Fair Housing Advisory Commission

Regular Meeting

Norwalk, CT · June 16, 2025

Minutes

SPECIAL MEETING – FAIR HOUSING ADVISORY COMMISSION AGENDA June 16, 2025, 3:00 PM VIRTUAL MEETING VIA ZOOM Attendance: Rev. Richard Clarke, Joseph Mann, Alexandra Sollazzo, LMSW, Carol Frank, Daisy Franklin, Jalin T. Sead (Chair) I. CALL TO ORDER Mr. Sead called the meeting to order at 3:04 PM. II. ROLL CALL Mr. Sead called the roll and announced there was a quorum present. III. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES A. Special Meeting – May 19, 2025 Motion to approve the May 19 minutes was made and seconded. With no corrections offered, the minutes were accepted unanimously. IV. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION No members of the public requested time, and no written comments had been submitted in advance. V. OLD BUSINESS A. Housing Justice Starts Here: A Reintroduction to the Norwalk Fair Housing Office Zabrina reported that the June webinar drew 38 attendees (out of 41 RSVPs) and ran 72 minutes. Since the event, she has received five requests from local nonprofits to repeat the presentation and one request for a deeper dive on fair-housing issues specific to senior housing. Commissioners who attended noted strong engagement and positive feedback. City of Norwalk Fair Housing Commission Special Meeting April 29, 2025 1 VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Meeting Dates and Times Commissioners reviewed the regular 3 p.m. meeting time and agreed it still works. A motion passed to adopt a hybrid format going forward: meetings will always have a Zoom option, while the Fair Housing Office will remain open for those who prefer to attend in person. Scheduled dates will remain on the calendar; meetings can be cancelled if there is no business. B. Fair Housing Officer Report Upcoming Event – “Survival and Resilience: Norwalk in Focus” • Format and logistics: In-person screening of Survival of a Small City on July 17, 1–3 p.m., in the Community Room. Attendance will be capped at 40 due to space limits. Light refreshments (water, soda, coffee, popcorn, chips, pastries) will be provided. • Film length: After discussion, the group leaned toward showing the full hour-long film, followed by a brief panel discussion (10–15 minutes). Commissioners will preview the film online if desired; Zabrina will supply the link. • Next steps: Zabrina will send calendar invites and coordinate a short post-film panel. Commissioners interested in serving on the panel should let her know. Fair Housing Officer Updates • Case load: Zabrina returned from scheduled leave to five new complaints that appear to warrant investigation, including one case that presents as overt racial discrimination. She is gathering additional documentation before sharing details. • Social media outreach: Instagram followers rose by 30 after the webinar, for a total of 114 followers and roughly 3,700 content views. About half the audience is in Norwalk; the largest age bracket is 25-34, and two-thirds are women. Although reach is growing, 74 percent of viewers are not yet followers, so engagement strategies will continue (QR codes at events, links in email signatures, etc.). VII. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, a motion to adjourn was made, seconded, and approved. The meeting ended at approximately 3:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Zabrina Román Fair Housing Officer, City of Norwalk City of Norwalk Fair Housing Commission Special Meeting April 29, 2025 2

Agenda

Packet

REGULAR MEETING – FAIR HOUSING ADVISORY COMMISSION AGENDA JUNE 16, 2025, 3:00 PM VIRTUAL VIA ZOOM To allow public access, anyone may access a meeting by telephone and/or Zoom, or a recording in the City of Norwalk YouTube channel. Specific instructions and links can be found at norwalkct.gov/meetings. Members of the public may call in to participate. Callers will not be able to see the meeting participants. All participants will be muted upon entering the meeting. To speak, dial *9 on the phone and you will be called on by the host of the meeting during the public comment section. All speakers must state their name and address. Comments must be on a topic on the agenda, and are limited to three minutes. Anyone disrupting the orderly conduct of the meeting, including by using threatening, hateful, or sexually-explicit language, will be removed. Please find the information using the link above. Members of the public who wish to provide "live comments" may also use the Zoom meeting platform. All participants will be muted upon entering the meeting. To speak, click the “raise your hand indicator” and you will be called by the host of the meeting during the public comment section. All speakers must state their name and address. Comments must be on a topic on the agenda, and are limited to three minutes. Anyone disrupting the orderly conduct of the meeting, including by using threatening, hateful, or sexually-explicit language, will be removed. Please find the information using the link above. Members of the public who wish to provide public comment are encouraged to submit those via email in advance of the meeting. For these comments to be included into the record, they must be submitted by 12:00 p.m. the day of the meeting. Please email Margaret Suib at msuib@norwalkct.gov with the subject line “Public Comment” to provide written public comment prior to the meeting. I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES A. Special Meeting: 5/19/2025 IV. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION V. OLD BUSINESS A. Housing Justice Starts Here: A Reintroduction to the Norwalk Fair Housing Office VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Meeting Dates and Times B. Fair Housing Officer Updates Page 1 of 4 VII. ADJOURNMENT Page 2 of 4 SPECIAL MEETING – FAIR HOUSING ADVISORY COMMISSION AGENDA May 19, 2025, 4:00 PM HYBRID BY ZOOM VIRTUAL MEETING & NORWALK FAIR HOUSING OFFICE 137 EAST AVENUE 2ND FLOOR NORWALK CT 06851-5702 Attendance: Jalin T. Sead (Chair), Carol Frank, Joseph Mann, Brenda Penn-Williams I. CALL TO ORDER Due to a lack of quorum at the beginning of the meeting, the meeting was called to order informally at approximately 4:00 PM by Fair Housing Officer Zabrina Roman. Updates and discussions proceeded until quorum was established later in the meeting. II. ROLL CALL A quorum was officially established at approximately 5:00 PM upon Brenda’s arrival. III. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES A. Special Meeting – April 21, 2025 Motion: was made by Joseph Mann to accept the minutes from the Special Meeting held on April 21, 2025. Second: Jalin T. Sead and Brenda Penn-Williams voted in favor Abstained: Carol Frank Vote: Motion passed. IV. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION No members of the public were present for comment. V. OLD BUSINESS None discussed due to the delayed quorum. City of Norwalk Fair Housing Commission Special Meeting May 19, 2025 1 Page 3 of 4 VI. NEW BUSINESS A. Fair Housing Officer Report Zabrina Roman shared the following updates: • The office received 20 phone calls and 3 emails requesting assistance since the last meeting. • Zabrina has launched an Instagram page for the Norwalk Fair Housing Office, which has begun to gain traction. A recent video received 354 views, 46% from non- followers. Plans are underway to create a Facebook and LinkedIn page, with Instagram content auto-posting to Facebook for efficiency. • Community outreach includes a recent meeting with Triangle Community Center regarding LGBTQ+ housing concerns. B. Housing Justice Starts Here: A Reintroduction to Norwalk’s Fair Housing Office • An upcoming webinar on June 6, 2025 will feature remarks from the Commissioner of Housing, Chair Jaylen, and a 20-minute presentation by Zabrina on the office’s work and housing discrimination. • 25 RSVPs have been received; many organizations are planning to share the webinar with their networks. • A July event is in planning, a screening of Survival of a Small City, potentially followed by a panel discussion featuring Commission members and redevelopment representatives. • Zabrina emphasized the goal of hosting at least one event per month, alternating between in-person and virtual formats. A possible August event may focus on early childhood educators and the impact of housing on their work. Discussion on Meeting Frequency and Time • Members discussed the possibility of reducing meeting frequency to every other month during the summer, with flexibility depending on upcoming events or pressing business. Zabrina will circulate a proposed meeting schedule for the remainder of the year. VII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Joseph Mann moved to adjourn the meeting. SECOND: Jalin T. Sead second. VOTE: Unanimously approved. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 5:30 PM. Respectfully submitted, Zabrina Román Fair Housing Officer, City of Norwalk City of Norwalk Fair Housing Commission Special Meeting May 19, 2025 2 Page 4 of 4