Land Use Committee

Draft CITY OF NORWALK LAND USE COMMITTEE January 17, 2017 PRESENT: Steven Ferguson, Chair; George Tsiranides; Walter McLaughlin; David Davidson; Frances DiMeglio; William Dunne; Nora King STAFF: Michael Wrinn; Frank Strauch OTHERS: Ms. DiMeglio returned to the room. Mr. Tsiranides began the meeting. I. REFERRALS: Review and recommendation a) Zoning Commission referral - #9-16R – Zoning Commission – Proposed amendment to Section 118-1110 Coastal Zone regarding vegetated buffers from the Coastal Jurisdiction Line for properties in the Coastal Zone Mr. Wrinn began the presentation by explaining that there is currently no jurisdiction in the Zoning regulations for buffers from the coastal jurisdiction line. He explained what the buffers would be made of and used for. He explained the pros and cons of the buffers. There was a discussion of other coastal towns that have these types of regulations. He said that the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“D.E.EP.”) is pleased that Norwalk is proposing regulations but had wanted to see a larger buffer. There was a discussion of how it would be enforced and the flexibility of the regulation. Ms. King explained how Mr. Blank, the Chair of the Zoning Commission, worked with input from different areas of the city to draft the proposed amendment. There was a discussion of the use of the word “may” in it. There was then a discussion of the natural buffer that would be required to be used. The commissioners then discussed whether “may” vs. “shall” should be used in the proposed amendment. The application was moved to the Planning Commission agenda. b) Zoning Commission referral - #10-16R - Zoning Commission – Proposed amendments to Articles 111 and 140 regarding fees for various applications and adoption of new fee schedule – For distribution only; action at February meeting Mr. Wrinn began the presentation with a description of the fees that would be raised. They had not been raised recently. He was asked to provide a list of the old fees as well as what the fees were in the surrounding towns. He also said that the fees would be broken out of the regulations so that they were not in multiple places. He apologized for confusing the commissioners and then said the fees would not be changed at this Land Use Committee January 17, 2017 Page 1 of 2 point. He said that next month the commissioners would receive a list of the old fees, proposed fees and what the surrounding towns charge. There was a discussion in which some of the commissioners thought the fees were low. He also explained that the state took most of the fees compared to what the city kept. c) Zoning Commission referral - #11-16R - Zoning Commission – Proposed amendments to Article 140 regarding technical review of various applications – For distribution only; action at February meeting Mr. Wrinn began the presentation by explaining the proposed amendment which would require applicants to pay for peer review consultants, if the Zoning Department staff deemed it necessary for the application. He explained how the regulation would work. It would help the staff hire a consultant. II. Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) Mr. Wrinn said that requests for consultants had been sent out and they had 2 weeks to submit proposals. The meeting was adjourned at 7:46 p.m. Respectfully submitted by, Diana Palmentiero Land Use Committee January 17, 2017 Page 2 of 2