OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Stamford Planning Board Regular Meeting – September 9, 2026

Planning Board — Wednesday, September 9, 2026
BodyStamford, Connecticut
SessionPlanning Board
DateWednesday, September 9, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:02:02

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Starting now.

0:02

Perfect timing, Jeremy.

0:04

Okay.

0:06

Good evening.

0:07

This is the September 8th 2026 meeting of the Stanford Planning Board.

0:14

Our first item of business is the minutes from our prior meeting on August 25th.

0:22

Do any of the members who were present have any amendments or questions about the minutes?

0:31

Seeing none, uh, can I have a motion for the minutes?

0:35

I'll move.

0:37

Okay.

0:37

Drew move approval.

0:39

Second from Ravi.

0:40

All in favor, touch your hand.

0:42

And it passes unanimously.

0:44

Thank you.

0:47

So the next item on our agenda is a request for authorization, lease agreement and improvement of city-owned property at the Glenbrook Community Center, uh 35 Crescent Street.

0:58

The city issued RFP uh number 20260140, seeking the reimagination of the Glenbrook Community Center by offering for-profit and nonprofit applicants an opportunity to convert a historic city-owned structure to a mixed-use building with an emphasis on community activation.

1:20

If our presenters could please uh introduce yourself for the record, uh good evening.

1:29

Um thank you, Chair Macyonez, Director of Operations, and I'm joined uh with Chris Delaselva from uh Office of Legal Affairs.

1:44

Would you like us to uh just proceed with the Yeah, if you want to go ahead and proceed with the presentation about the um the related items?

1:55

Sure.

1:56

Should I actually uh actually Lindsay is a point of procedure?

2:00

Should I also read in the um the well supplemental supplemental, right?

2:08

Well, it's further down on the agenda, so you'd have to move it up.

2:13

Can you number five?

2:17

Um we may need in a motion to reverse uh revise the agenda of the order of the agenda.

2:24

So that's right.

2:27

Okay.

2:40

So I had a first, a second, all in favor, just raise your hand.

2:44

Um and it passes.

2:46

Um I guess for count, I should alternate between Ashley and Drew.

2:54

Yes, please.

2:55

Yes, okay.

2:56

So Drew voted on the minutes, so Ashley will be um voting on this item.

3:04

Uh yes, both you uh you say you would have her vote both on the lease and on the um capital appropriation.

3:12

Um, I'm not sure.

3:16

Uh we will vote on them separately, so why don't we have Ashley on the lease and Drew on the Capitol just for count?

3:27

So obviously everyone can and should ask questions, but just procedurally supposed to have five specific people in the count.

3:35

Um so yes, if you want to go ahead and and uh present.

3:40

Great.

3:40

Thank you.

3:41

Uh thank you, Chair.

3:42

So the uh lease agreement uh before you, I think uh may make sense for Chris to just um uh describe the terms of the agreement.

3:51

Um is typical with our uh lease agreement presentations, and then I'm happy to just offer some perspective and background to process for selection uh and then answer any questions that you may have.

4:13

Chris, can you can you hear us?

4:23

Chris, you're not coming through.

4:25

But you're off mute.

4:29

Well, while Chris is working out his audio, I'll just jump in um and reverse that order and offer some background.

4:37

So uh this is if you're not familiar with uh this particular property.

4:41

This is a city-owned property um that has been vacant since uh March 2020.

4:47

Um recently the city went through a community engagement process um based off of uh community input for a desire for this location uh to serve as a community center for uh the neighborhood and greater Stanford population.

5:03

Um the city produced an RFP uh based off of uh engaging uh with the community as described, and the RFP uh received uh three three responses.

5:16

Uh selection committee uh was put together.

5:19

Uh ultimately the entity uh that was um conditionally awarded um the RFP was uh Domus.

5:29

Uh we then went through contract negotiations uh to ultimately lead to uh lease agreement uh that's before you this evening.

5:38

Uh the goal for occupancy of this is uh for DOMUS to uh operate their uh programming, which is um described in the agreement, but just to briefly and broadly summarize is uh providing uh youth service programming and primarily focus on workforce development, targeting disengaged and disconnected youth in the Stanford and Greater Stanford area.

6:06

Um they currently occupy uh a city property on Lockwood Avenue.

6:13

That property is slated for demolition as part of the city's school construction program.

6:20

Um so part of the I think justification uh in selecting DOM is beyond its um worthiness as an organization and mission alignment with the city of Stanford uh is the knowing that uh they were going to be displaced um uh from that location.

6:40

So um I just kind of mentioned that as a side note.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning█████████████████████████████████████████████45%
Lease Agreement██████████████████18%
Capital Budget██████████████14%
Youth Programs██████6%
Economic Development█████5%
Procedural████4%
Grant Funding████4%
Cannabis Regulation██2%
Public Engagement█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Stamford Planning Board Regular Meeting – September 9, 2026

The Planning Board met to consider a lease agreement and capital appropriation for the Glenbrook Community Center, multiple capital project fund shifts, two park tennis court projects, and seven zoning text and map changes. All items were approved except one zoning text change that was tabled.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes of August 25, 2026: Approved unanimously.

Discussion Items

  • Glenbrook Community Center Lease & Capital
    • The board authorized a 20-year lease (with two mutual 5-year extensions) with Domus, a nonprofit youth workforce development organization. Domus will pay $1/year rent and the city commits $50,000 annually for operating assistance. The city will invest $2.5 million in pre-possession capital improvements funded by $1.4 million in insurance proceeds, a $250,000 federal earmark, and $850,000 in city bonds. Domus must provide annual facility maintenance plans and can walk away if costs exceed projections. The board also approved the $2.5 million capital appropriation (Project CP4000076).
  • Capital Project Closeouts & Fund Shifts (Agenda Items 1–4)
    • Tony (Director of Administration) explained that four items shuffle ARP and bond funds with net zero impact: Street Patch & Resurfacing ($201,587 closeout; $213,066.99 reallocation), Lione Park ($150,190 closeout), Stillmeadow HVAC ($4,225.02 closeout), City-wide Drainage Study ($500 closeout), and District-wide Indoor Air Quality ($58,151.97 closeout; $51,397 reallocation). All approved.
  • Scalzi Park Tennis Courts
    • $200,000 from private contributions to complete reconstruction of ten 78-foot post-tension concrete tennis courts with blended lines, new fencing, and LED lighting. The project is substantially complete; this is a final closeout appropriation. Approved.
  • Cove Island Park Tennis Courts
    • $105,000 from private contributions for reconstruction of three 78-foot post-tension concrete tennis courts with blended lines, fencing, and an accessible path. The project has not yet started. Approved.
  • Zoning Board Referrals
    • ZB 226-14 (C-D District text change): Tabled to the next regular meeting pending revisions regarding senior housing.
    • ZB 226-15 (Corrections/Updates): Ralph Blessing presented numerous minor changes including adjusting BMR fee-in-lieu rates, adding public accessible amenity space (PAAS) requirements with free-of-charge bathrooms, and clarifying staff approval authority. Approved.
    • ZB 226-16 (C-N Neighborhood Commercial District regulations): Added design standards, sidewalk widths (10 ft standard, 15 ft on commercial streets), parking restrictions, and protections for abutting residential districts. Approved.
    • ZB 226-19 (Sign Regulations): Comprehensive update defining sign types, setting new illumination limits (off by 11 PM or close of business), prohibiting box signs, adding mural definitions, and relocating district-specific sign rules. Passed with two abstentions (Ravi and Jennifer) who expressed concerns about overregulation.
    • ZB 226-20 (M-L Light Industrial District regulations): Aligned structure with other districts, added setbacks and screening when abutting residential areas. Approved.
    • ZB 226-21 (Map Change – B-D to C-N): Rezoned the only B-D district (Newfield Green Shopping Center area) to C-N. Approved.
    • ZB 226-22 (Text Change – Delete B-D District): Companion to the map change; deleted the B-D zoning district from regulations. Approved.
  • New Business
    • Ravi requested a study of retail/restaurant supply relative to Stamford’s growing population. Ralph noted an existing economic development retail study and offered to share it; members suggested a future presentation to the board.

Key Outcomes

| Agenda Item | Vote | Notes | |-------------|------|-------| | Minutes Approval | Unanimous | – | | Glenbrook Lease Authorization | Approved (motion Chet, second Ashley) | – | | Glenbrook Capital Appropriation ($2.5M) | Approved (motion Ravi, second Jeremy) | – | | Capital Closeouts & Fund Shifts (Items 1–4) | Approved (separate votes, all unanimous) | Net zero budget impact | | Scalzi Park Tennis Courts ($200,000) | Approved (motion Chet, second Drew) | Private contributions, project nearly done | | Cove Island Park Tennis Courts ($105,000) | Approved (motion Chet, second Ravi) | Private contributions, project not started | | ZB 226-14 (C-D text) | Tabled (motion Drew, second Jeremy) | To next meeting | | ZB 226-15 (Corrections/Updates) | Approved (motion Ashley, second Ravi) | – | | ZB 226-16 (C-N regulations) | Approved (motion Ravi, second Drew) | – | | ZB 226-19 (Sign Regulations) | Approved (motion Chet, second Ashley) | Two abstentions (Ravi, Jennifer) | | ZB 226-20 (M-L regulations) | Approved (motion Drew, second Ravi) | – | | ZB 226-21 (Map change B-D to C-N) | Approved (motion Ravi, second Ashley) | – | | ZB 226-22 (Delete B-D district) | Approved (motion Chet, second Jeremy) | Companion to 226-21 |

The meeting adjourned after noting upcoming meetings: September 22 (regular) and October 6, 13, 27 (capital budget).

Meeting Transcript

Starting now. Perfect timing, Jeremy. Okay. Good evening. This is the September 8th 2026 meeting of the Stanford Planning Board. Our first item of business is the minutes from our prior meeting on August 25th. Do any of the members who were present have any amendments or questions about the minutes? Seeing none, uh, can I have a motion for the minutes? I'll move. Okay. Drew move approval. Second from Ravi. All in favor, touch your hand. And it passes unanimously. Thank you. So the next item on our agenda is a request for authorization, lease agreement and improvement of city-owned property at the Glenbrook Community Center, uh 35 Crescent Street. The city issued RFP uh number 20260140, seeking the reimagination of the Glenbrook Community Center by offering for-profit and nonprofit applicants an opportunity to convert a historic city-owned structure to a mixed-use building with an emphasis on community activation. If our presenters could please uh introduce yourself for the record, uh good evening. Um thank you, Chair Macyonez, Director of Operations, and I'm joined uh with Chris Delaselva from uh Office of Legal Affairs. Would you like us to uh just proceed with the Yeah, if you want to go ahead and proceed with the presentation about the um the related items? Sure. Should I actually uh actually Lindsay is a point of procedure? Should I also read in the um the well supplemental supplemental, right? Well, it's further down on the agenda, so you'd have to move it up. Can you number five? Um we may need in a motion to reverse uh revise the agenda of the order of the agenda. So that's right. Okay. So I had a first, a second, all in favor, just raise your hand. Um and it passes. Um I guess for count, I should alternate between Ashley and Drew. Yes, please. Yes, okay. So Drew voted on the minutes, so Ashley will be um voting on this item. Uh yes, both you uh you say you would have her vote both on the lease and on the um capital appropriation. Um, I'm not sure. Uh we will vote on them separately, so why don't we have Ashley on the lease and Drew on the Capitol just for count? So obviously everyone can and should ask questions, but just procedurally supposed to have five specific people in the count. Um so yes, if you want to go ahead and and uh present. Great. Thank you. Uh thank you, Chair. So the uh lease agreement uh before you, I think uh may make sense for Chris to just um uh describe the terms of the agreement. Um is typical with our uh lease agreement presentations, and then I'm happy to just offer some perspective and background to process for selection uh and then answer any questions that you may have. Chris, can you can you hear us? Chris, you're not coming through. But you're off mute. Well, while Chris is working out his audio, I'll just jump in um and reverse that order and offer some background. So uh this is if you're not familiar with uh this particular property. This is a city-owned property um that has been vacant since uh March 2020.

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