ABOUT TOWN REPORTS LIVE FROM P&Z HERE

AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EASEMENTS:  https://www.water-law.com/water-rights-articles/law-of-easements/
PLANS CAN BE DEVELOPED FOR ALL TASTES:  Community development style (Goals, Objective, Strategies and Programs), CT Plan of C&D, and our own type of planning - see our PLAN here.

Local Regional and State planning and get ready for our version of the NEW Town Plan Update.   How does CT Plan of C&D relate?  And in 2018, be sure to watch HB5045...Groundwater?
N O T H I N G    I S    E V E R   N E W . . . O R    I S    I T ?     R E - D E V E L O P M E N T    O F    S O U T H    W E S T E R N   C T    U S E S    H E R E . . . 





TOWN PLAN UPDATE BEGINS WITH CITIZEN SURVEY...
Full report now up on the Town of Weston website:  http://www.westonct.gov/media/file/2018SurveyReportpresentedtoPZCon1-7-18.pdf




From the Town of Weston website:  http://www.westonct.gov/meetings/29875/255376

NEW - We will be attending as many meetings of P&Z as possible beginning now...July 2018...and reporting here.





AGENDA:  http://www.westonct.gov/media/file/PZMtgAgenda412019.pdf

.
(L) Photograph by M.S. Wirtenberg, 1987.  (R) Watercolor (part) by M.S. Wirtenberg, @20 years later
.
      
COBB'S MILL INN DISCUSSION TO BE CONTINUED MAY 6th...
With Town Attorney present the full exploration of what might be done to assist in the rebirth of Cobb's Mill Inn was had with contract purchaser who desires to restore it.

 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


P&Z AGENDA included Weston Library 8-24, approval of minutes and general Town Plan discussion...

WHAT ADDITION?  What is tree obscuring on this rendering?
We did not attend this meeting due to conflict with Board of Finance review of Board of Selectmen's budget...but our sources - three of them - confirmed a positive 8-24.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Beginning 15 minutes earlier Tuesday...next presentation by Milone & MacBroom - at Weston Senior Center.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



MONDAY ACTION ON...
TOWN HALL/FIRE STATION/EMS 8-24 approved.  Receipt of Library addition application, review ramp Historical Society.  Pre-application discussion on Cobb's Mill Inn.



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SPECIAL PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING
Monday, January 14, 2019 at 7:15pm
Town Hall Annex

AGENDA:  http://www.westonct.gov/media/file/PZMtgAgenda1142019.pdf


Nature Conservancy item withdrawn
On a 6-1 "vote" or show of hands, one "no" from a member who questioned preempting the Town Plan project by taking Town Land off the table, P&Z positive on 8-24 for Fromson-Strassler.as
potential for open space grant via multi-town A.L.T.  Various members had astute observations related to what we want and what the people want, for Weston, in the future.  And the importance of
defining our borders in green (my summary of what was said).



The public was invited to speak and they did.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

JANUARY 7, 2019 MEETING WILL INCLUDE MILONE & MACBROOM PRESENTATION - major part of the long meeting.

 
RECEIPTS AND SCHEDULING FOR A.L.T. ITEM
Interesting brace of 8-24 requests.  Receipt for Town of Weston Town Hall-Fire House/EMS/Communications.  Town Plan presentations: http://www.aboutweston.com/TownPlanofficialupdate.html

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



AGENDA INCLUDES TOWN PLAN AS WELL AS "IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNICATION"  - P&Z goes over every point carefully and actually makes good suggestions to those
present.   They are restricted in what they can do, but showed great willingness to do what they can re:  "P.O.C.D." meetings.



"REQUIRED READING"...it has been our experience, regarding "projections" that the Board of Ed always like to err on the high side.



PROJECTIONS IN APPENDIX
In addition, the Chair. referred all members (everyone was present) to the 2017 Facilities Study from the Board of Education
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




TO THE "PRINTER" A.S.A.P.:  Regarding the returns, in a universe of 10,000, a return of 587 would get you 95% confidence, according to Surveymonkey.

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AGENDA

The main business on this Special Meeting agenda was a Public Hearing on a revised or re-subdivision - actually a reduction to redrawn property lines and only one new house.  The underlying subdivision
approved originally in 1991 remains. This is off Godfrey Rd west hard by Pent Road.  A very wet 8 plus acres.  Picture story below:

   
ATTORNEY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT
New 4-bedroom home site with access not off Godfrey Rd (a good thing in terms of reducing curb cuts on busy cross town street).


  
NEIGHBOR ACROSS THE STREET
Stumps dumped in wetland - can P&Z put a condition on removal?  Answer - no.  Conservation Commission/Officer approval needed to permit applicant to do this.

    
RERESUBDIVISION
Unanimous approval after closing Public Hearing,  Lot development plan revision approved. 

  
OTHER BUSINESS: 
Bond released 99 Norfield Rd. one of two lots.  Next meeting Nov. 5th - no release of draft questions to Senior Center.




TOWN PLAN UPDATE REPORT BY CHAIRMAN:

Survey Committee to meet October 29 (Town of Weston website indicates at 7pm in Town Hall Meeting Room).  Questions in e-mail survey.that might help with Plan to be included?.  Will this be on Town TV?. 
(FYI - Presently the only sidewalks are in from to the high school and the Middle School and at Weston Center.  Period.)



______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We did not attend the Special Meeting on Sept. 12th because we were at the TAX SALE - link to the unapproved official P&Z 9-12-18 minutes now available.

Regular Meeting Agenda for Wednesday Sept. 5, 2018
http://www.westonct.gov/media/file/P%26ZAgenda9.5.18.pdf


PUBLIC HEARING
Presentation by applicant, questions from P&Z.  Neighbor spoke plus About Town, Public Hearing closed, vote to approve (unan.)

    
DRAINAGE STRUCTURES TO COMPLY WITH E.P.A.
Above left and center is history - @2005-2006.  Paving proposed, traffic modifications to comply with MS4 STORM WATER REGULATIONS.

OTHER BUSINESS
Commission ready to start work on Town Plan at a Special Meeting re:  Community Survey - this will be first. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



Meetings related to Town Plan posted for Tuesday, September 4, 2018, all in the Town Hall Meeting Room:
  1. DONE - 9am, P&Z invite the Selectmen to discuss special appropriation of $27k for Town Plan consultant - gained approval.
  2. 6:45pm, P&Z meets to first have Executive Session and then come out to vote on consultant selection - Milone & MacBroom.
  3. 7:30pm, Special Board of Finance Meeting which we suspect will have a request for Special Appropriation for Town Plan.  
  4. 7:30pm, P&Z, Town Hall Meeting Room:  Posted so that everyone could attend and speak
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


PLANNING & ZONING
Special Meeting August 23, 2018, 7:15pm (Thursday)
Town Hall COMMISSION ROOM. 

AGENDA:  http://www.westonct.gov/media/file/P%26ZAgenda8.23.18.pdf


THIS IS WHAT AN EXECUTIVE SESSION LOOKS LIKE...
We attended P&Z tonight, August 23rd.  As noted elsewhere, Weston is a beautiful place.

Present were 5 of 7 members (including its three lawyer-members plus the Land Use Director who is also a lawyer).

In the waning days of summer vacation, the hardworking members of the Commission met behind closed doors in Executive Session on selecting a firm to assist with the Town Plan update..


3 DOWN, 10 TO GO - COULD SOME OF THIS MONEY GO TOWARD THE PLAN?
While we were waiting for a resumption of the meeting, we took another look at the TAX SALE board (Sept. 12, 2018 is the date of the event.)  We did some quick math:  Of the ten (10) properties
left, the total value of tax due appears to be north of $1,260,000 (not including additional charges for other bills due to the Town of Weston, if any).

After @50 minutes, we waved adieu from the walkway outside the Commission Room and left P&Z to their discussion about the Town Plan consultant selection...

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



AT P&Z July 30,2018.  Minutes from July 23rd meeting here:  http://www.westonct.gov/media/file/P%26ZMtgMinutes7.23.18.pdf


AGENDA:  Still no "white smoke" at P&Z...in other words, no decision on Town Plan consultant that we've heard.


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

AT P&Z JULY 9, 2018

30 minute pre-application presentation for Village District.  Implication was "please don't come in with an application until we're finished with the Plan" and I understood it to mean nobody
was interested in encouraging a piece by piece approach to making change...until they had a picture of where the Town was headed overall.

--------------------------

TOWN PLAN CONSULTANT INTERVIEWS
We did not attend any of these.  Please refer to July 23rd minutes now online:  http://www.westonct.gov/media/file/P%26ZMtgMinutes7.23.18.pdf
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NEW CHAIR.
After Election 2017, balance of power on P&Z shifts...

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




P&Z AGENDA OCT. 2, 2017, 7:15pm, portables.
Looks interesting to me!  In addition, discussion about Town Plan update.  And Legislative update on non-conforming uses (as in now they are "forever for sure").

SO HOW CLOSE TO REALITY ARE ALL THESE CONCEPTS? 
Planning & Zoning agenda discussed Cobb's Mill Inn.   What would be possible under zoning.  And speaking of as-of-right zoning, TEMPORARY HEALTH CARE STRUCTURES law unless opt-out provision
taken by Selectmen.  Plans for the future.


Members of P&Z plus staff.


       
FIRST TOPIC:  Temporary Health Care Structures as of right.  Public Hearing opened and closed with one speaker from the public plus exofficiary  member comments.




SECOND TOPIC:  Cobb's Mill Inn possibilities with interested citizens listening to proposal as well as the Commission.


THIRD TOPIC:  Legislation re:  Non-Conforming Uses.  Which relates above.  In short, CT trying to make law and prevent non-conforming use from being extinguished.

Nothing much on Town Plan update discussion.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



But there is a fix:  http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/Some-wells-in-state-have-high-levels-of-arsenic-11124786.php

U.S.G.S. link to full research report
STATEWIDE WATER SAMPLES
High levels of toxins found in wells

By Amanda Cuda and Kevin Schultz

WESTON — Water samples from nearly half of more than 100 private wells in Weston have been found to contain unsafe levels of arsenic.

That is according to a new report from the U.S. Geological Survey which found that water from private wells across the state — including those in Weston, Wilton and
Stamford — contain levels of arsenic and uranium that exceed the the safety threshold set by the EPA...

What does this mean for those who don't speak "groundwater?"
Excellent report in The DAY:  http://www.theday.com/article/20170503/NWS01/170509755

And the full study link:  https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2017/1046/ofr20171046.pdf

 --------



T O W N    P L A N N I N G    T O O L - K I T

Scan down to check up on what's new at P&Z...as well as at the now online CT Councils of Governments Association


         
BUILT ENVIRONMENT MEANS URBAN DESIGN.  CAPITAL BUDGET FY'18.  FORM-BASED:  Model of "new town planning" project design, "Weston Environmental Resources Manuel" Protection Zones;  2015 aerial photo of Weston.   Besides
protecting schools, we like to protect open space - now "active" type, too!

 ONE HOT TOPIC FOR P&Z...



It passed in Long Session 2017
TASK FORCE TEMPORY HOUSING - Z.B.A. Appeal

    


AS OF RIGHT - prefab, mobile homes too.  Time frame or not.  notice, PH or not.
Watch out for this in the upcoming session!!!  Lots of data discussed - is it online?  LINK:  https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=SB00922&which_year=2017

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LOTS OF INPUT FROM TOWNS AND COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS
STATE PLAN OF C&D COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING APRIL 23, 2018, HARTFORD
The fact that only one individual came to the Capitol decries the the fact that this was a "ground up" planning effort.
  
HINT:  Click on MAP above left for actual CT Plan of C&D 2018-2023 map and click above right to make layering legible PLUS traditional LEGEND
OUR SUMMARY:  The big changes had come last time.  It was emphasized that the LOCATIONAL MAP is better this time



CT PLAN OF C&D UPDATE
April 23, 2018 Public Hearing, 10:30am begins with testimony of OPM staff.

    


LEGISLATIVE HAMMER ON INCLUSIONARY ZONING - LINK TO WHAT HAPPENED
In advance of this Public Hearing we assume there will be cries related to enforcing changes made in the 2013-2018 CT PLAN

         
Commissioner Kalafa and Dan Morley, Ass't . Commissioner and staff. 

    
ZONING/HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES - CLIMATE CHANE (Fairfield Representative).  MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING DEFINITION
Deed restrictions get in the way - Sen. Osten.  8-30G gets in the way.  HA HA - "accessory housing" included by Rep. Lemar.now!

Only one person spoke at the public hearing other than OPM.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

STANDING COMMITTEE ON STATE PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Wednesday, August 16. 2017, 12 noon to 1:30pm, L.O.B.





Dan Morley, others pictured on this page give testimony.
Plan of what state is planning:

GROWTH MANAGEMENT PLANS
LOCATIONAL GUIDE MAP




NEXT SESSION LOOK FOR PLANNING POWERS TO REVERT TO REGIONS/COGS DISCUSSION
 OUR REVIEW OF THE STATE PLAN OF C&D, 2018-2023   BEGINS NOW (AUGUST 18. 2017)...

WHAT IS IN THE NEW CONNECTICUT PLAN OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT FOR WESTON?  WHAT DOES WHITE AREA STAND FOR?  WE'LL TRY TO FIND OUT!



_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Logo above for planning layer cake - State, Regional and Local.




NOVEMBER 20, 2018 CCOGs

       
T.A.M.P. and the U.S. Census and funding entities
Karen Riemer, Transportation Assets Management Plan ("TAMP").  Questions/answers - go to website.  Presentation was not in format for power point (fine with me!!!).  Great point on A.C.S.


O.P.M.
How about it?  What's up for equivalent of "counties" issue?.  ACS could pick up changes one point.

  
SECOND TUESDAYS (NEW DATE) 9:30am
Adopted schedule for monthly meetings  for 2019.  Election of officers (new Chair. above right).

CTCOGS:  We tuned "live" in for the last item and found that:

Watched the meeting in full as a re-run. 

FWIW - Do you know why they meet at the L.O.B. in Hartford at all?  Do the math!  Below some backup material...

     

In case you needed further evidence...
So depressing - not the Pew report, but the fact that the CT COG wants to meet in locations other than L.O.B.  Don't they see their new funding source, the State-wide car tax, coming?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


CT ASSOCIATION OF COUNCIL'S OF GOVERNMENT meeting May 15, 2018 at the L.O.B.


DONKEYS TOO - TRANSPORT ANIMALS HAVE A FUTURE IN CONNECTICUT
Having watched the meeting in full I am reminded of where regional planning works well - when problems cross borders and take lots of $$..




CROG (LEFT, STAR)
This was a long discussion about how best to divide the money in the newly adjusted CT budget.  OPM wanted to know in a few weeks.  CROG had its ideas.

        
"Work with ACIR" on the one hand, and apply for LOCIP directly (faster turnaround but more subject to politics???)
Deck chairs on the Titanic meeting - which has a connection to the underlying meaning of Connecticut Regional Planning - transportation rules, even with COGs only.



Town don't have to wonder until next year...
Council of Small Town reports on the Session...we tuned in at the very end of live broadcast.  Watch it in its entirety the next morning on CT-N. 
Sec. 563 & 564 of the Implementer more unfunded mandates?  (JMO).  I think they missed some stuff...

 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



CT ASSOCIATION OF COUNCIL'S OF GOVERNMENT meeting February 20, 2018 at the L.O.B.

  
DOOM & GLOOM FROM SEC'Y. BARNES (L)
Very sad.  Cut, cut cut (65%) spoken by another COG;  Regionalization at stake (speed of it).  Smaller regions speak of their successes.


CCROG 46 towns we think.
15% dues 40% state transportation $$.  Increased dues over and over.  CTDOT cuts coming. More than a million people in CCROG.  Back office initiatives.  Front end investment property - he
agres with Francis.


WestCOG
Meeting adjourned (@one hour) - we tuned in live maybe 10 minutes in....



________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



CT ASSOCIATION OF COUNCIL'S OF GOVERNMENT meeting January 16, 2018 at the L.O.B.

     
MEETING 55 MINUTES!
At the left, CCOG Chair. for 2018 - southeast CT State Senator attends.  Council of Small Towns Executive Director issues warning.


DIRECTORS ALSO WANT TO MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD HERE, TOO.
Regional directors chime in on M.O.R.E. Commission and other entities whose recommendations have been dwarfed by fiscal reality. 


      
WESTON IS A MEMBER OF WESTCOG
Great give and take over whither or wither state funding will go and who's making decisions now?



OF HELP TO ITTY BITTY TOWNS
Regional elections staff not funded by Sec'y of the State's Office.  (This actually came first.)

Adjourned five minutes early!!! 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________





LOVELY IDEA FOR A CONNECTICUT NOT IN CRISIS
A.P.A. as an organization presentation about how to reintroduce planning into communities.  We note one of the regional planners mentions he is no longer a member of A.P.A.

         
A.P.A. 
Looking for a place itself now that regional planning may be at odds with local plans.and other entities who do the actual implementation.


  
THE STATE OF CT
Considering that no one knows what will be in the Implementer, OPM correct in not answering;  OFA more able to reply, since the obvious answer is "it has to balance."
BREAKING NEWS:  "...A proposal to repeal municipal property taxes on motor vehicles starting in July 2018 was stripped from the plan after city and town leaders objected to the loss
of $800 million in revenue with no state plan to compensate for the loss. But legislative leaders said the state cap on motor vehicle taxes would rise from 37 mills to 39 this fiscal year,
and to 45 mills in 2018-19..." Quote from CT MIRROR 10-25-17.
    
News of desire by municipalities for regional cooperation (where it saves $$) from WestCOG;  others.
Those around the table note from experience that regions should not hold their breath waiting for funding.  The regional planner who mentioned that he was no longer
an A.P.A. member reminded all those present that regional planners that @80% of their budgets were from local contributions and Federal $$, not from CT.  Next meeting Nov. 21.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



CONNECTICUT ASSOCIATION OF COUNCILS OF GOVERNMENTS;   CT ADVISORY COMMISSION ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
Planners (staff) at  COGs and invited guests;  appointed members of State body - "ACIR"
        
And how about State-Local Planning discussions in other corners of the bureaucracy?

CT COGs JUNE 20, 2017


Chair. of CCOGs
Well, that was a good meeting to watch on CT-N this morning!
Now we understand what is happening to data collection and why one can't rely on "surveys" even using government data anymore! 
Next, the bad news.  Oh, I mean the odds on having a biennial budget before the clock strikes 12 June 30th...
Look for next week (parties in the budget building meeting elsewhere as this very time, lobbyist reports...)

ITEM #1



INVITED TO SPEAK
Data and surveys.  To be provided regionally (not free).

ITEM #2 - STATUS OF THE BUDGET (PLANNING GRANTS);  BUDGET RECISION;  SWEEPS

O.P.M.:  No R.T.I.P. (regional transportation planning) grants going forward.  Municipal Revenue Sharing?  No but you never can tell (my words here).


C.O.S.T. - car tax, town aid road (in bond package);  MBR - same amount for education (high performing districts) expires June 30 - Legislative Leaders meeting today...


RPOs - (our summery of what he said) - C.G.A. wave of the pen, but requires real union reforms to accomplish.  Which is why "regional efficiencies" are chimeras.



C.C.M. says towns could always send out extra tax bills - the issue is reopening budgets if there isn't enough money to cover it.

Meeting ended after the one hour limit.

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CT ASSOCIATION OF COGS IN THE GLARING LIGHTS OF CT-N,  FRONT AND CENTER
Jan. 17, 2017
Meeting begins - Jim Butler, Chair.
LEGISLATIVE AGENDA


LISTENING AND WAITING HIS SPOT TO REMARK ON LEGISLATIVE MEETING OF WESTCOG
Consolidate health districts:  Not going to go forward this Session.  2nd draft with COG (72 to 9 Health Districts).  Crumbling foundations issue especially in eastern part of state. 
New Jersey planning model;  CT Tourism.  Aerial photos statewide reported has delay.


OUT OF EASTERN CT STATE COLLEGE - Remember them from "Energy Improvement District" study many years ago? 
New State Plan of C&D/ Sustainability working together.  Working with DOT.  Regional informational meeting ready for its close up Mr. DeMille in the Fall.2017.  New Jersey a model for sustainability...



O.P.M.
Discusses new 2nd draft of CT Plan of C&D and hopes to share - up on OPM website, we think we heard...certainly CROG said whatever they are thinking about is on theirs!.


C.O.S.T.  ("Council of Small Towns")
Quotes ACIR number of towns over 2% budget increase level - how to deal with regional meetings in conjunction with COGs

Jim Butler for President!!!  Meeting over in an hour!!!  Awesome!!!

Feb 21st next meeting, 9:30am
 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 In the L.O.B. so the Planners can get their message out:
REGIONAL PLANNING AND THE NEXT STATE PLAN DISCUSSION

    
CT STATE PLAN:  Discussion.



Even Bridgeport doesn't want weighted voting - only Hartford does.


      
COUNTIES COMING BACK? 

  
Legislative agenda to be approved at December meeting by telephone, 1:30pm...

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


P&Z CONVERSATION SATURDAY (10:30am to after 1:30pm) DRAWS A LOT OF...CONVERSATION - WOOF!!!
What should the objectives of the new plan be?



PRIORITIES PRIORITIES...WHAT DO PEOPLE WANT FOR A PLAN IN 2017?

      

OK...lots of photos and we left early (after almost three hours).  First announcement by P&Z chairman (right at right, above) - "This is not the dog park public hearing."


We don't envy the Town TV guy Richard - he has a two camera, three and one half hour video to edit - with no lunch break during video job, either.
Editing must be done in real time - we can't pay him enough for this!!!

  
WHY NOW? 
First step in drawing a new Plan is reviewing old Plan implementation recommendations.  P&Z Members sit together in the front row.  Report:  Strategic Planning Committee working with P&Z.


 
The center of Town...and more than a few ideas offered.
One of the things we did not say when we got a chance to speak was that both the Weston Center and Cobb's Mill Inn preceded zoning - and we think still have non-conforming status...


  
D&O ADDENDUM NOT ADOPTED IN 1976.  ALWAYS IMPORTANT  COMMENTS  BY WESTONITE AND NEIGHBOR HARKENS BACK TO DOMINSKI-OAKROCKSTUDY (R.).
Consultant for P&Z (l.) speaks to his early connection to Weston "Sewer Avoidance" program & policy that was a regional mandate way back when (HUD foresaw running out of $$ to build more infrastructure).


THIS WAS A POPULAR THING TO TALK ABOUT
It grabbed the attention of Westonites who didn't seem to care about the ATBM where they could have saved some $$ had 130 shown up - lots more than an ATBM quorum came out for this!

     
No sewers no public water arguments.  (C)  Mother of student at W.H.S. who persuaded me regarding sustainability ideas @2002 or perhaps earlier!
This is an oversimplification of the subtext of what these particular Westonites said, but you get the general idea!  Consultant reported CT DPH and DEEP are trying to loosen up tertiary treatment
and I would hope if they do that, also permit reuse of product of tertiary treatment product for lawn watering???


 
Nothing to do argument (several of those)
Sometimes you wonder why folks move to a town and then want to change it into...Westport...Weston is for people who don't like to argue in public unless they have to.


  
CLUSTER ZONING BY ANY OTHER NAME IS STILL...CLUSTER ZONING...No one supported it while we were there but did comment on aversion to any change.
Cluster speaker number one.  We did not hear anyone supporting the suggested use of remaining 10 acre parcels - by the way this was an egregiously inaccurate  map (i.e. Nature Conservancy?)
If we recall correctly. the Town purchased the development rights to all of the Nature Conservancy property, paying "open space" prices some time @1987).



    
   
NOT WHAT THEY SAID BUT WHAT WE HEARD
(L-R) Questions:  Why necessary?  Remarks that his Mom always believed change happened.  We've got a problem $$;  don't throw the baby out with the bathwater; no selfishness please (directed to
new generation); what the heck do you think you are going to accomplish?  We left at this point, before opponents and proponents to another project got to speak (@1:20ish pm). 

We could tell the meeting was going on longer than the high school expected because automatic climate control in the Auditorium went into icy temperatures @12 noon.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


  

IS WESTON STILL RURAL EVEN THOUGH IT IS ALMOST BUILT OUT?  WE SAY "YES" IF YOU USE A POPULATION DENSITY MEASURE (less than 1000 person per sq. mile)...HOWEVER, SINCE
WE ARE IN AN M.S.A. (U.S. Census metropolitan area), WE CAN"T USE THIS DEFINITION.  SO HERE IS A GOOD THOUGHT PIECE FROM ELSEWHERE TO CONSIDER:

[*PG583]CARRYING CAPACITY AND THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: ESTABLISHING AND DEFENDING LIMITS TO GROWTH
    fyi - Jonathan Douglas Witten c.v.

    Abstract:  Natural and built resources have finite capacities for assimilating growth and associated impacts. The use of analytical tools such as carrying capacity analyses is recommended to assess
the cumulative impact of land development upon these resources. Once carrying capacity thresholds have been established, local governments should apply appropriate regulatory controls to ensure that
capacities are not exceeded. The application of carrying capacity tools is suggested in all jurisdictions, including states that do not mandate the preparation of comprehensive plans. The adoption of carrying
capacity regulations may trigger a regulatory takings analysis. Adoption of legislative actions to preserve carrying capacity limitations, however, are generally entitled to a presumption of validity. This is
contrasted with the use of adjudicative permits to assess assimilative capacity thresholds. While adjudicative permits allow for aggressive review of development in relation to cumulative impacts, their ad
hoc nature demands precise application by local governments.

FROM CONCLUSIONS:

...Perhaps the most important characteristic of carrying capacity limitations, however, is that they reflect the admission by local government residents and officials that their resources have limits. A
corollary admission is that once the carrying capacity of certain resources has been exceeded, financial investments may not provide an adequate remedy.97 The “fix” has come too late and was clearly
avoidable. It was avoidable by adhering to a plan for growth, which matched the limitations to growth, in the municipality and region. 

--------------------------

TOMES FROM A.P.A.
https://www.planning.org

A BOOK READ IN ITS EARLIER FORM
https://www.planning.org/store/product/?ProductCode=BOOK_A01528

PLEASE VISIT THE LINK BELOW FOR UPDATED VERSION CHAPTER ON...VILLAGE CENTERS!
https://planning-org-uploaded-media.s3.amazonaws.com/legacy_resources/store/books/pdf/ruralbydesign2ed.pdf


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THE ROLE OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION IN A SMALL CONNECTICUT TOWN AND SOME OTHER ACTORS


SELECTMEN DID NOT AGREE, IIRC
Discussion of affordable housing and Selectmens' vision at March 12, 2009 Town Plan work session.





MONDAY APRIL 4, 2016 PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED, 7:15pm...now withdrawn.
Previous meeting (ATBM) of popular interest held at Weston High School Cafeteria below.

 
QUICK REFERENCE TO IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
From the LWV of Weston website:  http://www.lwvweston.org/#NEWS 


-------------------

RECEIPT OF APPLICATION:


TOWN PLAN LAND USE MAP 2010 ABOVE

RECEIPT OF APPLICATION FOR ACTIVE ADULT COMMUNITY DISTRICT FEBRUARY 1, 2016
AT THE VERY SAME TIME THAT THE S.P.C. SUBCOMMITTEE, NO DOUBT INTERESTED IN THIS SUBJECT, (SENIORS), IS MEETING IN TOWN HALL...

Picture Story of zone change, scheduled for April 4, 2016 Public Hearing, location Weston High School Cafeteria.


P&Z Monday, Feb. 1, 2016 in the Town Hall Annex
Planning and Zoning discussion/decision on receipt of application for Zoning change - adding a new Sec. 323 - ACTIVE ADULT COMMUNITY DISTRICT (Special Permit category).

Agenda in full  - we really intend to attend, this time!  We will be reviewing the proposal and comparing it to the work of the P&Z on "Cluster Housing for Seniors" document draft 7/13/15.


WHO IS PROPOSING THIS?
Almost all of applicant team Weston residents.
 


Above, an example of what is being proposed, from a New Canaan (?) project example.  Zone designed from how subdivision regulations in Weston are worded and structured; however, this is for a
new Zoning Regulation Special Permit at a "bedroom density."  (Proposed 323A-9.1)

"BEDROOM" COMMUNITY?

Assuming as many bathrooms as bedrooms, or a relative figure we are not aware of, perhaps less than exists in regular subdivisions, the applicant's  "4 bedrooms per gross acre" maximum density
(which is how this application sits right now) argues for being pretty darn close to densities achieved in the subdivision standards.

By the way, the applicant noted for the record that he was taking parts if not most of these very subdivision regulation and including these principles (we hope taking care to add more modern
detail on controlling and reusing run off) in the Special Permit proposal!  What we note is that there are no size restrictions on houses in subdivisions, so this proposal is a big improvement - although
the building is large, it houses more units!

Bravo as well to the engineers who bravely require access on a State Highway - this limits intrusion into existing neighborhoods.  Plus another bravo in advance for any studies presented comparing
water use in as scientific a way as no doubt will be presented regarding traffic.  All in all, this is an opportunity for P&Z to apply modern road standards in the more pedestrian friendly mode than P&Z
would ever do itself!!!


CAREFUL APPROACH TO DEALING WITH THIS TO BE TAKEN, AS DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING SET.
Will they, P&Z, want to hire their own experts to evaluate this, as Commissions have done in the past?  Particular incidents where this was done mentioned, but we don't put these things online!


PUBLIC HEARING COMING MONDAY April 4, 2016
PREVIOUS SATURDAY - APRIL 2 - THIS WAS WHAT WENT DOWN AT KIWANIS:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBhVwGC2cg8&feature=youtu.be

FANTASTIC LOCATION - NORTH IS TO THE LEFT - backs up to Tobacco Road- proposed water quality testing for new wells for same standard as in the Weston Water Study should be
offered or required.
ONE REQUIREMENT FOR THIS ZONE IS TO BE ON A STATE HIGHWAY (THE EXAMPLE, USING WATERBURY STREET, CONNECTS IT TO NEWTOWN TPKE) AND ANOTHER
IS TO HAVE A MINIMUM 15 ACRES.

Half-acre density proposed - or not?

How many sites in town would qualify?  (We're working on this one to bring you an answer...)  Not to get anyone too excited about our results, this number can be calculated using more than
one method - some suggested below: 
  • Based upon only suggested parameters of this applicant;
  • Different standards entirely (i.e. regulating size of structures permitted in A.A.C.D.);
  • Considering only present vacant land as suitable for calculating  impact on development;
  • Considering subdivisions built under @1984 subdivision regulations thru today as potential "A.A.C.D." sites; 

Depending on the scale of this sample site map, this could be one long dead end?  Or is there a way that a loop road can be developed off Route 53?!

Sec. 32A-15 UTILITIES:  Looks to me as if it says - "private or public water supply and community onsite sewage disposal system will be used."
Is this because of the above noted density issue?  Link to D.E.E.P. here:  http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3140&q=387438&dphNav_GID=1828&dphPNavCtr=|#47142
 
NOTE:  RETENTION, not just DETENTION, of storm water run off needed - especially because CT State Highway involved - need approval from
State Traffic Commission?

EXAMPLE OF RUN OFF PROBLEM - ELSEWHERE:  http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/In-central-Stamford-Uphill-battle-against-water-6844141.php

RE-USE OF BARNS AS RESIDENCES - ELSEWHERE:  http://www.greenwichtime.com/business/article/Historic-Greenwich-barns-turned-into-luxury-homes-6843032.php
CLUSTER PROPOSAL IN WESTPORT:  http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v3/comments/text_amendment_proposes_cluster_housing/
MORE ON THE WESTPORT ITEM:  http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v3/comments/daybreak_cluster_housing_debated_at_pz/
"...Others, including commission members, however, said the text amendment needed to be better defined. They said that the 3,200-square foot homes allowed were too big,
and that the permitted density made the proposal 'fatally flawed.'"

AND MORE...
Watch for how this works out - new zone proposed as explained by applicant, should be equated with corresponding as-of-right number of bedrooms in under-lying zone...

Meanwhile, back in Weston...Needs a second or emergency entrance anywhere.  That's 30 homes within 6 structures (?) on 15 acres - on a dead end road?
 
Do they need a waiver for length of dead end road (sorry we didn't get to put a scale on the plan EXAMPLE shown to answer my own questions)? 

How long is this EXAMPLE dead end road, if it is dead ended?  Sec. 3.10 of the Subdivision regulations refer to 1500 feet as the length of a dead end road - is this a problem, and if not,
how many other properties might gain unsafe access?  Or considering that "emergency access" is the concern, could another access be provided from Route 53 in a form similar to "overflow
parking design" (i.e. not paved or impervious surface}?

In the new Zone, then, what percent is impervious surface?  25% coverage proposed, we think, for NEW ZONE - too high?  Does it require public water supply - would a common well do?

CONTINUITY AND KEEPING REGULATIONS UPDATED:
When introducing new, different growth pattern, it is important to protect underlying development's form.  Sensitivity to grade changes, run off and site planning imperatives.


THE PARCEL BEING USED AN AN EXAMPLE BY THE APPLICANT IS ON THIS ARTISTIC BUT PERHAPS NOT ACCURATE TO ENGINEERING STANDARDS MAP ABOVE!



----------------------



..
CAPITAL PLANNING COMMITTEE gets input from various actors:  The Town Administration, Finance Board, Education Board BUT NEVER IN RECENT YEARS FROM P&Z.  In my professional experience, the Planning Commission should
be part of it!  Fortunately, there are those who take a "global" view involved in the Capital Planning group.


THE RE-REFERENDUM - we now have a Referendum EVERY YEAR ("yes" or "no") on the Town and School and Capital Budget.   Millions of dollars approved without one word of discussion at ATBM.   How's that again?  The budget is now
a private matter among friends and cronies since foolishly Charter Revision 2012, approved 2014, first made a quorum without specifying the number and then picked the number 130 voters.  Never yet reached.  So what that means is that your
favorite project can slip in unnoticed to any of the 3 budgets...and there is nothing anyone can do about it!  Unless, of course, 130 Town Meeting voters show up for ATBM someday!

CAUTIONARY TALE HERE;  How does what happened 20 years ago relate to today's issues?

PLANNING & ZONING MEETINGS ATTENDED:  "Updates" and "Discussions" of interest to About Weston.  Recorded is the first discussion on the subject of "cluster" zoning, including sound recording:

September 8, 2015.


ELSEWHERE ideas...adaptive reuse?
----------------

NOTE:  About Weston a member of P&Z 1983 to 1990.
Weston Town Plan of Conservation and Development 2010-2020:  About Weston's version below.  A review how we went about our planning process...centrality still key?

In Weston, Connecticut, Planning is a Process. What P & Z did differently this time around...it is seeing beyond land planning and zoning...and here is a link to the P&Z final product.

Population migration A.P. story..."Last year, Connecticut had its first population loss since 2008. At the time, officials said the improving economy might partially be to blame because people postponed retirement during the last recession and
now they are able to retire, often to Florida.  This year's statistics show that Connecticut lost 3,876 or -0.11 percent last year to a total population of 3,590,886..." and then there is the Weston story below:









TABLE OF CONTENTS:



A topic that comes from Planning 101 play book...

                



HARTFORD STORIES: OR THIS ONE ON ZONING (zoning implications) -  http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-hartford-scarborough-reopen-case-1028-20151027-story.html

PLANNING IN WESTON, CT
Regional picture; 

Here is a link to Westport's new Downtown Plan, for an example of what another neighboring community is up to:  https://downtownwestportct.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/dwmp_06042015_web.pdf

Next, what has changed since the last Plan?  (As well as some of what has not changed...this research no longer online.)

Existing land use in Weston 2008;  individual lot by lot, as well as newest data with our own analysis, both no longer online.

Goals for the new Plan;  does Weston relate to new plan ideas  for the State of Connecticut...or to Paris?

Objectives 2020:  suggested new concept in neighborhood planning;  energy use improvement in Town "superblock." 

Implementation

Available maps online;

Data resources;  and more resources;  newly revived - About Weston's observation of what "went down"

On-line articles;  use of aerial photography and digital mapping.

Instruction for doing your own Plan;

More on our process. 
--------------

Index: 

"SPEAK UP 2016" video:   http://www.lwvweston.org/2016SpeakUp25.html

Older "Speak Up" videos and reports at the LWV of Weston website too.





_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


HISTORY

 C H A N G E    O U T S I D E   W E S T O N . . .
What has changed since the June 2000 Plan of Conservation and Development?  Since the Town Plan 2010?


 Economy:  as the economy in Connecticut changes, will Weston be affected?  And cost of gasoline and heating oil is an unknown negative
influence.  How about the global downturn?  Newtown?
Affordable housing:  Weston must respond to State Plan of C&D requirement that every town address this matter;
Environmental threats:  drought cycle (last in 2002) - how about flooding, too - emergency services response - examples of regional problems
to the fore.
Infrastructure repair and maintenance must continue even as the town is under economic stress.
Recycling:  Is the State of CT committed to continuing its leadership role?

SOURCES:
WCCOG - merger of SWRPA & HVCEO in 2015 by State of CT mandate:  http://www.westernctcog.org/

Regional Plan of Conservation and Development updated 2006; HVCEO-SWRPA website has this map:  http://nebula.wsimg.com/62b1879c419bb09aa3ab319bcd512381?AccessKeyId=9F35ADC83CFAA5FBE2A4&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

Surface water quality in the main branch of the Saugatuck River - is it still as pure as ever?  Link to more information about it here.

"The central government [of Indonesia] is blaming poor urban planning for the disaster, our correspondent says" regarding the following: one Jakarta
resident, Elan Manoppo, told the BBC there was "no integrated development plan" for the capital, adding: "Most of the city's drainage systems are
not taken care of."

Water quantity;  run off from heavy rains in CT...is this what Dominski-Oakrock's report was all about?

Flood plain management:  is there a new approach? 

Overbuilding around the globe?  An example of "special natural characteristics" - soil type, grade, zero incremental runoff...
What the government is doing about it ;

"Smart Growth" in CT as it works its way into over-all planning, 2007...


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



C H A N G E    I N S I D E    W E S T O N . . .
In Weston planning activity, what has changed since the June 2010 Plan of Conservation and Development?


Lachat Autumn 2009

Planning is now professionalized;
Capital planning is conducted alongside "Global Facilities" Committee on an irregular but more frequent basis than on a ten-year cycle;
Schools complex and fields projects are completed;  those projects left off the Referendum being accomplished as needed by new staff.  Impact of post Newtown security felt.
Full development:  vacant tracts almost all developed or permanently preserved...see below. 
2015 brings this report:  http://www.aboutweston.com/CraftingaStrategicPlanForWeston%27sFuturePhaseI050715.pdf  



SOURCES:
NEMO on-line:  do-it-yourself Town Plan toolkit from CLEAR.

From Assessor's Maps:  please note that previously provided maps by About Weston no longer online.

LAND USE CHANGES IN WESTON, CT:  1986, 1999 review of Town Plan development no longer online. . 

For CLEAR data from aerials from NEMO...

NEW - Existing conditions, buildings and structures, at ten town-owned sites, in Kaestle-Boos 2008 report.

School and Field construction.*

Conservation/Education Center proposal back on the table!
Lachat 2 was purchased by Town Meeting in 1999, completing this most significant acquisition.

Rural By Design:  https://www.planning.org/store/books/pdf/ruralbydesign2ed.pdf

 Where did Weston first get the idea that environmental planning was a wise thing to do?  This history no longer online.  But a later study is, here.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




Watercolor (detail) by Margaret Wirtenberg
The School Road campus was developed since the last Town Plan revision...

GOALS OF THE 2010-2020 Plan : as suggested by "About Town"  (written in the "About Town" column July 17, 2008)...

Renew:  Weston, a residential community, should renew its compact with nature and dedicate itself to supporting the natural water cycle;
Improve public infrastrucure and its maintenance to minimize run-off waste and effects; 
Maximize output and efficiency of limited natural resources in a time of climate change:  make the centralized school-town complex energy self
sustaining.
Minimize the human foot-print;  reuse land, buildings and resources;  recycle.

NEW GOAL - inspired by P&Z:  Make choices and set priorities for use of limited resources.

Pooling municipal health benefits is a good start
Alan J. Desmarais, CT MIRROR
May 27, 2010

A new bill passed by the General Assembly and now before Gov. M. Jodi Rell for signature could offer fiscal relief as municipalities all over Connecticut stare down a current budget crisis that will become even more daunting in fiscal year 2011- 2012 and
beyond. House Bill 5424 allows towns and boards of education a no-strings-attached option to pool their healthcare benefits-and thereby better control soaring benefit costs. This bill confirms that the previous legislative action, which allowed municipalities
to "jointly perform any function that each municipality may perform separately," specifically applies to the financing of employee healthcare benefits. Many towns now understand that this law opens up a necessary cost-control opportunity, and none too
soon.

This is not the first time such pooling arrangements have been green-lighted in New England. The Governmental Health Group of Rhode Island was created to 2005 and now includes cities, towns and school districts that have joined together on a voluntary
basis. Among the keys to the success of the Rhode Island program-which are also essential to this latest effort in Connecticut-are that member groups define the pool's concepts, organizational structure, and financial framework...

Please search the CT MIRROR archives for the remainder of this story.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




OBJECTIVES OF THE 2010-2020 PLAN: 


REGIONAL, TOWN AND NEIGHBORHOOD/SUB-NEIGHBORHOOD MAPS NO LONGER ONLINE
New concept for our version of this new Plan of C&D:  Neighborhood Sub-Plans - a concept who's time has come?

 
Chapters of the Plan:  go to each chapter or just scroll down!

NEW CHAPTER needed:  Public safety comes to the fore.  Also here.

WHERE DO HISTORIC DISTRICTS AND ADAPTIVE RE-USE FIT INTO WESTON'S PLANNING?  How is Westport using this as a technique for molding development?

Emergency management and public safety priorities to the fore... watch Police Chief interview here from 2008, prior to Newtown:
Click Here If You Are Using A Dial-Up Modem
Click Here If You Are Using A DSL Or Cable Connection
Natural resources objectives;

Roads objectives;

Community facilities objectives;

Residential development objectives;

Business development objectives;

Open space and Recreation objectives.






NATURAL RESOURCES:  PROTECT THEM.  There is an urgency to protect the natural water cycle while also making use of other natural
processes and energy sources.
Weston is fortunate here in the 21st century, to have natural resources to enjoy and maintain.  We live with the necessity of maintaining the natural
water cycle as Weston is a community devoid of sewers and with public water supply only to the Schools and Town buildings located in the central
area plus @28 homes off Godfrey Road; a few streets are served from the end of Westport's waterlines.  Looking on the bright side, the sun is one
natural resource available where the trees don't get in the way!
Over the years suggestions have been made regarding environmental zoning;  Aquifer protection is something the whole community must care about. 
The recent introduction of special language for an overlay zone around the Aquarion well fields in the south of town, based upon Connecticut mapping,
is something new for us.  Weston followed suggested DEP language in developing this area.

Following upon the Dominski-Oakrock Study (Weston Environmental Resources Manual, 1976) was the Weston Water Resources Guide (1993), which,
while the water testing program was beginning, discovered PCE and TCE down gradient from both the Town bus garage and the private shopping center, reporting these finding to both the Westport-Weston Health District and the CTDEP.  Corrective
measures were taken to clear the water supply, and a
regime of groundwater monitoring was put in place.

We note that Stamford is currently starting a well testing program in the northern part of their city.

Saugatuck River Valley Watershed Alliance
Weston has taken the lead on this effort, as it has on the Air Space redesign issue.  It is in our interest to see that water supply stays pure and abundant; 
it is no longer as peaceful and quiet as it used to be - anywhere, in fact.  But one new threat to the long term preservation of the Weston life style is
NOISE.  









              

ROADS:  KEEP UP ROAD REPAIR PROGRAM TO AVOID NEED FOR BONDING;  TEN (10) YEARS LATER...EMPHASIS ON PEDESTRIAN?

READ ABOUT SOME OLD IDEAS THAT STILL WORK HERE
Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee to the fore!!!  Roads, trails, pathways,  cross-walks, if somebody else pays for them, sidewalks in center of town(?)...

NEW Town of Weston culvert policy;

CT DOT ADT data for Weston @2005 no longer online.
"About Town" interview with Weston's DPW Director on the subject of Weston's roads.  Watch it now and find out how public works plans ahead!
Joe Lametta interview DSL Or Cable Connection
Joe Lametta interview Dial-Up Modem version






COMMUNITY FACILITIES:  PROPER MAINTENANCE (Kaestle-Boos Report no loner online here) IS VITAL TO ASSURE FULL LIFETIME FOR CAPITAL INVESTMENT (some noted below).
A NEW CONCEPT EMERGES.  Post - Newtown, security takes front and center.
Each year the Board of Finance puts the Board of Education through its paces.  This year is an imposing financial challenge to governments and
individuals.

What can be expected from the School Budget this year?  From FY 2011-2012...how have things changed since this interview?  2015 birth rate news here.

For Fiscal 2011, "About Town" interviewed Superintendent of Schools Jerome
Belair and Director of Finance and Operations Dr. Jo-Ann Keating: 

Please  Click Here If You Are Using A Dial-Up Modem
Please  Click Here If You Are Using A DSL Or Cable Connection



From the excellent Board of Education website, a link to their recommended budget, FY2009-2010:  http://www.westonk12-ct.org/

SOME HISTORY

FY2008-2009 was an example of what is done in a more normal situation.  Here is a link to part of that presentation, especially the section
that relates to enrollment projections.

The Weston Budget, although dominated by school expenses operating and capital, has another side--the "Town side."  Read of the budget of the
Board of Selectmen (FY2009-2010): http://www.westonct.gov/media/file/BoardOfSelectmenBudget2009-2010.pdf

Additionally, through its appointed Building Committee and that body's subcommittee on Alternative Energy, plans are just beginning to emerge to
employ what for Weston is a new concept - establishing, perhaps, an Energy Improvement District in the superblock of Town/School activities in the
Central Part of Town!  Other departments and disciplines keep innovating, whether Social Services or Parks and Recreation...


         


Centralized school system includes its own central office building and a tertiary treatment plant.  Watch "About Town" interview with new
Superintendent of Schools Jerome Belair for up to date report of status of the educational system in Weston. 






N O    M O N E Y    N O    W O R K

           

APRIL 19, 2016 SPECIAL MEETING NOT NOTICED AS SUCH, HOWEVER.  NOTHING HAPPENED BECAUSE IT WAS PREMATURE TO BE DISCUSSING THESE MATTERS...GOOD IDEAS, THO'
Building Committee
Commission Room
Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 7:30pm

Agenda:  http://www.westonct.gov/media/file/BuildingCommitteeAgenda041916.pdf

What did the appointed Building Committee accomplish at this meeting?  Perhaps we know now why the Town of Weston is the way it is.  Lots of talk, lots of expensive ideas...but no money.

 ------------------------


MARCH 22, 2016 SPECIAL MEETING:
IN AN EFFORT TO INTRODUCE URBAN DESIGN CONCEPTS, BUILDING COMMITTEE GOES ROGUE:
A PLAN FOR CONNECTING PLACES AND SPACES IN THE CENTRAL PART OF TOWN; FIRST SELECTMAN DANIEL ATTENDS AND REMINDS COMMITTEE OF HER "TOWN COMMONS" IDEA



SPEAKING OF TOWN COMMONS, FIRST ARCHITECT AND URBAN DESIGN FIRM DESCRIBES THEIR EXPERIENCE AND SAYS THEY HAVE SEEN THE BUILDING AND IT LENDS ITSELF TO THE USES PROPOSED.
  
SECOND ARCHITECT SEES SAME VISION OF LINKAGES BUT SEEMS TO WORK ONE STEP AT A TIME, WITH DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF BUILDING CODE AND WHAT THE WESTON COMMUNITY'S NEEDS.

    


EXPLANATION REGARDING THE NATURE OF THIS DISCUSSION AT THE BUILDING COMMITEE.



TWO POINTS OF VIEW ON BUILDING COMMITTEE - URBAN DESIGN AND REAL ESTATE - AND A CONFUSION OVER WHAT IS BEING CONSIDERED AND WHAT ROLE BUILDING COMMITTEE PLAYS. 


                    

 
-----------------------------------------------------------



OUR NEW CONCEPT ACCEPTED FOR NEW 2010 TOWN PLAN, WE THINK:  THE SUPERBLOCK
 


The School Road superblock should combine with Town Hall/Library/Main Fire House facilities for effective energy improvement (note: 
Public Works headquarters building below included). Middle School needs a new roof, and we wonder about a solar panel option there...
Please link to the Town of Weston for the draft Plan of Conservation and Development 2010 - this concept appears to be in the Plan!







Public Works is fully reported on by Mr. Lametta (see "Roads").  DPW headquarters at left, Transfer Station/Recycling Center at right. 
Recycling (Weston Transfer Station and Recycling effort at right above) is a critical issue right now, with markets for secondary materials
picking up...or not!!!



Library roof will need replacement in the next years...and so it was done.  Weston Library did its own "Strategic Plan" exercise 2015-2018.



Other municipal government...
  • Town Hall:  the roof replacement and related repairs always ongoing...
  • Police  Commission: seeks long range alternative for new quarters.
  • Fire and ambulance:  the new Lyons Plains fire station open.  Data about fire and property loss (U.S.A.) here.
  • Social services plans ahead, increased senior and other demands as demography and economy change; 
  • Emergency Services:  our idea...does it make sense to work regionally on this?  More than we do already?



Semi-public uses:  their role in  providing places and spaces for needed community activity changes.  Norfield Congregational Church, founded
in 1757, is an important part of Weston's history, and of its present and its future.  Watch a very special show commemorating the Church's 250th anniversary ssome years ago! Watch now!


At LWV of Weston info meeting, P&Z Chair., Vice-Chair. and member in charge of rewrite of Plan report;  cluster development considered.


           

RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT:  Town undergoes reassessment every five years...research when Weston lost its open space here. 
WHEN REVALUATION OFFICIALLY COMPLETE ALL APPEALS GO TO B.A.A.

-------------------------------

UNIFORM TWO-ACRE RESIDENTIAL ZONING
  • RESIDENTIAL ZONING REGULATIONS 321.7:  15% Building coverage;
  • RESIDENTIAL ZONIING REGULATIONS 311.4:  Parts of lot not counted to minimum area requirement-1.6 acres of dry land required.
  • SECTION 322:  NEIGHBORHOOD SHOPPING CENTER DISTRICT.

DISCUSSION OF OPEN SPACE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, CLUSTER HOUSING FOR SENIORS, September 8, 2015 at P&Z meeting.  Re-doing horse regs on tap.
Listen to this discussion of "cluster" here:  http://www.aboutweston.com/P&Z9-8-15.mp3


"About Town" unofficial map of non-conforming lots above, exclusive to this website;  consider changes to
residential zone to protect natural water cycle.









BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT:  WESTON DOES NOT SEEK THE LIMELIGHT.  NOR THE DISRUPTION CONSTRUCTION FOR MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT FOR COMMERCE WOULD
REQUIRE.  NEIGHBORHOOD SHOPPING CENTER DISTRICT IN THE ZONING REGULATION, TOO.
The Lunch Box doubles, the pharmacy is reborn at reduced size, the bank is working as a small town bank again.  Without infrastructure, any more,
larger scale development of a non-residential nature will not prove feasible, and as Georgetown is on the cusp of a rebirth at Gilbert & Bennett,
which is planning, we believe, for a railroad station at their site, the  words of the last Plan are well taken:  "So Weston finds itself somewhat removed
from the greater density and bustling activity of neighboring towns in the region...Concern for development to the north, in particular, is paramount. 
What happens in Georgetown--at the assisted living facility under construction at Gilbert Hill or with the Gilbert and Bennett site--will have a
considerable impact on Weston"



Weston Center through the years.




CLUB WESTON:  It began when a member of the Board of Education, during the Memorial Day Parade in 1994 asked if Weston could ever "close School Road" as NYC has done for closing Central Park to cars on weekends...we undertook an experiment,
trying to get something specific accomplished - just to see how many steps and official actions it took to make closing School Road on Sundays in August a reality that summer...first OK was an informal discussion with the First Selectman - he
said "sure" as long as it didn't cost anything (have impact on the budget).
Next we sought official approval from the Board of Education (lots of "can't do" this or that);  Parks & Rec (keep access to tennis courts open), Police Chief (couldn't assign officer to help with cones/"horses" because emergency came first; Town
Administrator to get van to transport cones/"horses" them.  Finally, when the idea finally landed on the table of the Board of Selectmen, they couldn't do anything except decide where to place the cones!  The only problem?  About Weston had to spend
Sundays in August 1994 setting up "Club Weston" herself!


From the Westport News


IDEA MAKES IT INTO DRAFT!!!  At LWV of Weston info meeting, P&Z Chair., Vice-Chair. and member in charge of rewrite of Plan report;  school superblock and specifically street-closing on Sundays in the summer is a big policy for
community-building activity!!! 



OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION:    KEEP MAJOR  PUBLIC ACTIVE RECREATION FACILITIES TIED TO THE CENTRAL PART OF TOWN



Public and private spaces and places can link together and work to create an even greater protection for the environment and natural creatures who
live with us.   Above, Bisceglie Park (left) and right, Trout Brook Valley.
"About Town" interview with  then Aspetuck Land Trust Executive Director - watch it now:
    Bruce LePage Interview, Cable or DSL Version
    Bruce LePage Interview, Dial-up Modem Version

The Parks & Recreation Commission has some great ideas and original thinkers at work...visit its webpage.
Get the word on how we compare to other towns in the region:  SWRPA Open Space Study






Remember the tropical storm in August 2011?  Rebirth of Club Weston as "Bike-Ped Day" cancelled.
It was a new year, 2012, and a hopeful crew manned the barricades!  Sunday, September 9, 2012 was super!!!  Early on, this was the view at Lord's H'way end of School Road. 


Weston Big Bike/Pedi Event is Sunday
Weston FORUM
By Kimberly Donnelly on September 8, 2012

School Road will be closed to all motorized traffic on Sunday, Sept. 9, from noon to 5 for the Big Bike/Pedi Event, sponsored by the Weston Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee. The event will take place rain or shine.

The road will be open to all for vehicle-free biking, scooter-riding, walking, and jogging. Due to a school policy, however, no skateboarding is allowed.

The Weston Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee was formed to promote safe bicycle and pedestrian facilities and activities in town, and to educate the public about proper safety techniques and to encourage residents to walk and bicycle...see FORUM
archives for story in full.


At LWV of Weston info meeting, P&Z Chair., Vice-Chair. and member in charge of rewrite of Plan report;  implementation to be an ongoing, if voluntary, responsibility (taken more seriously).

 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2020 PLAN:  Always look out for change in Hartford...

       



WESTERN CONNECTICUT COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS
Then there is Regional Cooperation...now in 2015 mandated "cooperation" - an oxymoron?


Pictured above at Norwalk City Hall:  This had to be the most lively SWR Legislative Breakfast yet - Congressman Himes (r) called it  "a partisan food fight" and it was for new Darien  Legislative Rep to put things in focus!
2011 not to be videotaped by About Weston.
2 0 1 0   R E G I O N A L   L E G I S L A T I V E    B R E A K F A S T  
South Western Regional Planning Agency/Metropolitan Planning Organization meet with Legislators at the "Community Room," Norwalk City Hall,  January 26, 2010
http://www.aboutweston.com/SWRPALegMtg1-26-10CableVersion.wmv   (172 megaBytes)
 
http://www.aboutweston.com/SWRPALegMtg1-26-10ModemVersion.wmv   (25 megaBytes)



Pictured above at Norwalk City Hall:  Senator McKinney, First Selectman (Wilton) Brennan, Senator Boucher, Chair. of the MPO, First Selectman Woody Bliss

REGIONAL COOPERATION 2009:  Remember this fracas?  The issue is back...
Another is to take a regional view of shared problems:  please note that First Selectman Bill Brennan of Wilton pointed out areas where SWRPA towns
cooperate voluntarily!  Watch the 2009 SWRPA-MPO Legislative Breakfast here:

Cable version:
http://www.aboutweston.com/SWRPALegMtg1-8-09CableVersion.wmv
Dial-up version: 
http://www.aboutweston.com/SWRPALegMtg1-8-09ModemVersion.wmv





MAPPING AND RESEARCH REPORTS NO LONGER AVAILABLE ONLINE:  SKETCH PLAN HERE.
Through the reassessment project, the best maps of Weston with lot lines will be available, eventually.  Will aerial photography done by SWRPA, now WCCOG, ever become available for public use?  If no answer, why not?  In the meanwhile,

Where to begin?
 
Get out the drafting tools...and Prismacolor pencils.

WANT TO DO A PLAN?
Some tools of the trade.  As someone once said to me, "you gotta have a map"...and one that gives you a big picture.  On your mark, get set, search and survey!!! 

SOURCES:

THIS WEBSITE'S original maps of neighborhoods in Weston - no longer available online.

What does the U.S. CENSUS tell us?  About people?  About housing?

WHAT WE THINK FROM THE OLD TOWN PLAN HAS BEEN ACHIEVED:  "About Town" is of the opinion that Weston is doing very well at
implementing its Plan.  Committees formal and informal are at work on Global Warming, Saugatuck River Valley Initiative, Weston Parks Project,
WestonArts, and others.  The School expansion project is winding down successfully and the Shopping Center has submitted a map and plan for its activities.  No longer online here.

 However, since the Weston Plan of Conservation and Development 2000 (PDF unofficial version here) was approved (June 30, 2000), newer Town
Plans in other towns must say more than Weston's does about the affordable housing issue.  The Weston P&Z, when commenting on the new
Regional Plan, expressed interest in creative solutions SWRPA might come up with on the subject of affordable housing.

SWRPA found the Town Plan 2010 "not inconsistent with its Plan"
REMEMBER: THE NEW PLAN MUST BE "NOT INCONSISTENT WITH" SWRPA's (and SWRPA's had to be found "not inconsistent with"
the CT Plan--which it was found to be, as were the addenda for open space and recreation chapter and maps, transportation long-range
plan and the Housing Study of housing opportunities within the region). 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

LAND USE PLANNING 101:  BASE MAP AND OUR MAP - no longer on line.
A "windshield survey" (in the 21st century, via aerial perspective) requires a functioning road system (and bridges across the Saugatuck).



 What land use color do planners use for each  (our example of a legend for a Weston land use map)? 
An "existing land use map" is two-dimension; it depicts land use category for the acreage but not the structures.
Cobb's Mill Inn (by the waterfall).
Local attorney's office;
Weston has a centralized school system with all buildings on one campus (detail);
Town Hall.
Bisceglie Park.
Weston Library.
Onion Barn.
Weston Shopping Center.
Norfield Church.
St. Francis.
Note: parking and loading requirements not discussed.  But that is an interesting topic to explore:  2001 standards report - how have these changed over time?  Try A.P.A. website:  https://www.planning.org/

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________





DATA RESOURCES 21st CENTURY STYLE:  E-STUDIES & E-SOURCES

SOURCES: 

Kaestle Boos Report summary no longer available here online.  New version needed!  Coming in FY'17 Capital Budget (schools only)?

Land Use law - article about large subdivisions being treated differently from smaller ones

Appendices:  a Zoning/Environmental Chronology;  list of Town Officials (please visit LWV of Weston "Know Your Town Directory" on Town website)

On-line research;

Population articles from the Net...enrollment estimates:  http://www.westonps.org/uploaded/NEWS_and_ANNOUNCEMENTS/14-15_NESDEC_-_BoE_Meeting_11-17-14.pdf .

 Urban design and historic preservation in any new Weston Plan?  Adaptive re-use?

Macro/micro economics;

Other sources.
Handy map of U.S. Census Block Groups 2000, and courtesy of the South Western Regional Planning Agency, some data for Weston.

Locational map of Weston Historic Districts from the Town Plan 1987.

Background on the affordable housing issue;

Where the vacant land identified in the 1969 Town Plan (our first) went;

Dominski-Oakrock recommendations re: zero incremental run-off and others built into subdivision and zoning regulations since 1976 in Weston; 
some of the more advanced concepts recommended but not yet implemented by P&Z from D&O "Weston Environmental Resources Manuel." 
 
URL for State Data Center, which should provide FREE info:  http://ctsdc.uconn.edu/

U.S. Department of Labor:

Research Data link, D.E.C.D.: http://www.ct.gov/ecd/cwp/view.asp?a=1106&Q=250610&ecdNav=|

Our labor market area: http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/lma_bridgeport_stamford.htm
TAXATION - and how about other taxes besides the property tax as revenue elsewhere?  Article here: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/428352/substantive-due-process-pagedale-case
How government activity elsewhere and in Weston is financed. Link to State Tax Panel reports:
Connecticut and Property tax studies:  http://www.cga.ct.gov/fin/taskforce.asp?TF=20140929_State%20Tax%20Panel

 Smart Growth and Property Tax Commission Final Report (not online);  or http://www.engr.uconn.edu/environ/nrcc/Newsletter-%20Feb%202003.pdf

Or https://www.law.umn.edu/uploads/9b/d3/9bd3085ac6e62d813c1bb99d6f60b449/Connecticut-Brochure-2005.pdf

Or http://articles.courant.com/2003-09-14/news/0309140017_1_tax-exemptions-tax-overhaul-tax-system

Metropatterns; and check out the familiar names here; 

NYTIMES:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/05/opinion/where-should-a-poor-family-live.html?ref=opinion    In long article on affordable housing, opinion included this study.

More studies - http://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/pdfs/CTMaps/connecticut_opportunity_mapping_report.pdf

 Legislative action this Session:

WATERSHED  RESOURCES:
DEEP:  http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2719&q=325628&depNav_GID=1654&depNav=|

Saugatuck River Watershed Partnership:http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/connecticut/preserves/art22151.html


E-MAPPING

Newest from "CLEAR" ("Son of NEMO") is  Weston map showing changes in land cover between 1985 and 2002, tables.

The CT State Plan:  http://www.opm.state.ct.us/igp/cdplan/cdplan2.htm


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


MORE SOURCES:  Planning is not a static activity...some of our ideas that didn't make the P&Z's official 2010 Town Plan are coming into  view in 2015, perhaps? 




L A N D    U S E    I S S U E S :




 CT Land Value Taxation pilot project:  http://www.ct.gov/opm/cwp/view.asp?a=2985&q=535412

------------------



PARKING GARAGES - WATCH THE GOVERNOR'S TRANSPORTATION FINANCE PANEL AND THE CT TAX PANEL IMPLEMENTATION IN SHORT SESSION 2016!
Poster child for planning in mid-century and 1960's New Haven, in 2015, after demolishing one parking garage (of many in New Haven Downtown), here a history of downtown New Haven's parking garage story), they are doing what? 
Yup:  http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20151224/new-haven-taking-new-look-at-old-garage-plans-as-parking-needs-grow

And some fully attributed New Haven history: http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1979/3/79.03.06.x.html



Town-wide Sketch Plan above;  About Weston coloring in its own neighborhood planning maps lot by lot...no longer online.

About Town columns;

"About Town" recent intervierws with:
Police Chief
Superintendent of Schools
Director of Public Works
Former Executive Director of the Aspetuck Land Trust

Online articles:  announcing the "Workshop" Feb. 26, 2009; on population;  from the FORUM, on culvert policy;  also from the FORUM - "village district"

Online articles on the economy

Online articles about water supply;  reshaping the state's future;

CT legal decisions

Other.


F R O M    T H E    A B O U T    T O W N    C O L U M N . . .



                       

Making Order Out Of Chaos - April 20, 2000


Weston has always been a very neat and orderly place.  

Zoning makes order out of what could become chaotic construction, as Plans are "built out" and the future becomes the present before our very eyes.  We are a society of laws, and the Zoning Regulations--not to mention the Inland
Wetland laws and the Building Code and more general societal norms--are what keep us civilized.

In the case of the Town of Weston, the map of all our dreams is the Town Plan of Conservation and Development.  A short series of regional workshops this Spring on the subject "Linking Land Use to Water Quality" is being made
available by the University of Connecticut.

Interested in land use?  Norwalk City Hall (125 East Avenue, Community Room #128) on May 2 and 24, from 7:30pm to 9pm both evenings, is the place to be! Through the University of Connecticut's NEMO ("non-point education for
municipal officials") instructors, protecting against water quality degradation will be front and center. NEMO is against land use "sprawl," and that topic will no doubt be raised.  Showing how other areas have used watersheds as the
framework for planning is part of NEMO's mandate.  You can find out more about just who "NEMO" is by visiting this column's WEBsite:  http://members.aol.com/AboutWstn/index.html.

Action on Village District Bill

Remember the "Municipal Village District" idea discussed by "About Town" here a few weeks ago?  "Village Districts" revisions are still alive in the Legislature!  The village district proposal this session is more applicable to Weston's
needs than last year's version, which became law.  This year's bill, sHB 5177, is a revision of last session's action.  The new "Act Concerning Village Districts" has now passed the House and is on the Calendar of the Senate.  What
is different about the concept this year?

This year the bill works for Weston.  Introduced into this new, improved version is the required tie to the municipal plan of conservation and development.  Although zoning law, village districts would be the kind of zoning only permitted
by the Town Plan.  If your "village district" site does not show on the Town Plan of Conservation and Development, it can't exist.  The bill this year has expanded "village districts" from those places within communities distinctive for
their historic virtues to just plain "distinctive" locations around Town.  Although the Town of Weston may be exempt from its own zoning law, it must follow the guidelines of its Town Plan!

For example, the just completed Final School Facility Plan creates a "village district" combining Schools, Town Hall and Weston Library, as illustrated on the Plan map.  The School Plan "Option 4A" map (the option selected by both
the Ad Hoc School Facilities Planning Committee and the Board of Education) could become a part of the new Town Plan.  Defining the limits of Weston's "Village District" and establishing these in the Town Plan of Conservation and
Development 2000 is an idea whose time has come.

The Town Plan thus is the key protecting Weston against "sprawl," by allowing growth only at the "Village District."         



From 2008...



The Plan

One of the first steps in making a new Town Plan for Weston is creating a map that can be viewed on the Internet.  

What information do we need to start the planning process?  In the early stages of this effort, using a set of maps from the NEMO website will do.  Create a “Community
Resource Inventory Online.”  Start here: http://nemo.uconn.edu/

Is it good planning or just good luck?  As the reassessment rolls on, Vision Appraisals will be updating property maps online, coded to new assessments.  I can envision
the Planning and Zoning Commission being able to piggyback its early planning efforts to determine how much of Weston is yet to be developed, with this other accurate
information being produced for the town.

Is it time to revisit Dominski-Oakrock?  The Weston Environmental Resources Manual of 1976 at least needs updating.  Its basic principles still hold water, no pun intended.  However, has development over the past quarter century
eroded river banks?  Is rainfall more intense now, or is it that the increasing percentage of impervious surfaces
townwide makes flooding a more common occurance?

In other communities around the country, information about lot lines, natural features, infrastructure, land use, and links to other information coded to each particular property
are available.   Most famously, Greenwich fights against revealing public infrastructure data, and may be winning this battle at the Freedom of Information Commission.

Some of this appears intrusive, and here in Weston we do not have the ability to cross-index maps and data.  Will any new Plan provide this to the general public? 
Should it?

Perhaps most importantly, should the Planning and Zoning Commission make this new Plan more comprehensive?  By this I mean including a section on Capital Planning.  

Should there be discussions of taxes?  How does land use relate to taxes?

What do you think are other relevant questions to ponder?  Post your thoughts at www.aboutweston.com/aboutwestonforums

---------------

Climate Change

“Climate change” can be hard to envision.  Treading water on Main Street in Westport is one vision.  Having this year’s Presidential Debates run in a non-partisan way,
such as they would be if the national League of Women Voters were to run them, would be another. 

Julie Belaga said it best.  Having recently been asked by the Weston League to speak to the topic "Restoring American Leadership in Global Environmental Affairs,"
she asked “what leadership?” 

This former Environmental Protection Agency Region One (New England) administrator was very frank.  She pointed out that E.P.A. is not an agency in the Cabinet on equal
footing with, for example State, Defense, or Education.   Until the next administration in Washington decides to make Climate Change a focus for all departments, America
will not be able to focus on its own environmental crises, never mind achieving “leadership” status worldwide.

Weston over the years, however, might be closer to leading the pack.  How does Weston come to be so smart and so lucky?  Why is it that we are able to politically unify
over almost any issue that smacks of environmental concern?  If Weston has a motto for municipal government improvements, it is “Less is more.” 

Our Republican First Selectmen is perhaps the most distinguished nature lover I have ever met.  He gets support from our Republican and new Democratic Selectpersons. 
They are thoughtful and dedicated.  The Board of Selectmen has our best interests at heart.  But it isn’t easy to keep a balance among competing community interests.

Can Weston navigate the waters of economic gloom and doom and come out at the other end still the natural, unsullied “rural” community we all know and love?

Will there be an ultimate happy ending to the Lachat saga?  This joint effort by the Town of Weston and the Nature Conservancy to create a “Juliana Lachat Preserve”
entrance to Devil’s Den began with initial purchase of part of the farm in 1997. 

I once met Leon Lachat at the Lunch Box.  He was a modest and kindly gentleman.  Mr. Lachat would have wanted Weston to be at peace as a community.  Let us try to
find a fitting middle ground.  One more time, let us join together to try to find a way to make the Juliana Lachat Preserve the new entrance to the Den, without destroying the neighborhood.

Call it municipal climate change.

----------------------

Town Plan Progress

What’s happening at the Planning and Zoning Commission?  How is work coming along on the Town Plan update?

This Plan will have to pass muster with the Board of Selectmen and possibly a Town Meeting.  So that means that we all must keep up with the planning process.  Read the
most recent Plan here: WestonTownPlan2000.pdf

The Commission would do well to retain a consultant for this summer.  Set up a schedule and locational map for traffic counts.  Gather data from the Police Department and
the State of Connecticut.  The Fire Department is a big player in our community as well.

New water testing has its schedule, too, and should be done during Fall and Spring.  The 1993 Weston Water Study needs updating.  Data gathering from secondary sources
of all kinds is a nice summertime activity.  While school is out is a good time to sit down with the Board of Education and its staff to gather historic information from their files. 
And find out what to plan for in their bailiwick. 

Find out about infrastructure plans including the Kaestle-Boos report.  Capital Planning deserves a whole chapter for itself in Town Plan 2010.  And let us not forget to check in
with the Building Committee and its Alternative Energy Sub-Committee. 

Part of the new Plan’s process should include general “meet the citizens” events beginning this winter, too.  And let’s not forget Global Warming!

------------------------

Regulations Update

Our zoning regulations need to be “tightened up.”

Development can erode the natural environment.  The effects of a “blow out” of soil and erosion protection devices at a construction site can be shocking. 

When there are steep slopes, there is always the opportunity for heavy rainfall to get the earth moving downhill.  And especially if a building lot is being redeveloped.  Bare
land is particularly vulnerable.

How to keep this from happening?  One way that is sure to minimize erosion is to simply not take down trees, bushes and grass.  This natural growth and its roots grabs the
soil and anchors it against all but the most calamitous events.

There are mathematical models to calculate runoff.  Some features to consider are degree of slope; frequency, duration, and severity of rain events; type of soil; and the natural features that are present

But make no mistake, whenever “engineered solutions” to development are employed, you are walking a thin line between “progress” and catastrophe.  In order to make
Weston’s two-acre zoning work for the future there must be changes made to our present zoning regulations.

These changes involve a strict reduction in “coverage” on a building lot.  Presently a two-acre lot may use 15 percent of its 87,000 square feet for the house and other structures.  Planning and Zoning should reduce this percentage
immediately.

There must also be provision made in one or more sections of the Town code to provide for proper management of roof runoff, such as via connection to underground drainage structures.  

Lastly, boards and commissions that deal with land use must keep in mind the need to always consider the impacts of their decisions on the ultimate sustainability of the
planet.  Beginning in Weston.

-----------------------

Green plan for Connecticut

What forms our environment?  The answer is we do.  Weston’s next Town Plan should be green.

The terms “carbon footprint” and “sustainability” are very popular now.  Books and scholarly papers come forth almost daily announcing the end of the world as we have
known it. 

One “inconvenient truth” is that globalization of the world’s economies has actually brought us into direct conflict with saving the planet. 

A global economy only works if the costs of cooperating in one big market do not exceed those of the alternative of going it alone.  Could the United States, for example,
get by without importing significantly from abroad?  Has this country ever been able to isolate itself? 

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island bear silent witness to the fact that the answer to my questions is “not really.”  In simpler times, before much of the industrial era,
maybe. 

Will we have to get used to a different calculus for job creation in the future?  The answer may lie in having a plan.  A green plan.  I have confidence that American businesses
that remain will find a way to redefine the old economic equation. 

Beginning in Weston, a “green plan” means being smart about how much the human footprint mars the natural environment.  No clear-cutting.  No bad chemicals on the
ground.  Keep the natural water cycle going every day! 

--------------------


Simple

Weston could get a complex about being a really small town.  With a limited tax base and unbridled appetite for spending money on education.  But what else is there to
spend tax money on?

No sewers.  No public water, except for the 29 homes near the former landfill off Godfrey Road.  An excellent Police Department, Public Works pros, devoted town hall and town
hall annex employees.  A part-time First Selectman.  Capital funding for needs of the volunteer Fire Department/Emergency Services group.

The little city that is our schools complex mirrors in some ways the rest of the community.  Along its meandering spine or “mile of safety” are speed bumps, stop signs, and
curb cuts.  The Board of Education works with the police to keep all modes of travel safe.

Cleverly designed loop roads help separate the different classes of vehicles.  Bus loading, service deliveries, emergency access, parking for teachers and students and other
staff all are part of the School Road plan. 

Adjoining the more than 100 acres of centralized school system, with no roadway cutting through, are Town Hall, Weston Library, Department of Public Works, and the Onion
Barn.  Have I left anything out?

This, in planning language, is called a “superblock.”  It is Weston’s Central Park.

-----------------------

Infrastructure

What is infrastructure?  Who wants it or needs it?

A quick tour of town just this week showed several types of infrastructure in several places.  There were significant clusters of street lights at the town hall-school complex. 
There are four intersections with traffic lights and one with a “blinker.”  We’ve got bridges, one under repair and one waiting in the wings for its redo. 

So Weston is not what you would call a “bustling metropolis” with a downtown and an “other side of the track” neighborhood.  There are no tracks.  When you have no
infrastructure capable of handling higher densities, developers will go elsewhere. 

One kind of infrastructure that Weston has is a road system.  In fact, as the Town Plan rewrite gets started, one of the first considerations should be how our road system is
working now and its prospects for the future.  Road drainage is a concern.  Run-off in Weston eventually makes its way to Long Island Sound.  So we try to keep catch basins
and storm sewers clear of silt.

There are two north-south State highways.  Major and minor Town roads meander east and west. And then there are private, dead end streets.  Most are paved but some are
not. 

Part of Weston’s charm, I have always thought, was how careful the community has always been at keeping up the fine condition of its roads.  Weston is, if nothing else, neat. 

One kind of infrastructure that Weston does not have is sewers.  That is why Weston maintains a system of large lot development, with effluent disposed of parcel by parcel.  Although we do have a tertiary treatment plant on School
Road, it is designed for school use only, and its maintenance and upkeep are in the school budget. 

The original Town Plan of 1969 envisioned town and school activity where they are today.  The Plans of 1987 and 2000 reinforced centralization of municipal activities. 

Infrastructure improvements in this next town plan should include investment in alternative energy within the boundaries of an “energy improvement district.”  Such a district
would encompass the schools campus and town facilities. 

This would be a bold first step. 

-----------------------


Density is destiny.

Weston has 500 people per square mile.  That’s 10,000 persons living on 20 square miles in the woods.  Almost every piece of land is spoken for.  Whether by human
homeowners or by other natural creatures resident in the vast, permanent open spaces in town.

In contrast, human density teems in a place such as Hong Kong.  Over 6,900,000 live in the 425 square miles of that port city.  That comes to more than 16,000 people per
square mile.

The history of Weston during the last few hundred years has been well documented.  Our form of government is the New England Town Meeting.  Hong Kong and its port have played a vital role in China’s relationship with the rest of the
world.  Its governance had long been feudal.  Then it became a colony and part of the British Empire.  In 1997 it
became a largely autonomous part of China.

That autonomy was only agreed to last for a minimum of 50 years.  Will Weston still be free in 2047?  Will town meeting government and a two-party system prevail much
longer in our town?  Thinking globally, I would answer my own question with a resounding “yes,” for two reasons. 

The first is that a lack of infrastructure, whether sewers, water lines or train tracks, makes us a non-starter in the larger economic picture.  Our “land capability” is nil.

Reason number two is that we are not foolish.  No matter how much Westonites disagree about small matters and money, we all recognize that this training ground for the
next generation of leaders and contributors to society must be nurtured and protected.

That is why the next Town Plan revision is so important.

Goals 2020

Ironically, the next Plan must cover the years 2010 to 2020.  Calling it a “2020 Vision” for Weston sounds catchy and right!

This is our first Plan written in the 21st century.  It seems an appropriate time for Weston to reexamine its goals.  I am not sure myself about some of them any more! 

For example, as the “basic goals” I would only state four this time.  The first encompasses several of the older Plan’s goals.  It is:  “RENEW:  Weston, a residential
community, should renew its compact with nature and dedicate itself to supporting the natural water cycle.”

The second goal for the new Plan should be:  “IMPROVE public infrastructure and its maintenance to minimize run-off waste and effects.” 

Goal number three links the voice of planning with the work of the Building Committee and the Global Warming Committee.  “MAXIMIZE efficient use of limited natural resources
in a time of climate change:  make the centralized school-town complex energy self-sustaining.”

This is where the Planning and Zoning Commission takes charge.  As part of work towards a new Plan, a study of feasibility for an energy improvement district would fit right in! 
The study could also recommend suitable attendant technology.

Efficiency and economy are ways to MINIMIZE the human footprint.  In the new Plan we must find ways to reuse land and buildings and resources.  And recycle!



--------------------------


Legend

A legend for a land use map follows conventions.  Land use colors for Weston are primarily yellow, green and blue, with just a dash of commercial red at the Center and at
Cobb’s Mill Inn.

And black.  Black is used to represent infrastructure.  In Weston that means roads.  Thicker or thinner, in double strands or even greater, planning maps are careful to place
roads correctly.  Dotted lines are road connections planned for the future.

All you need to look at is a town map of roads and immediately you can tell where you are.  Only Weston looks like Weston from the air!  North of Godfrey Road is forest, the deepest of deep green.  

Yellow is for low density residential properties.  In Town Plan 2000, this equaled 56% of all acreage in town.  Second in area was green, at 23%.  Green space is of different
kinds.  Passive uses, such as Aspetuck Land Trust Property, are one shade of green.  Active uses, such as Morehouse Farm Park, are a different tone of green.

Another 15% of our acreage was either undeveloped or undevelopable.  The aforementioned roads comprised 4%.

Public and semi-public land uses are shades of blue.  In Weston this includes Town Hall, the Fire Department, Library, Transfer Station, Public Works as well as school
property and churches.  These uses comprised the remaining 2% of total acreage.

Some colors not seen on a land use map of Weston are purple and browns.  Purple is the traditional color representing industrially classified property.  An example of industry
might be a factory.  Interestingly, in the 19th Century, Weston had a functioning axe tool factory and a toy factory!

Brown is the color of higher density housing.  Should Weston include this in the new Plan?  Only if we plan to build the necessary infrastructure, sewers and public water supply, and risk changing the character of our town!

----------------------

Afloat

When it rains, it pours.

There is a science behind the weather events we’ve been having, and their effects.  Besides the fashionable explanation of global warming.  In addition to increased run-off
caused by bigger homes and mounting coverage of paved areas.

Who can forget the graphic horror of Hurricane Katrina?  So many families and individuals and animals engulfed in the wet sorrow of that disaster.  But let us stop and think
for just a bit.

What was the real bottom line awful part of Katrina?  For me, it was the knowledge that the very same thing could and probably will happen again.  I had not really understood
that New Orleans was constructed below sea level prior to the storm.

How is this related to Weston?  The flood plains in town are mapped.  Planning and Zoning presides over regulations controlling development in these wet areas.  But like
New Orleans, much of Weston was developed prior to any zoning, subdivision, or Federal Emergency Management Administration (F.E.M.A.) edicts.

In reviewing F.E.M.A. grant programs, one stands out.  It is “pre-disaster mitigation.”  This is a planning program that sets in motion, at all levels of government, the effort to
get endangered structures out of harm’s way.

Funds to elevate houses, pay for hydrologic and hydraulic studies, and pay for storm water management projects come through F.E.M.A.  Qualifying for government funding, however, is not easy.  The available funds don’t go very far,
and most projects down our way don’t pass muster.

So it is ever more important to make our flood management regulations as strong as possible, and try to prevent disasters if we can!

--------------------


Building blocks

So cooperation among public and private sectors is the first building block for a happy financial future. 

Attention to detail in budget making is the second building block, in my opinion.  Lastly, wise land use planning is the capstone. 

After all, keeping Weston Weston is the goal.  These three factors should guarantee us a happy future. 

But we always must be prepared to ask tough questions.  Such as explanation of the cost-benefit calculations used to justify expenditures of public funds.  This kind of
question will be front and center at the League of Women Voters of Weston’s “Speak Up” in 2009.  Whatever the results of last Tuesday’s elections, there will be at least one
new voice there to stand and address the questions.

Weston’s budget process may reach a climax at the Board of Finance Public Hearing on March 31, 2009, which is held shortly before the Annual Town Budget Meeting,
scheduled for April 20, 2009.  Westonites who may not be fully up to date on the community’s financial position, and that means most of us, should use this opportunity to
grill the Board of Finance.

What is Weston’s situation?  Is the General Fund surplus as high as it was last year?  Has the latest town-wide revaluation of property shifted the tax burden from large
homes to small ones, or from new ones to older structures?

Is Weston’s Grand List shrinking? 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


POPULATION CLOCK


If Your Town Is Failing, Just Go
by Kevin D. Williamson
October 6, 2015 4:00 AM

A prescription for impoverished communities The town where my parents grew up and where my grandparents lived no longer exists. Phillips, Texas, is a ghost town. Before that it was a company town, a more or less wholly owned subsidiary of
the Phillips Petroleum Company...

Read article in full:  http://www.nationalreview.com/article/425116/mobility-globalization-poverty-solution

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 C.I.A. World Fact Book:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/us.html

ANOTHER SOURCE:  SIERRA CLUB ACTIVISTS*:
http://www.susps.org/overview/birthrates.html

*SUSPS® is a network of Sierra Club activists who support a comprehensive approach to environmentalism within the Sierra Club. We support Sierra Club policies and principles with the exception of current Sierra Club
U.S. population policy, which we believe is inadequate in addressing U.S. overpopulation. A comprehensive approach to environmentalism must include effective action for population stabilization in the United States.
Currently Sierra Club policies call for stabilizing U.S. population but do not address the combined impacts of mass migration and birth rates on U.S. population growth.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

U.S. Birth Rate Hits All-Time Low; Teen birth rate also falls to record low
By Robert Longley, About.com
Found 7/18/08

See More About:u.s. birth rate;  life span of americans;  u.s. population growth

Continuing a 12-year decline, the U.S. birth rate has dropped to the lowest level since national data have been available, according to statistics just released by the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC). The rate of births among teenagers also fell to a new record low, continuing a decline that began in 1991...

Please search the web for the remainder of this story.

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Weston selectmen approve new policy on culverts       
Weston FORUM
Written by Brian Gioiele    
Friday, November 21, 2008

The town is required to maintain drainage culverts, not replace them, even in areas where nearby properties endure periodic flooding, according to a newly established policy.
The Board of Selectmen on Thursday, Nov. 6, approved the final wording of the new policy on culvert replacement on town roads, a move stemming from the recent rash of requests from
residents asking the town to examine specific areas of flooding in town.

According to the new policy, the town is “under no obligation, legal or otherwise, to replace existing culverts” — an opinion town leaders received this past summer from Town Counsel Ken Bernhard.

The policy does state that the town will “cooperate with residents in order to determine the nature and location of the drainage problem.” Property owners may work with the town to replace culverts, according to the policy, if the project receives
approval from the selectmen and has been properly vetted by the town engineer, public works director, and police chief.

“The purpose of this policy is to establish rules for private property owners,” said Selectman Glenn Major. “It spells out what their expectations about the culverts should be.”

But that was little consolation for one couple at Thursday’s meeting. The Fischers, who live on Deep Wood Road, are among a handful of property owners in that stretch who have
experienced four flooding situations in the past two years.

“It defies any test of fairness,” said Barry Fischer. “It’s hard to come to terms with — that this is a town road but the town won’t take responsibility for it.”

Town Engineer John Conte, also present Thursday, told the selectmen the culvert in that area was built according to town standards and was not damaged. He then offered
recommendations that would help alleviate the flooding, but the work would be at the property owners’ expense...


Please search the Weston FORUM archives for the remainder of this story.


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Greenwich Time
NYTIMES
By TOM WOLFE
Published: September 27, 2008 (we only saw it today!)
 
Be aware that your correspondent is merely bringing you the news when he reports how many people have besieged the author of “The Bonfire of the Vanities” over the past week with the question, “Where does this leave the Masters of the
Universe now?”

“This” refers to the current credit panic. The Masters of the Universe is a phrase from that book referring to ambitious young men...


Please search the NYTIMES archives for the remainder of this story.

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Fairfield County still top-earning area in country
Norwalk HOUR
Staff Report
August 12, 2008

REGION -- The U.S. economy may be struggling as a whole, but Fairfield County residents still have money -- and lots of it. In fact, the region is the richest in the country.

It may not be equally distributed among all its residents, but the Bridgeport-Norwalk-Stamford metropolitan area had the highest average total income per resident at $80,192 in 2007 --
up from $74,281 in 2006. The 8 percent increase in per capita personal income also topped the national average increase of 6.2 percent.

The figures are according to data released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Fairfield County retained the top spot, while Naples-Marco Island, Fla., was second, and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif., was third.

The national per capita personal income (total income divided by number of residents) in 2007 was $38,632, less than half of Fairfield County's. In Connecticut, Hartford ($47,641) was the
second richest county and ranked 17th among the U.S.'s 363 metropolitan areas.

Connecticut was the highest-earning state with an average of $54,117 -- 40 percent above the national average. New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York and Maryland followed Connecticut
as the richest state. Mississippi was the lowest-earning state at $28,845...

Please search the Norwalk HOUR for the remainder of this story.

--------------------
Economy is no drag on vacancies
Stamford ADVOCATE
By Peter Healy
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 08/05/2008 02:42:39 AM EDT

As developers work on grandiose plans for projects that might attract the next UBS AG or Royal Bank of Scotland to Stamford, the city's office availability rate has remained virtually flat
this year...

Please search the ADVOCAT archives for the remainder of this story.

--------------------

AND IN 2015 CENSUS DATA SHOWS TWO YEARS RUNNING OF CT POPULATION LOSSES.
Population loss is threat to our state
Stamford ADVOCATE
Staff Reports
Article Launched: 07/12/2008 02:39:30 AM EDT

Get ready for some competitive congressional races in Connecticut soon after the 2020 Census. That's the time officials say the state is likely to lose one of its five remaining U.S. House
seats - we originally had six - and with it one of its seven electoral votes.

The state showed growth over the past year that could charitably be called "anemic." The population rose 0.19 percent in the past year, the equivalent of adding about 6,500 people. In a
state of almost 3.5 million, that's almost like going backward.

A multigenerational trend is emptying out the Northeast and filling up the West, specifically places like Arizona, Colorado and Nevada. Those states stand to pick up the congressional seats,
and the national clout, that Connecticut and its neighbors appear on track to lose...

Please search the ADVOCATE archives for the remainder of this story.


--------------------------

Estimate from State Data Center at UCONN...

Stamford ADVOCATE
By Kate King, Special Correspondent
Article Launched: 07/11/2008 01:00:00 AM EDT

Fairfield County saw a small increase in population despite a drop statewide, according to census figures released yesterday.

Stamford, Greenwich, New Canaan, Darien and Westport all saw minor increases, according to the data. Norwalk posted a decline of 0.1 percent.  But the statewide picture isn't promising, experts say, pointing to a shrinking work force, loss of
 jobs, an aging population and a potential reduction in state representation in Washington, D.C.

"This population growth is consistent with our slow growth in the recent past," said Lisa Mercurio, director of the Business Council of Fairfield County. "New England as a whole has been
growing more slowly than the rest of the U.S."

The population in Connecticut rose 0.19 percent over the last year, according to the census data.  Connecticut's population growth is the eighth lowest in the nation, according the report.
Nevada had the highest growth rate since 2006 at 2.9 percent, and Rhode Island had the lowest at minus 0.36 percent.

Within Connecticut, Milford's population grew the most, by 532 people. Bridgeport showed the biggest population decline, losing 252 people over the past year...

Please search the ADVOCATE archives for the remainder of this story.


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Uncomfortable Answers to Questions on the Economy
NYTIMES 
By PETER S. GOODMAN
Published: July 19, 2008

You have heard that Fannie and Freddie, their gentle names notwithstanding, may cripple the financial system without a large infusion of taxpayer money. You have gleaned that jobs are disappearing, housing prices are plummeting, and paychecks
are effectively shrinking as food and energy prices soar. You have noted the disturbing talk of crisis hovering over Wall Street...

“The open question is whether we’re in for a bad couple of years, or a bad decade,” said Kenneth S. Rogoff, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, now a professor at Harvard...

Please search the NYTIMES archives for the remainder of this story.

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Region boasts highest GDP
Greenwich TIME
By Elizabeth Kim, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 07/20/2008 02:31:14 AM EDT

Call it a triumph of brains over brawn.

The region consisting of Stamford, Bridgeport and Norwalk has the highest average gross domestic product per capita in the country, according to a new economic study from the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York.

In their report, "Human Capital and Economic Activity in Urban America," economists Jaison Abel and Todd Gabe cited the 20 highest average gross domestic product per capita of
metropolitan areas from 2001 to 2005. They based their list on data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The Stamford, Bridgeport and Norwalk area, considered a contiguous employment zone, had an average GDP per capita of $74,261. In second place was the San Jose, Calif., area with
$66,708. The greater New York area, which includes northern New Jersey, came in 15th, with an average of $51,440...

Please search the ADVOCATE archives for the remainder of this story.

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Report: Westport Commercial Real Estate Takes Hit
WestportNow
July 11, 2008

Reflecting tough economic times, the Westport office vacancy rate stayed at around 7.5 percent for the third period in a row but availability rates went up to 12.5 percent as of July 1, a
long-time Westport commercial real estate broker said today...

Please search WestportNow archives for the remainder of this story.


---------------------

Towns can’t be stricter with big subdivisions;  Windsor ‘Lord’s Woods’ case sets statewide precedent
By Alex Wood, Manchester Journal Inquirer
Published: Friday, September 5, 2008 11:36 PM EDT

In a Windsor case with statewide significance, the state Supreme Court ruled this week that local planning and zoning commissions can’t impose stricter standards on large subdivisions
than they do on small ones...

Please search the Manchester Journal-Inquirer archives for the remainder of this story.

------------------------------



Weston's Plan of Development: What is the town's vision?       
Weston Forum
Written by Patricia Gay    
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 

School expansion, adequate municipal septic facilities, and the need for active recreational areas.

When the town of Weston put together its Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) 10 years ago, those were three major public concerns.

But are they the same concerns people in town have today?

That’s what land use experts are hoping to find out at a special planning workshop being held Thursday, Feb. 26, at the Weston High School cafeteria. The purpose is to gather public
input on land use issues for development of the new plan.

The workshop will be moderated by Glenn Chalder of Planimetrics, an Avon-based planning and consulting firm. “Ultimately, the new plan of development should reflect the town’s vision,
and you need to know what that vision is,” Mr. Chalder told members of the Planning and Zoning Commission at a recent meeting...

Please search the Weston FORUM archives for the remainder of this story.

 -------------------------

Public nixes idea of expanded village district in Weston
Weston FORUM
Written by Patricia Gay
Thursday, 23 July 2009 00:00

A large majority of residents attending a town plan workshop were against the concept of forming a village district in the center of Weston.

Harold Halpin, a 16-year resident of Weston and member of the Weston Village District Coalition, appeared before the Planning and Zoning Commission Monday night, July 20, to discuss a multi-zoned, village district plan that would allow for a
mix of residential, municipal, religious, and business uses in the town center.

The town is currently zoned residential, with one exception — the Neighborhood Shopping District, which houses Weston Center.

Mr. Halpin asked P&Z to consider incorporating a village district into the town’s 10-year Plan of Conservation and Development, which the commission is in the midst of reviewing and updating.

He said the district would be a good thing for Weston and give the town flexibility to add things like medical offices, sidewalks and cafes.

“The idea is not to turn the center into a commercial district, but to protect the distinct character of the town while adding some more services,” Mr. Halpin said.

Another benefit he said was that land values within the district would increase — if and when residents decided to sell.

P&Z member Don Saltzman did not care for the idea. “It’s too broad a concept. It’s difficult to encumber people’s houses and I don’t understand why churches are included,” he said.

Several residents with homes within the proposed contours of the district said they did not want to risk someone next to them putting up a commercial structure.

Others who spoke against the idea said it was unfair that houses within the district could benefit and profit by selling their homes for commercial development.

And several other others said they wanted Weston to stay as it was, without more development...


Please search the Weston FORUM archives for the remainder of this story.


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Read it now!

Expert: World's water crisis will grow worse if action not taken 
DAY
By Judy Benson 
Published on 4/4/2009

New London - Friday's intermittent rain and dense fog suited the occasion: the first of two days of a conference featuring scholarly talks about water.
The conference, “Water Scarcity & Conflict,” focused on a commodity many Americans take for granted and often waste, but one that is increasingly the source of tensions and supply
problems across the world.

”I think there is a water crisis, and it's getting worse, not better,” said Peter Gleick, a leading expert on the sustainable use of water, who gave the opening address. Gleick is co-founder
and president of The Pacific Institute, a nonpartisan policy research group focusing on environment and development issues. He is also a member of the National Academy of Science
and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Gleick noted there is good news about water - Americans consume less than 20 years ago, for example, thanks largely to water-conserving toilets and a shift away from industries
that use large amounts...

 Please search the New London DAY archives for the remainder of this story.
 
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What's up in planning elsewhere - like in Hartford 2016 (same planers as...wire mill in Georgetown project)

Connecticut slowly embraces a new approach to zoning
Hartford Courant
By Tom Condon | February 10, 2016

...Hamden has joined a quiet revolution going on across the country in an area not usually associated with revolutionary fervor: zoning. Instead of focusing on what a building is used for, as traditional zoning does, the new approach, called
“form-based zoning,” concentrates on what a building looks like — its form — and how it relates to the street and the neighborhood.  Story in full:  http://ctmirror.org/2016/02/10/connecticut-slowly-embraces-a-new-approach-to-zoning/

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 At Forum In Hartford, Planners Talk About Reshaping State's Future
The Hartford Courant
By DON STACOM
June 1, 2009

Clustering new housing around Connecticut's job centers, transit lines and existing commercial hubs would significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the cost of infrastructure in the decades ahead, regional planners said at a forum in
Hartford.

Starting from that basic premise, the group Friday exploring possible approaches to the state's future that ranged from the innocuous, such as tax incentives for building apartment towers near Union Station, to the semi-revolutionary — creating a
streetcar route from downtown to the University of Connecticut Medical Center via Farmington Avenue.

"It's about giving people freedom to choose, and preserving long-term value for our communities," said David Kooris, Connecticut director of the Regional Plan Association...

Please search the Hartford Courant archives for the remainder of this story.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paris Journal: A Paris Plan, Less Grand Than Gritty
NYTIMES
By STEVEN ERLANGER
June 11, 2009

PARIS — Every president of France’s Fifth Republic has had his Pharaonic project, by which he believes he will leave his mark on the capital and French culture.

François Mitterrand, a fierce Socialist known as the Sphinx, left the new French national library and, to continue the Ozymandias theme, the controversial glass pyramid in the Louvre. Jacques Chirac left the Musée du Quai Branly, an
anthropological museum, with an argumentative design by the French architect Jean Nouvel.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, no slouch, wants nothing more than to leave behind “Le Grand Paris.” In more than a year of discussions, there have been some spectacular ideas and drawings by 10 teams of famous architects, drawn by the
president’s invitation to reimagine Paris as a city integrated with its suburbs and responsible in its environmental footprint...

 Please search the NYTIMES archives for the remainder of this story.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
         

OTHER PLANNING RESOURCES: 

QUESTIONS:  How does this relate to Aquarion's well fields?  AQUIFER PROTECTION ZONE (p. 38 of Weston Town Plan 2010) shown - it extends into Westport...how far?
What's happening in Westport that might or might not affect Weston policies?  Link to WestportNow story:  http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v2_5/comments/conservation_commission_tours_bridgewater_campus/#more

Still online here is this information for your use:  "Smart growth" in CT Legislature thru the years and updates.


* 
SCHOOL-TOWN CONSTRUCTION
Story as About Weston followed it, without links to in-depth reports previously online.

How did we get to where we are?  What drove the debate?  There were two parallel and recurring themes - septic solution and school expansion.  Seen above left is an old photo of the FRONT of WMS - voting takes place in the Old Gym, which has access around the back...next new and old at WHS
and the WIS (r.)

What were we voting about all over again?
This was the original Referendum Number One Nov. 15, 2001 question (Question #2) and the original result was 2200 - 1892 in favor of a 3-4-5 school;  the new Referendum question was reversed ("yes" meaning "no" and "no" meaning "yes" to
construction of the new 3-4-5 school).  To be a Weston Town Meeting voter you have to have had advanced courses in obfuscation.
April 22, 2003 do-over Referendum Number Two:  3450 votes cast (total includes 252 absentee ballots):
Favoring 3-4-5 school ("no" votes) =  2231 (64.7%)...31 votes more than Nov. 15, 2001 Referendum #1;
Against 3-4-5 school ("yes" votes) =  1219 (35.3%)...673 fewer than in Nov. 15, 2001 Referendum #1.
HOW WE GOT TO WHERE WE ARE:
Intermediate School open September 2005, Weston High School doubled in size, "opened" May '06

PRELUDE: Where this all began - the history (1995 through current) of sewage disposal discussion;  ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY of three (3) different architect/planners' plans for Weston's school expansion.

SEPTIC SOLUTION:

        SELECT COMMITTEE ...Once confronted with the choice of school expansion and sewers, the Town said a loud "NO" in May 2000 - and so the "Select Committee" (with the longest title in the world) was formed;  report from State
Department of Education on school population forecast given.

        SELECT COMMITTEE WORKBOOK:The Committee goes to work...supplied with documents by the then Town Administrator;  Select Committee gets extensions...

         GENERATORS OF EFFLUENT:  What is the status of septic generation in the heart of Weston?  How can this problem be treated without sewers?

        SEPTIC SYSTEM/SEWAGE TREATMENT LOCATION...CT D.E.P. lays down the law;  upgrades needed to existing systems before any remedy can be permitted for tertiary treatment options.

SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION/EXPANSION:  Unofficial minutes for School Building project (as far back as May 2000--in reverse chronological order), by "About Town"--we did not miss one Building Committee/School Building Committee
meeting since the Referendum of November 15, 2001) until after the completion of construction of the Referendum project;

        SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE: with additional representation from Select Committee (alternatives to sewers), Board of Education facilties sub-committee, Superintendent of Schools and design critic, the Building Committee
shoulders the task of administrating the early phases of work on school expansion.  Together, these 11 individuals make up the "School Building Committee."  As design work progresses, a Construction Management firm and an Owner's
Representative come on board to administrate/supervise the November 15, 2001 Referendum work.

        FLETCHER-THOMPSON: Architects of the Plan that won the Referendum of Nov. 15, 2001.  Previous description of "alternatives" (no $$ here).  Results of Adjourned Town Meeting machine vote that cut short planning prior to
Referendum of Nov. 15, 2001 HERE... during the summer of 2001, planning for school referendum continues...big meeting at Weston Library.

        DESIGN SUB-COMMITTEE...begun on December 4, 2001...design detailing now held at end of School Building Committee meetings.
        Early design timeline (not current official document).

        O,R& L CONCEPTS:  For historical reference - the ideas of the second architect/planner:The Plan for school construction put on shelf as septic issue and "sticker shock" - high bonding cost - combine to bring the two separate
issue discussions together, and bring the school improvement program to a temporary halt in  February 2000.  What were O,R&L's "options" for school expansion?




Prelude


This is where it all began:  Shortly there after came the Town Engineer's news (l.) and link to reports on "Impact of Sewage Treatment on the Character of Weston" and more.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 1995 (WESTPORT NEWS):  On the left is the Town Engineer describing the septic systems at the Schools; right is a suggested place to locate the tertiary treatment plant if such a solution is considered.  "We may
have room for expansion (on School Road), but it needs more study" he said. 

The School Road alternative ultimately worked out (Conservation had denied Town-preferred option at  Bisceglie twice - second time March 2003).

------------------------------


(NOTE--EXPANSION #1, The Overture) FOUR CLASSROOMS:  We note that this first expansion took place in 1993-94 approx.

 The Board of Education had reduced that proposed addition from 8 rooms [including 4 finished and 4 unfinished] to 4 finished rooms only over the recommendation of a committee representing Town Boards and employees knowledgeable on the
subject of real estate and growth--this was the period of time when Weston was ahead of its neighbors, having anticipated the need for elementary capacity before other communities did.)


_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



It was January 1995...
 
For those paying attention in January 1995, during the first go-round of "Joint School-Town Facilities Planning" efforts, this information will not come as news.  One Saturday morning in Town Hall (shown above) at a "Joint... Committee" meeting, in
January of 1995, the Town Engineer had news that was most distressing.  A member of the Building Committee is reported to have said that the State of Connecticut can "shut down the schools" if there is a problem with the old systems there.

D.E.P., according to the Town Engineer, wanted to see a plan from the Town showing how it might deal with future expansion at the schools.  His recommendation, if memory serves, was to place a tertiary treatment plant in Bisceglie Park or on
School Road and no doubt make other improvements to the septic fields as required.

-----------------------------
"There are no more children"... was the cry mid-decade!

 That winter finding out how many children resided in our Town became an issue.  It was smack in the middle of the decade between U.S. Census of Population 1990 and what was to become "U.S. Census 2000" now completed (and getting out of
date, perhaps).  Demographers were projecting a continuation of dropping birth rates in wealthy countries (as more women went to work during peak years of fertility).

-----------------------------
 State estimates prior to that first Census of Children (1995)...
 
 The State of Connecticut estimate for children under five years of age in Weston was, if memory serves, somewhere in the range of 475 little persons.  This was considered a big number at that time.  A prior addition to Hurlbutt just completed was
totally occupied in the space of time of one school year!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

No overall Plan...still a data gap

But where was our plan--long range or even short range? 

At this time, a "Census of Children '95" in behalf of the then Board of Selectmen was undertaken (by the author of this "About Town" website). 

As already noted above, the Hurlbutt P.T.O. (and other P.T.O.'s, too) sent out the same census forms to their constituencies, and together, the Town and the School community, plus aid from the Assessor's information as a secondary source,
without double-counting anybody, arrived at a number of children under the age of 5 years living in Weston in the summer of 1995--that number was 808.

Remember that, as noted above, official demographers were estimating the same cohort to total only 475.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 (NOTE:  EXPANSION #2) New library at Hurlbutt and new staff space connecting buildings at Hurlbutt
  • "Core" building--or as some said, "Corridor Building",
  • Conversion of old staff space to classrooms--
  • As well as new rooms created out of either too small or too large spaces at Weston Middle School. 
  • Also included in this effort was construction of a new Board of Education Headquarters Building on School Road [at the site of the old portables/Weston UNION]--removing the Board of Ed from WMS, freeing up a wing for more teaching space).
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Weston tidal wave breaking...

Another slightly different yet similar Town Census in 1997 showed only a minor downturn (but not continued expanding upward growth trend) in the numbers of children alive and well and living in Weston--just two years after the first Census of Children.

Only at this point did anyone truly recognize that a tidal wave of children was approaching the Weston School System.  The Board of Selectmen acted. They called upon the architect-planner of the second school expansion (see EXPANSION
#2 above)--to propose a new solution. (Phase One or was it Phase Two of that original multiphase plan had the Board of Education Headquarters placed in the to-be converted Bus Garage --not as the Plan was actually implemented--in its own, new
building further up School Road)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

June '98:  The big meeting in Weston Middle School...

A noisy crowd in  June 1998 rejected the quickly developed Board of Selectmen options, which first identified the septic disposal problem for the general public.

And informed they were soon enough!

 It was at this point that "No Sewage Plant..." (or was it "No Sewers...") became a rallying cry.  That "plant" had been suggested for either School Road or Bisceglie Park.  In March of 1999 the Board of Education was still looking for the "out of the
box" thinker, and selecting yet another architect-planner.

The community was divided about how to approach the impending inundation of the schools--should we build a new high school somewhere and convert the older buildings on School Road to lower grades...or should we build a "3-4-5 school" on
campus and fill in wetlands, overcrowd the center of Town...or should we do nothing and wait for the storm to subside naturally? And there were more scenarios to pick from, further fragmenting the population.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Back to the drawing boards with a new planner...

Our version of the work of School Facilities Planners leading up to their proposal for a School Road campus plan--and then the plan itself plus visual representations no longer online. (Option 4A).

After the new planner proposed what the Town and School Board wanted to hear--that we could makes changes to school policy, rework roads and fields and manage to maintain excellence ...the other shoe dropped--or was it shoes, plural? 

First, the estimate for this reworking of our school system was expected to total $70,000,000, and second, we would probably need sewers in order to accommodate the density of new construction and pavement. 

(NOTE:  This is my interpretation of the proposal--a more than standing-room only crowd in the high school auditorium voiced its displeasure with the idea for sewers.)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The sewage treatment issue...
 
In the interim, the Planning and Zoning Commission updated the Town Plan (as required by the State of Connecticut).  The Town Plan of Conservation and Development 2000 as adopted June 30, 2000 is now recommending off-campus school
development (if necessary to avoid installing infrastructure such as sewers or public water supply pipes). 

A "Select Committee" was appointed by the Board of Selectmen to find a way to deal with effluent from the school complex without necessitating sewerage.  They then created sub-committees with added membership, to look into various
aspects of the issue.

And naturally, it was time for a new town census--as the U.S. Census of Population and Housing 2000 was not ready in a timely fashion...click here to see the Town/School Census 2000 questions.

To be continued...did you save the "No Sewage Plant" signs from a few years ago?  Are the arguments for and against tertiary treatment (as opposed to sewer line to Norwalk, pro and con) going to be revived?  Any new ideas?

And it was time to do the Census of Children again.  This time the Town of Weston undertook the project by itself and apparently made sure everyone answered the questionnaire!
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 




Town Seal designed by Blake Hampton.
This is an unauthorized publication of the FIRST MAILING for the Weston Census 2000 form, designed and uploaded as of October 14, 2000, intended only for informational purposes.  A new form has been sent out by
the Town of Weston to the households not responding to the October mailing (an unofficial version here shown below).  This version below was not intended as a substitute for the official document...IF YOU NEEDED
ANOTHER OFFICIAL "OCTOBER" CENSUS FORM (i.e. the dog had the original one for lunch) YOU WERE ASKED BY THIS "ABOUT TOWN" INTERNET PAGE TO GO TO TOWN HALL AND
ASK FOR ONE FROM  THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY...OR ASK THE TOWN CLERK!  HOWEVER YOU MANAGED TO DO IT, YOU WERE (AND ARE BEING) ASKED
TO PLEASE COOPERATE!!!
Town of Weston, Connecticut
October 2000

Dear Weston Resident:

As part of the process for planning for the future needs of the community, we must identify the ages of our residents.  Each age group identifies a different need for our community.  Without understanding the demographics of our town, we
cannot properly plan for tomorrow and the future.  The Board of Selectmen strongly requests your participation in this local census program by answering the following questions.  All specific information will be kept confidential.  Thank you in
advance for your prompt participation and response.

1.  Please fill in your address________________________________________.

2.  How many years has your household (or family) lived in Weston? (circle one)
Less than two years         Two to five years    Five to ten years      More than ten years

3.  Please enter the number of persons living at your address in each of the following age categories:
Under 19_______ 19 to 25_______  26-44__________    45 to 55_________  65+_______

4.  My family plans to stay in Weston for the next (circle one) years:
Less than two years.     Two to five years.     Five to ten years.      More than ten years.

5.  If you have children living in your household 19 years of age or under, please supply the following information.  (If not, Skip to question 6)
 

#  OF  CHILDREN  IN YOUR  HOUSEHOLD

Date
of
Birth
mo/yr		 Grade
in School,
Fall 2000		 Attends
Weston
Schools
y/n		 Attends
Private
School
y/n		 Would you use before school childcare at Hurlbutt?
y/n		 ...After school childcare at Hurlbutt? y/n
Child
#1		 ____ ____ ____ _____ _____ _____
Child
#2		 ____ ____ ____ _____ _____ _____
Child
#3		 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Child #4 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Child
#5		 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ _____

6.  Enter the month and year of birth for all members of your household over the age of 19. 




A history of the Weston Town Census program is no longer online.

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