OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Stamford Planning Board Special Meeting - September 22, 2025

Planning Board — Monday, September 22, 2025
BodyStamford, Connecticut
SessionPlanning Board
DateMonday, September 22, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:51:05

Transcript — Verbatim
0:12

Okay.

0:16

Jennifer was here.

0:18

Now she's here.

0:19

Let's see.

0:24

Okay, here she attendees.

0:28

Make her presenter change.

0:37

All right.

0:37

Good afternoon.

0:41

Sorry for the scheduling and technical difficulties.

0:49

It wasn't recognizing you for who you are, right?

0:53

I don't, it was very odd.

0:54

I was clicking on the Outlook link and then it said it couldn't verify that the link was safe.

0:59

I'm like, it's your own link in the system.

1:07

So I'm emailing with Katherine Bobo and she said who is our school construction person.

1:16

She says her and the team are in the lobby, but I don't see anybody in the lobby.

1:20

So that's uh I know we have some minutes to to approve, so maybe we can hopefully we'll they'll be able to join by the time we get to their agenda item.

1:30

Sure.

1:31

Yes.

1:31

Um I have the minutes.

1:34

I'm trying to pull up the updated special meeting agenda.

1:40

Okay.

1:46

All right.

1:48

Um so should I officially open our meeting?

1:53

All right.

1:55

Uh good afternoon.

1:56

Uh this is a special meeting of the Stanford Planning Board uh on Tuesday, September 22nd.

2:02

Um we have on our agenda this afternoon first the approval of uh planning board minutes from our last four meetings and then a presentation uh from uh the board of education uh budget representatives uh with an update on West Hill High School.

2:24

Um so first with the minutes.

2:26

Um we have the minutes for August 26th, uh the minutes from September 2nd, September 9th, and September 16th.

2:35

Uh do any of the board members have questions about any of those sets of minutes.

2:42

Um I I only uh just as an aside, I um I have an email from Leslie in which he distributed the draft minutes for the 16th, but I don't similarly have a corresponding uh drafts for this uh August this September 2nd or September 9th minutes.

3:02

Um so unless they were loading.

3:07

There is an email that Leslie sent on Saturday the 20th that had several attachments, um, including the draft minutes for um the four dates as well as the supporting materials for uh the Westell presentation as well as the uh ZPAs.

3:26

All right.

3:27

Do you want to take a minute to find those?

3:29

Um that's okay.

3:33

That's okay at this point.

3:34

I can't minimize the uh the teams in order to go uh do that, but okay.

3:43

All right.

3:44

Um of note uh chet and jennifer cannot vote on the September 2nd meeting minutes.

3:52

Right, so we'll have to table this.

3:54

Or and I can't vote on the ninth meeting because I wasn't there.

3:59

Oh good memory.

4:00

All right.

4:02

So um yep, okay.

4:08

So we have the three in order to be able to vote on the minutes.

4:13

Yes.

4:14

Okay, so I don't uh I think the only minutes that we can take up today are the minutes from the 16th, then the 26th of August.

4:24

Yeah.

4:27

Um yeah, no, it was actually just Jennifer, Jay, and Jeremy.

4:32

So do we need to bring Jay out of retirement to approve these minutes?

4:37

No, I I I was at the 26th meeting.

4:41

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

4:42

Yeah, chat is on here.

4:43

So voting members.

4:44

Okay, yeah, Jay, Jeremy.

4:47

Okay, so we can vote over that on August 26th.

4:52

And all right.

4:54

Are there any questions about the minutes from the 26th?

5:00

No amendments then.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Planning and Zoning███████████████████████23%
Public Engagement██████████████████18%
Land Use Planning██████████████14%
Procedural████████████12%
Capital Budget███████████11%
Education███████7%
School Safety██████6%
Zoning Board████4%
Parking███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Stamford Planning Board Special Meeting – September 22, 2025

Note: The agenda listed the meeting as Monday, September 22, 2025, but the transcript repeatedly refers to "Tuesday, September 22nd." The date used in this summary follows the agenda and the instruction provided.

The Stamford Planning Board held a special meeting on September 22, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. via Teams and conference call. The meeting included approval of previous meeting minutes, a presentation on the Westhill High School replacement project, and a zoning board of appeals application. The board also engaged in extensive discussion about the Comprehensive Plan, streamlining approvals, and infrastructure impact assessments.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The board approved the minutes from the August 26, 2025 regular meeting and the September 16, 2025 public hearing. Minutes from September 2 and September 9 were tabled because voting members Chet and Jennifer could not vote on the September 2 minutes (they were not present at that meeting) and Jeremy could not vote on the September 9 minutes. The board decided to address the remaining minutes at a later date.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made during this meeting.

Discussion Items

  • Westhill High School Project Update: Presenters from Colliers (Adam Levitus, owner’s representative) and SLAM Architects (Kemp Moorhart, lead architect) provided a detailed overview of the new Westhill High School. The project is a full replacement of the existing school at 125 Roxbury Road, to be built while the current school remains operational (phased occupancy). Key points:

    • Design enrollment: 2,458 students (current enrollment ~2,300).
    • The new building will be approximately 450,000 square feet, with an L-shaped footprint north of the existing school.
    • Construction start: April 2026; completion of new building: summer 2029; demolition of old building: 2029–2030.
    • A netatorium (swimming pool) is being designed as a bid alternate.
    • The vocational agriculture building will remain.
    • Parking: 513 spaces (increase from 475), 55 bus spaces.
    • Geothermal well field under athletic fields.
    • The board voted unanimously to receive the presentation and support the project's continued implementation. The planning board will issue a letter of recommendation to the mayor, as required by the city charter.

  • ZBA Application #021-25 – 18 Gurley Road: Ryan Salvatore, representing property owner Sarah Christensen, requested variances for a detached garage (rear yard setback of 23.5 ft instead of 30 ft), stairs (27 ft instead of 30 ft), and permission for parking in the front yard. The applicant seeks to build an accessway connecting the garage to the primary dwelling. The board voted unanimously to approve the variances.

  • Comprehensive Plan and Streamlining Discussion: Following the ZBA item, board members discussed the need to streamline certain approval processes, particularly for minor variances. They noted that the comprehensive plan includes an action step about streamlining. Board members expressed a desire to compile examples of low-impact applications that could be handled administratively, to clarify the intent of the plan. The board also discussed infrastructure impact assessments, the feasibility of requiring developers to conduct studies (similar to New York State), and the city's capacity for sewer, schools, and other systems. Staff noted that Connecticut has restrictions on impact fees and that any changes would need to be studied carefully. The board agreed to prepare a matrix of revisions for the comprehensive plan, organized by themes from public comments, for the next meeting on September 30.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes Approved: August 26, 2025 (motion by Jeremy, second by Chet, all in favor) and September 16, 2025 (motion by Chet, second by Jeremy, all in favor).
  • Westhill High School Project: The board voted unanimously (motion by Chet, second by Jeremy) to receive the presentation and support the project. A formal letter of recommendation will be sent to the mayor.
  • ZBA Application #021-25: Approved unanimously (motion by Jeremy, second by Chet).
  • Next Steps for Comprehensive Plan: Staff will prepare a matrix of public comments and proposed revisions for the board's review at the September 30, 2025 meeting. The board will then decide on final revisions before approval.

Next Scheduled Meetings:

  • September 30, 2025 – Comprehensive Plan discussion
  • October 7, 2025 – Capital Budget
  • October 14, 2025 – Capital Budget

All meetings are at the Government Center (10th floor conference room, to be confirmed).

Meeting Transcript

Okay. Jennifer was here. Now she's here. Let's see. Okay, here she attendees. Make her presenter change. All right. Good afternoon. Sorry for the scheduling and technical difficulties. It wasn't recognizing you for who you are, right? I don't, it was very odd. I was clicking on the Outlook link and then it said it couldn't verify that the link was safe. I'm like, it's your own link in the system. So I'm emailing with Katherine Bobo and she said who is our school construction person. She says her and the team are in the lobby, but I don't see anybody in the lobby. So that's uh I know we have some minutes to to approve, so maybe we can hopefully we'll they'll be able to join by the time we get to their agenda item. Sure. Yes. Um I have the minutes. I'm trying to pull up the updated special meeting agenda. Okay. All right. Um so should I officially open our meeting? All right. Uh good afternoon. Uh this is a special meeting of the Stanford Planning Board uh on Tuesday, September 22nd. Um we have on our agenda this afternoon first the approval of uh planning board minutes from our last four meetings and then a presentation uh from uh the board of education uh budget representatives uh with an update on West Hill High School. Um so first with the minutes. Um we have the minutes for August 26th, uh the minutes from September 2nd, September 9th, and September 16th. Uh do any of the board members have questions about any of those sets of minutes. Um I I only uh just as an aside, I um I have an email from Leslie in which he distributed the draft minutes for the 16th, but I don't similarly have a corresponding uh drafts for this uh August this September 2nd or September 9th minutes. Um so unless they were loading. There is an email that Leslie sent on Saturday the 20th that had several attachments, um, including the draft minutes for um the four dates as well as the supporting materials for uh the Westell presentation as well as the uh ZPAs. All right. Do you want to take a minute to find those? Um that's okay. That's okay at this point. I can't minimize the uh the teams in order to go uh do that, but okay. All right. Um of note uh chet and jennifer cannot vote on the September 2nd meeting minutes. Right, so we'll have to table this. Or and I can't vote on the ninth meeting because I wasn't there. Oh good memory. All right. So um yep, okay. So we have the three in order to be able to vote on the minutes. Yes. Okay, so I don't uh I think the only minutes that we can take up today are the minutes from the 16th, then the 26th of August. Yeah. Um yeah, no, it was actually just Jennifer, Jay, and Jeremy.

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