Stamford Planning Board Regular Meeting – August 11, 2026
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Stamford Planning Board Regular Meeting – August 11, 2026
The Stamford Planning Board met via Zoom on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 6:30 PM to consider several supplemental capital project appropriations, subdivision applications, and zoning board referrals. All items were discussed and voted upon as described below.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the special meeting of July 23, 2026 were approved unanimously (3-0) after quorum was established.
- Subdivision #4056 – 6 Sanford Lane: A second 90-day extension of time to file the final map was granted, moving the expiration to November 16, 2026. Approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were offered during the meeting.
Discussion Items
Supplemental Capital Project Appropriations
- Roxbury School Replacement Project (CPB221 – $44,000,000): Catherine Lavalbo, Director of School Construction, presented an update. Phase one construction began July 2026, phase two bidding expected in late August/early September 2026. The new K-8 school is scheduled to open in August 2028. The request was to amend the FY2026/2027 capital budget to increase state authorizations to align with a $130 million grant commitment (60% state reimbursement). The local share remains unchanged. Approved 3-0 with one abstention (Jeremy).
- West Broad Street Road Bridge #04065 ($7,462,500): City Engineer Lou Castillo explained that the bridge is rated poor, weight restrictions have been posted, and a conditional commitment for a 50% state grant ($3,731,250) was received. The appropriation is needed to allow the mayor to sign the grant commitment letter. Design and permitting will follow. Approved unanimously.
- Yerwood Center Renovations (CP9238 – $60,641.25): Installation of a backflow preventer in the basement as a FEMA hazard mitigation measure (100% reimbursable). The project has been bid and is time-sensitive (must be completed by end of September 2026). Approved unanimously.
Subdivisions
- Subdivision #3098 & #3103 – South Lake Drive: Applicant requested a modification to maintain the existing shared access driveway at its current width (10+ feet) rather than the required 18 feet per Section 10.1.4. Environmental analyst Alexandra Moch and engineer Juan Perales presented evidence of a high-quality vernal pool habitat containing wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and fairy shrimp. Expanding the driveway would require tree removal, retaining walls, and new drainage, harming amphibian dispersal. The fire marshal confirmed his apparatus is 8 feet wide and that he has no jurisdiction over single-family driveways. The neighboring property owner (grantor of the easement) insisted the driveway remain unchanged. After discussion, the board voted to approve the modification, citing compelling environmental reasons and adequate safety. Approved (motion by Chet, second by Drew; no opposition noted).
- Subdivision #3009 – 1589 Newfield Avenue: The applicant’s representative was not present; the item was tabled to a future meeting. Unanimous.
- Subdivision #4056 – 6 Sanford Lane: (See Consent Calendar above).
Zoning Board Referrals
- ZB #226-11 – 25 DeBera Lane: Architect Elena Kalman presented a proposal to preserve the historic front portion of a cottage, remove rear additions, and construct two new dwelling units (total three) under the 8A-4 C4 historic preservation density bonus. Requested modifications: 3 units instead of 2.5, building coverage 26% (vs. 25% as-of-right), and 5 parking spaces (reduced from 6). The Historic Preservation Board recommended inclusion in the Cultural Resources Inventory. The planning board found the site and architectural plans consistent with the comprehensive plan. Approved unanimously.
- ZB #226-17 & #226-18 – Stamford Hospital: The applicant requested a tabling of both items to allow time to review comments from the Land Use Bureau. Both were tabled unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- All three supplemental capital appropriation requests were approved (Roxbury School 3-0-1, others unanimous).
- Subdivision modification for South Lake Drive was approved, allowing the shared driveway to remain at its current width.
- One subdivision was tabled; one extension granted.
- One zoning referral was approved; two were tabled at the applicant’s request.
- The meeting adjourned at 8:20 PM.
Meeting Transcript
And Ashley may be joining late. So that's good. All right. Good evening. This is the Tuesday, August 11th, 2026 meeting of the Stanford Planning Board. First, on our agenda are our planning board meeting minutes. However, if I could have a motion to move up our requests for authorization, supplemental capital projects that'll allow if we have at least one more member join so that we have quorum for the minutes. So moved. All right. Second. All right. And pass this. So on our agenda now, our items request for authorization supplemental capital project appropriation requests. The first is a Roxbury School Replacement Project. Number CP B 221 total amount requested is 44 million dollars. This request is to amend the fiscal year capital budget for uh 2627 for the construction of a new school at 751 West Hill Road. This increases the state authorizations to align with the grant commitment of 130 million with a 60% reimbursement by the state of Connecticut. The previously authorized local share will not be decreased. This request will increase the state share of project costs. And presenting on this item, introduce yourself for the record, please. Good evening. My name is Catherine Lavalbo, Director of School Construction for the City of Stanford. Is it all right if I share my screen? Please. Great. Thanks, Catherine. And you can also share your screen. Go ahead. Wonderful. And noting for Leslie that Jeremy Linder joined at 6.35, 634. I'm a little afraid to go into presenter mode, so I'm going to kind of stick with this. It's been a little finicky. I know that some of your members have joined us for our school construction meetings and updates. So I'll try and keep this brief, but I wanted to give you a quick overview of the new Roxbury K-8 school and some updates on our on our progress to date. This is a K-8. It's a school that is currently a K through five and will be transforming into a K-8. We have commenced uh phase one of construction. It started in July of this year and is set to complete in December. That phase of construction includes geothermal wells, um, site preparation and enabling for what is which includes some parking lots and site safety fencing, demolition of modulars that were installed in the 1990s, I think 1994, 95. Um, and uh in proper everything in preparation for our phase two uh construction uh project. The reason we started phase one is because with the schools, this site is going to be an occupied campus and we're building in the fields beyond. Um so there is sensitivity for us starting and completing certain work during uh summer recess uh where it's more efficient for us to do that work now. So that's why we started a phase one before moving into phase two. Phase two bidding um is scheduled for August at the end of this month, probably August 30th or so. Maybe it slips into the first week of September. Um we've completed our state review, which is part of this process, uh building committee review and a presentation to the Board of Education. Construction's approximately 18 months, and the new school is set to open in August 2028. Um after the new school opens, we will then demolish uh the existing building and restore the landscaping. This is the existing school constructed in 1955. It has energy inefficient single pane windows, a number of inefficiencies.
openpublica.com