regulations permitting greater density, with limited parking and a prescribed affordability component, around transit.
In simplest terms, for Westport to continue to receive discretionary state infrastructure funding (for example, millions of dollars for sidewalks and bridge replacement), our town would be required to adopt a “reasonably sized” 20-unit/acre zoning transit-oriented district that meets the approval of a newly appointed State Responsible Growth Coordinator.
The “Live Work Ride” bill would impact Saugatuck, near the train station. (Drone photo/Patrick Sikes)
My take: What’s interesting is that Westport already has 4 non-residential zoning districts surrounding the Saugatuck train station permitting multi-family across 30.92 acres at 18 units/acre, with a minimum of 20% affordability component.
The newly adopted GBD/Saugatuck Marina zone directly adjacent to the train has an even greater 25% affordability component for off-site affordable units within ¼ mile of the train station.
Applying the Live-Work-Ride requirement of 20 units/acre in Westport would result in an increase of only 63 units permitted over the entire district of 30+ acres. This analysis does not include the Summit Saugatuck/Hiawatha parcels, which are actually zoned at an even far greater density.
Two issues stand out locally:
Special Permit Oversight. Westport must retain our special permit review process which provides critical oversight of each proposed development, given the massive traffic issues in this area and environmental issues related to developing adjacent to the river and in the flood zone.
Our town must be permitted to require that developers – who will sell or rent the vast majority of units for sky-high luxury pricing – provide adequate parking for residents, especially those in affordable units who can’t afford to “buy” spaces in private lots. Residents of multi-family units deserve the same consideration regarding parking as residents in single family homes.
People in most Connecticut towns, including Westport, require cars to get to work, preschool, after-school activities, medical appointments and food shopping.
A staffer for a group advocating for the adoption of this legislation spoke at a recent subcommittee meeting, and suggested students could walk to and from the train station area to school. That would take an hour and a half to our middle school or high school.
Franklin Street already has some of the most affordable housing in Westport — and limited parking.
Leaving the subjective approval of each transit district to an as-to-be-appointed “coordinator,” the identity of whom will change over time, is deeply problematic.
Any statewide proposal must make clear that towns may continue to require special permits, that parking can be reasonably required given real world conditions, that there be a minimum reasonable size (for example, 10 acres) for the transit-district, and that communities that have already zoned for multi-family with a healthy affordable component be rewarded, not penalized.
Westport has added, and continues to add, hundreds of multi-family units. It is absurd to suggest that the state should withdraw or claw back funding for sidewalks, bridges and other infrastructure funding that encourage residents in multi-family and single-family homes to walk and bike to school and work.
A pro-transit legislature should not adopt legislation making it harder for people to go green. There is also no imaginable justification to limit funding for brownfield cleanup in Westport — certainly not next to a tidal river flowing to Long Island Sound.
Our ecosystems are interconnected, and the remediation of toxic pollutants should be prioritized statewide.
Readers should note that as currently drafted, the bill’s language is contradictory, with one section (12[b]) stating that non-compliant towns will simply receive less priority for transportation and brownfield remediation funding, but a different section (12[f]) stating that a municipality will be required to return any discretionary infrastructure funding unless that municipality enacts qualifying zoning reforms.
I urge all residents to share their thoughts with the Legislature. Of all the proposals put forth this legislative session, this seems most likely to be adopted, as Governor Lamont provided for implementation funding in his proposed budget.
(To view the full bill, click here. For background information, click here. To testify in person or remotely at a March 15 hearing on the bill, click here. To submit written testimony, click here.)
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If anything, the new language merely reframes unworkable mandates to appear more palatable — without meaningfully improving their impact on towns like Westport.
Westport relies on state Town Aid Road grants for a significant portion of our annual paving projects. Westport utilizes STEAP grants, such as the $1 million grant we are seeking for the Cross Highway culvert replacement, to fund critical infrastructure projects.
