A bipartisan group of Westport town officials has urged Governor Ned Lamont to veto HB 5002.
The controversial omnibus housing bill would “pose real risks to both local governance and the broader state economy,” the 9 elected leaders say. Areas of concern range from parking and potential as-of-right conversion of all commercially zoned properties to residences, to a provision allowing courts to require municipalities to pay developers’ legal fees.
The signers — including Republican 1st Selectwomen Jen Tooker and Andrea Moore, plus Board of Finance vice chair Michael Keller; Democratic 3rd Selectwoman Candice Savin, Planning & Zoning chair Paul Lebowitz and vice chair Neil Cohn, and Board of Finance chair Lee Caney, plus non-partisan Representative Town Meeting moderator Jeff Wieser and deputy moderator Lauren Karpf — note that Westport has taken “meaningful, proactive steps to expand access to housing”; established an Affordable Housing Fund of over $1 million, and maintained a homeless shelter downtown.
HB 5002 was passed by both General Assembly houses. Lamont has not yet decided whether to sign or veto it, or allow it to pass into law without his signature.
For years, Westporters have been distressed watching Coastal Link bus riders standing on the side of the Post Road.
Employees of local businesses are there in broiling heat, freezing cold, torrential rain and driving snow.
Two new shelters should provide some protection.
Measuring 6 by 12 feet, with roof solar panels for light, electric heat and a small computer screen displaying bus arrival times, they’ve been built on Post Road West.
One is in front of Schulhof Animal Hospital. The other is across the street.
Each shelter costs $60,000. Funding is shared by the state and town (through an ARPA grant).
At the other end of town, Big Y took a big step toward its opening.
The logo is up over the supermarket, in the former Barnes & Noble building.
(Photo/Arthur Hayes)
A soft launch is set for October 24.
Meanwhile, they’re hiring in the bakery, meat, seafood, deli, produce and floral departments, along with cashiers, overnight stock clerks, and assistant management and management positions.
Sometimes the wheels of government grind exceedingly slowly.
Other times they work at warp speed.
On Sunday, a Westporter — frustrated he could not find a map of Representative Town Meeting districts on the town website — emailed RTM moderate Jeff Wieser and 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker.
Couldn’t it be somewhere much more visible, he wondered? Like, in the main menu on the RTM page?
Voilà!
By yesterday afternoon — the first day back at work, after Sunday and the Labor Day holiday — the link was right there, just below “Members/Contact Information.”
Speaking of government: “A Public Conversation on Marxism in CT, Trafficking in America, Rank Choice Voting, and Election Integrity” is the title of a September 18 event (7 p.m., VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399.
The event is sponsored by Connecticut Centinal.
Panelists include Lt. Gen. Rod Bishop, USAF Ret., chairman of STARRS.us; Joe Oltmann, host of the Conservative Daily podcast; Connecticut State Senator Rob Sampson, and Linda Szynkowicz, founder of Fight Voter Fraud.
In-person tickets are $30 ($100 premier). Livestream tickets are $25. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to VFW Post 399 to fund infrastructure development.
Click here for tickets, and more information. (Hat tip: Sal Liccione)
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The bad news: Next Tuesday (September 10), the Starbucks near Carvel closes for a month, for renovations.
The good news: For 4 weeks, we can all drive safely on that stretch of the Post Road.
(Photo/John McKinney)
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On August 18, “Paulie” set out on his fourth “Push.”
The former flight attendant is honoring the heroes of American Flight 11, the first aircraft hijacked on September 11, 2001.
Paulie left from Boston’s Public Garden 9/11 Memorial. He’s pushing an airline beverage cart 210 miles, to the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum at New York’s Ground Zero.
This morning (Wednesday), he’ll come from Fairfield through Westport. Around noon, he’ll stop at Westport Fire Department’s Post Road East headquarters.
Keep your eye open for Paulie, as he “pushes” his way through town.
“Paulie” pushes his cart through Westport, on a previous journey.
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If you’ve never been to an Artists Collective of Westport pop-up exhibition: You’ve missed some of the most creative shows in town.
The opening receptions are especially fun.
The next one is set for Thursday, September 19 (6 to 8 p.m., Westport Country Playhouse barn).
It runs Friday and Saturday, September 20-21 (noon to 4 p.m.), with an artists’ talk on Sunday, September 22 (4 p.m.).
Exhibiting artists include Peter Mendelson, Lisa Silberman, Lois Goglia, Rosalind Shaffer, Melissa Newman, Lucienne Buckner, Erin Nazzaro, Elizabeth DeVoll, Andrew Graham, Nancy Woodward, Miggs Burroughs and Susan Lloyd.
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Sara Deren — yesterday’s Westport Rotary Club lunch speaker — has a unique job, and a moving story to tell.
She is founder and CEO of the Westport-based national non-profit, Experience Camps. They provide a free week of sleepaway camp for 1,300 children a year who are grieving the loss of a parent, sibling or caregiver.
Deren noted that the camps don’t try to “fix” the grief. Instead, they ameliorate the sense of isolation it causes, by teaching youngsters how to talk to the staff and with other youth in the same situation.
That, and the support of others, gives them the tools they need to move on with their lives in a positive way.
Sara Deren, at the Westport Rotary Club. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
Norwalk native Mike Camacho headlines this Thursday’s Jazz at the Post (September 5, VFW Joseph J. Clinton Post 399; shows at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m.; dinner at 7 p.m.; $20 music cover, $15 for veterans and students).
The drummer will be joined by pianist Ben Rice, bassist Alec Safy, and saxophonist Greg “The Jazz Rabbi” Wall. Click here for tickets.
Nature photographer Lou Weinberg took today’s very compelling “Westport … Naturally” image. It shows a green sweat bee on Autumn Joy Sedum, at the Westport Community Gardens.
(Photo/Lou Weinberg)
Lou explains: “The green sweat bee gets its name from the fact that is attracted to the salt in human perspiration. (Don’t worry — it won’t sting unless it is really threatened; even then, its sting is mild.)
“These beautiful critters live in the soil and feed on the nectar from flowers and a sweet ‘honeydew’ created by little bugs called aphids. They store ‘pollen bread’ for themselves and their young.
“Green sweat bees add to the incredible biodiversity found in the Long Lots Preserve surrounding the Community Gardens. They are one of over 300 species of native bees found in Connecticut. Native bees are incredible pollinators, more efficient than the European honeybee.
“They have innate habits adept at pollinating hundreds of important native plants — the same plants (trees, shrubs and wildflowers) that have been planted in the Long Lots Preserve.
“As habitat loss and decreasing plant biodiversity are the primary sources of native bee population decline, it would be incredibly disappointing to destroy the Long Lots Preserve as well as the Westport Community Gardens.
“Populations of dozens of other species are being brought back by the native plantings reestablished there. When you disturb the soil, you destroy the bees.”
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And finally … in honor of our new bus shelters:
(Politics, art, business … just another day at “06880.” If you enjoy our daily Roundups — or anything else we do — please click here, to make a tax-deductible donation. Thank you!)
This morning, “06880” posted “RTM 101: What It Is, And Does.” Commenters quickly weighed in, offering their views of our town’s non-partisan legislative body.
Representative Town Meeting moderator Jeff Wieser responds:
Thanks to Nancy Kail for outlining the responsibilities of the RTM.
As the moderator, I have remained moderate when it comes to the opinions expressed over the past few months, and following her post. But I get angry when the RTM as a body is attacked, and this comment is well past due.
A small number of Westport residents has very publicly maligned the 82.8 % of the entire RTM body who did not agree with their opinion regarding petitions.
The RTM listened to over 5 hours of debate in committee and RTM meetings on the subject of public access to our monthly meetings.
We listened to supporting legal input from our town attorney (who in more than 20 years has served 2 Republican and 2 Democratic administrations in Westport, and is a former RTM deputy moderator) and our assistant town attorney (who has served the municipal legal needs of Westport for 6 years, and is a former RTM moderator).
And we listened to the petitioners.
With all that input, 29 of the 35 RTM members present agreed that our role is to act on matters that have been assigned to us under the Town Charter. Ironically, it was a petition by electors that led to the very discussion and decision that this group is criticizing.
20 electors certainly still have the ability to petition the RTM for matters on which the RTM is empowered to act. To suggest otherwise is irresponsible.
I am very proud of all the actions of the volunteer, non-partisan RTM. I hope that the vitriol applied to this group of 36 well-meaning, non-partisan legislators is recognized as exactly that: vitriol by a small vocal group of people angry that 82.8% of intelligent, responsible legislators — willing to look at all legal sides of an issue — disagreed with them.
Please vote tomorrow and know that all current RTM members, and all those willing to volunteer to serve, deserve your close attention.
As the Long Lots Elementary School project moves forward, a group of residents want their voices heard by the Representative Town Meeting.
That will happen, moderator Jeff Wieser says.
But not by petition.
On Tuesday, Lou Weinberg — chair of the Westport Community Gardens, which may be forced to move if a new baseball diamond is built on its current location — submitted a petition signed by 37 electors to the Town Clerk.
It requested a chance to present to the RTM “the history and current status of the Westport Community Gardens and Town Preserve.”
Citing “the largest capital expenditure in Westport’s history,” the petitioners said: “We believe it is incumbent upon the RTM members to have a full understanding of the consequences of a project of this magnitude.”
Wieser — who as moderator decides the monthly agenda — said in an email to the 36 RTM members yesterday:
You will see that this petition is asking for time at an upcoming RTM meeting to present an update on the history and current status of the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve. This request is very similar to the one delivered this summer by the citizens concerned with the path of the Parker Harding discussions.
As I did in deciding that the presentation previously requested was not an issue within the RTM’s purview, I have decided not to bring this new petition to the RTM. Since that earlier stance, which was supported by the Town Attorney, we have had long and public conversations about how to review such requests by electors. In a subsequent petition meant to clarify how that should occur, 82% of the RTM has voted that discretion in this regard is appropriate.
I am alerting you to this decision so that you are aware and, if you object, to remind the RTM that the body has a clear – and welcomed – opportunity to overrule my decision within the confines of the next meeting.
I also point out that we will most probably be considering $1,000,000+ funding at November’s meeting for the design of the new school. There will be ample opportunity at that meeting and at many, many more public meetings for proponents of the gardens to comment on the situation.
I think all are aware that as a gardener at my beloved plot #146, I am not indifferent to the outcome of this debate. But as moderator I will continue to be moderate; to stay away from the fray and let the town’s process, which is a very good process, run its course.
I don’t wish to start a debate. If you have comments or objections, please communicate individually with me or others.
By a 29-6 margin Tuesday night — and following 2 hours of debate — the Representative Town Meeting turned down a petition by resident John McCarthy.
If passed, the measure would have compelled the RTM moderator to place on the agenda any matter brought to it by 20 electors. Defeat of the measure now allows the moderator discretion in whether or not to bring a petition before the body.
McCarthy told “06880”: “This statement by the RTM invalidates over 150 years of precedent and takes away the right of Westport voters to petition the town government on matters that they find important.
“This is a low point for the RTM and the individual members who voted against making a statement that would have affirmed a right of Westporters which has been assumed to exist for generations.”
RTM moderator Jeff Weiser told “06880”: “Despite a lot of the concern by certain residents during this challenge to the way the RTM has always acted, the RTM, through its impressive volunteer members, will continue to be an extraordinary, transparent, democratic institution that Westport will be proud of. “
Westport’s Department of Human Services and Domestic Violence Task Force honor it by collecting used cell phones and iPads, to benefit the Domestic Violence Crisis Center of Norwalk and Stamford.
The DVCC provides free, confidential services to victims of domestic violence and their children in Westport, Weston and surrounding towns.
Used cell phones or iPads are given to clients to assure their safety, and avoid tracking by their abuser. Devices should be no more than 4 years old, and reset to factory settings.
Donation bins are located at Westport Town Hall and the Senior Center. they’re available weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Other events this month include:
Tomorrow (Friday, October 6, 11 a.m.): A Domestic Violence Month proclamation at the Westport Police Department, 50 Jesup Road.
Wednesday, October 18 (7 p.m., Senior Center): The DVTF hosts a screening and discussion of “The Fire That Took Her.”
Thursday, October 19: Wear purple and get coffee with the Domestic Violence Awareness sleeve at Kneads, Garelick & Herbs, Coffee An’, The Porch and Winfield Street Coffee; then snap a selfie and join the social media campaign with the hashtag #purplethursday, and tag @DVCCCT and @WESTPORTDOMESTICVIOLENCETASKFORCE on Facebook.
For more information on all events, click here or email humansrv@westportct.gov. To get involved with the Domestic Violence Task Force, email jcabana@westportct.gov.
Cell phones can be lifesavers for domestic violence victims.
For 5 days only — tomorrow (Friday) through Tuesday, October 10 — there’s a special sale: 25% off $45 tickets.
The event includes light bites, and music by Band Central. All proceeds benefit CLASP’s mission of providing loving homes and inspirational opportunities for adults with autism and developmental disabilities.
Costumes are optional. For tickets and more information, click here.
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It’s been 18 months since Charlie Capalbo died, a month before his 24th birthday.
But the Fairfield hockey player — and grandson of Westport writer Ina Chadwick — continues to be remembered, and memorialized, every day.
He battled acute myelogenous leukemia for 5 years. He was in remission 3 times, and survived several life-threatening complications.
He maxed out every chemo, radiation, immunotherapy available. A bone marrow transplant from his younger brother Will in 2019 bought him some good time.
He overcame lower extremity paralysis from treatment twice, relearning to walk both times while at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.
Friends and strangers are raising funds for AML research. They’re nearing the $500,000 mark.
Will is now the men’s lacrosse graduate assistant coach at Jacksonville University. He’s gotten the entire program involved.
Nancy Kail wants affordable housing — and local control of it.
She is concerned about traffic, safety, conservation and open space.
She recognizes that there are many contradictions in those beliefs.
But she also knows that the first place to address — and untangle — them is through 8-30 g, Connecticut’s most controversial and least understood affordable housing regulation.
Nancy Kail
Kail is deeply invested in Westport. A 1980 Staples High School graduate who moved back here several years ago, she is in her first term as a Representative Town Meeting member.
But despite her long history here, and strong knowledge of local affairs, she realized during the RTM’s recent debate on the Hamlet at Saugatuck project that she did not know as much about 8-30g as she would like.
(Connecticut’s law stipulates that 10% of a municipality’s housing stock be “affordable,” under a state formula. Developers may bypass local zoning regulations if they set aside 30% of a project’s units for such housing. Towns may seek moratoriums, though only housing built after 1990 is considered in the 8-30g formula.)
The RTM’s discussion of the Hamlet proposal — sparked by a citizens’ petition, after the Planning & Zoning Commission adopted a text and map amendment that would allow a hotel/residential/retail/marina complex to be built in the area around the train station, Riverside and Railroad Place — was an eye-opener for Kail.
“I came in with an open mind, but had a definite opinion,” Kail says.
“Hearing about the implications of 8-30g on the P&Z’s decision made me do a total 180.”
The specter of 8-30g hovered over discussions of the Hamlet at Saugatuck project.
Kail began thinking about affordable housing, and all its consequences. How did it give rise to 8-30g? What are the implications when Westport’s moratorium expires next month? What can a town do, or not do, under the 8-30g statute?
She realized she needed to know more about 8-30g, so that she could understand Westport’s approach to affordable housing.
And she realized she was not the only one needing to know more.
The result is an open forum. “The Impact of Connecticut State Statute 8-30g: What We Can Expect for 2023” is set for next Monday (February 27, 7 p.m., Westport Library).
Working with fellow RTM members Seth Braunstein, Ross Burkhardt, Jimmy Izzo, Sal Liccione, Matthew Mandell, Liz Milwe and Claudia Schaum, Kail has organized a diverse panel:
State Representative Jonathan Steinberg
Westport town attorney ira Bloom
Planning & Zoning Commission chair Danielle Dobin
Connecticut Center for Ending Homelessness CEO Evonne Klein.
The event will be led by RTM moderator Jeff Wieser, former CEO of Westport’s Homes with Hope.
The panel discussion will be followed by a Q-and-A, with audience members.
This is only the start of a town-wide exploration of affordable housing. Other sessions will be held later.
“We all can learn a lot, from good, solid, non-inflammatory conversations,” Kail says.
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We listened to supporting legal input from our town attorney (who in more than 20 years has served 2 Republican and 2 Democratic administrations in Westport, and is a former RTM deputy moderator) and our assistant town attorney (who has served the municipal legal needs of Westport for 6 years, and is a former RTM moderator).
