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Record of Proceedings

Stamford Zoning Board Meeting - May 8, 2023

Zoning Board — Tuesday, May 9, 2023
BodyStamford, Connecticut
SessionZoning Board
DateTuesday, May 9, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:46

I'd like to welcome everyone and call tonight zoning board meeting to order.

0:51

I'm David Stein, Chair of the Zoning Board, and it is 6 30 on May 8th, 2023.

0:57

Members of the board and the staff are holding this meeting by Zoom video conference.

1:03

The public's in attendance both on video conference and by teleconference.

1:09

First, I'd like to call the role of the board and the staff.

1:13

Bill Morris.

1:14

Here.

1:15

Roseanne McManus.

1:17

Here.

1:19

Jerry Bozak.

1:20

Here.

1:22

Raquel Smith Anderson.

1:24

Here.

1:26

Now for the staff.

1:27

Ralph Blessing.

1:29

Present.

1:30

And Vanita Matter.

1:32

Present.

1:33

Okay.

1:35

During tonight's meeting, uh, the board's microphones will be on throughout.

1:40

Uh the applicants' mics will be open during the public hearing for their application.

1:46

However, I would ask applicants to please mute their mics when not speaking in order to reduce background noise.

1:54

The first part of tonight's meeting is the public hearing during which the public will have an opportunity to speak.

2:00

Each member of the public will be muted until it is your turn to speak.

2:04

Here's the procedure for the members of the public who wish to let us know that they'd like to speak.

2:10

If you came in through Zoom, please use the raise your hand function and you will be unmuted when it's your turn to speak.

2:18

If you called in on a telephone conference call, phone number, please press star nine, and this will raise your hand so that we'll know that you want to speak.

2:28

Then press star six to unmute when we call on you.

2:32

When members of the public speak, please give us your name and address for the record and whether you are in favor of or opposed to the application.

2:41

The board request that members of the public limit your comments to three minutes so that everyone will have a chance to speak.gov slash zoning.

3:08

Now we're going to move on to the uh public hearing portion of the meeting.

3:12

Um before we get there, I just like the um minutes to show that Raquel Smith Anderson is being seated as a voting member for tonight's meeting.

3:27

Um at Bullshead, which has gotten a lot of attention lately, is not on the schedule for tonight.

3:33

It is scheduled for our meeting on May 22nd, uh, two weeks from tonight.

3:40

Um first application that's up is application 223-09 City of Stanford zoning board text change proposing amendments to the VC section 4b7, NXD Section 4B 10, and RHD section 4b11 district regulations to streamline the regulations by referring to existing regulations and to improve access to light and air.

4:27

Is this better?

4:29

Uh much.

4:30

Um for the record, Ralph Blessing, land use brewer chief for the city of Stanford.

4:36

Um we have uh three text changes uh tonight.

4:42

Um, the first one um 22 to 3-09 um has uh changes to uh some of the district regulations.

4:53

Um affected by those changes are um the VC district, the NXD district, and the RHD district.

5:02

Um mainly this is streamlining um by uh referring to other regulations.

5:08

Uh those are newer districts, and we uh tried a lot of good things in them, um, which we have uh adopted since then in uh, for example, the parking regulations, other regulations.

5:23

So we're going to refer to those other regulations rather than having uh them in those regulations themselves.

5:31

Um one of the uh more substantive changes is that for um the VC and the NXD district, we are uh actually uh introducing side yard requirements.

5:46

Um 70 feet beyond the street line.

5:50

Uh currently, neither the NXD nor the VC district have side yard requirements.

5:56

And um for the NXD district, we also are um streamlining some of the um bulk regulations and we're adding a bonus uh floor area ratio for uh on-site BMR units.

6:10

Uh many districts have bonus FAR for um uh on-site BMRs.

6:17

So this is in keeping uh with other districts.

6:21

Um and uh for the RHD uh district, um we are um streamlining the setback requirements um to have a uniform setback requirement of 15 feet from interior property lines uh beyond um 70 feet um of a street line.

6:41

Um Chair Stein, I'm not quite sure um if you want me to present um all the text changes or if you want to go to the public um after each um of the text changes.

6:55

Let's let's do each one separately and then we can close each one as we as we go through it.

7:01

Okay, so I'm I'm done with 22309.

7:05

Okay.

7:06

Um so let's go to the board first.

7:09

Um Bill, any questions or comments on this?

7:13

No, the dad, what we discussed uh at last meeting.

7:16

Okay, Roseanne.

7:18

Nothing from me either.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning███████████████15%
Traffic████████████12%
Procedural██████████10%
Flood Management██████████10%
Cannabis Regulation██████6%
Marina Restoration██████6%
Public Engagement██████6%
Parking█████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Stamford Zoning Board Meeting - May 8, 2023

The Stamford Zoning Board met on May 8, 2023, at 6:30 PM via Zoom, with Chair David Stein presiding. Members present: Bill Morris, Roseanne McManus, Jerry Bozak, and Raquel Smith Anderson (seated as voting member). Staff present: Ralph Blessing (Land Use Bureau Chief) and Vanita Matter. The meeting included public hearings for several zoning text changes, a daycare application, and the Sea View House proposal, followed by a regular meeting with administrative items. The meeting extended past midnight.

Public Hearings

Application 223-09: Text Change for VC, NXD, RHD Districts

  • Presented by Ralph Blessing: streamlining regulations, introducing side yard requirements for VC and NXD districts, adding bonus FAR for on-site BMR units in NXD, and uniform setback for RHD. No public comments. Public hearing closed.

Application 223-10: Text Change for Definitions (Adult Uses, Home Occupation, Short-Term Rentals, Group Daycare)

  • Presented by Ralph Blessing: combining adult use standards, clarifying home occupation under cottage food license, clarifying short-term rental rules (owner-occupied, max 2 boarders), and dropping a proposed change to medical marijuana regulations.
  • Public comments: Victoria Newman (founder of three schools) questioned cannabis-related content; Monica Twell (37 Hanrahan Street) opposed, found language confusing; Rhea (High Ridge area) opposed, concerned about youth and clarity; Michelle Waddell (Webbs Hill Road) opposed adult establishments near her home; Paula Watman asked about strike-throughs; Sue Halpern (30 Alm Croft Road) sought clarification. Board clarified that adult establishments refer to adult bookstores/theaters, not cannabis. Public hearing closed.

Application 223-11: Text Change to Consolidate Regulations

  • Presented by Ralph Blessing: moving definitions from Section 7 to Section 3, removing obsolete regulations (e.g., train station parking). No public comments. Public hearing closed.

Application 223-02: Sunrise Child Development Center (1231 Washington Boulevard)

  • Applicant: Matthew Young (Claudio Matthew Young) proposed a daycare with 28 children (ages 3-5) and 4 teachers at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church.
  • Public comment: Esther Giordano (94 Strawberry Hill Avenue) raised accessibility concerns. Board discussed conditions, including an engineering letter for a tripping hazard. Approved 4-0 with conditions.

Applications 222-23 and 222-24: Sea View House (68 Sea View Avenue)

  • Map change (222-23) to rezone from R5 to RM1; site plan (222-24) to convert an office building to 52 residential units, with marina unchanged. Attorney William Hennessy presented; 11th hearing on this matter.
  • Public comments: Jeffrey Brown (Marina Bay) raised concerns about bulkhead, pool noise, security, and parking; Doreen Banks (61 Sea View Ave) criticized flood compliance and FEMA issues; Jonathan Fandler (Marina Bay) asked about access conditions; Timothy Herbst (attorney for Marina Bay) requested conditions, not opposed; Maureen Boylan (61 Sea View Ave) raised bulkhead and construction impact; Monica Twell (37 Hanrahan St) concerned about road raising; Laura DeVo (61 Sea View Ave) asked to consider attorney's letter; William Banks (61 Sea View Ave) showed photos of bulkhead deterioration; Stephanie Buckley (61 Sea View Ave) questioned property owner status.
  • After discussions, both applications approved 5-0 with extensive conditions.

Application 22-37: Broad Street Development (122-124 Broad Street)

  • Applicant proposed a 198-unit residential building with 5,680 sq ft retail. Attorney Case presented.
  • Public comments: David Corras (Stamford Downtown) clarified trash co-op; Amy Sujens (attorney for Malloy Realty) raised concerns about access easements and truck turning; Jenny Kanipa requested Spanish interpreter for next meeting; Monica Twell and Esther Giordano raised concerns about height, snow, and construction.
  • Board discussed traffic and loading issues. Decision postponed to May 18, 2023.

Application 223-04: 16 Remington Street – Postponed to May 18, 2023.

Regular Meeting

  • Minutes of April 3 and April 24 approved (4-0).
  • CSPR 1158 (80 Davenport Drive) approved with conditions (4-0).
  • Text changes 223-09, 223-10, 223-11 – postponed to May 18, 2023 for further review.
  • Broad Street application postponed to May 18, 2023.
  • Extension of time for 222-10 (50 Miano Lane) approved to June 22, 2024 (5-0).

Key Outcomes

  • Approved daycare application (223-02) with conditions.
  • Approved Sea View House map change (222-23) and site plan (222-24) with conditions.
  • Approved CSPR 1158.
  • Approved extension for 222-10.
  • Postponed text changes and Broad Street to May 18, 2023.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to welcome everyone and call tonight zoning board meeting to order. I'm David Stein, Chair of the Zoning Board, and it is 6 30 on May 8th, 2023. Members of the board and the staff are holding this meeting by Zoom video conference. The public's in attendance both on video conference and by teleconference. First, I'd like to call the role of the board and the staff. Bill Morris. Here. Roseanne McManus. Here. Jerry Bozak. Here. Raquel Smith Anderson. Here. Now for the staff. Ralph Blessing. Present. And Vanita Matter. Present. Okay. During tonight's meeting, uh, the board's microphones will be on throughout. Uh the applicants' mics will be open during the public hearing for their application. However, I would ask applicants to please mute their mics when not speaking in order to reduce background noise. The first part of tonight's meeting is the public hearing during which the public will have an opportunity to speak. Each member of the public will be muted until it is your turn to speak. Here's the procedure for the members of the public who wish to let us know that they'd like to speak. If you came in through Zoom, please use the raise your hand function and you will be unmuted when it's your turn to speak. If you called in on a telephone conference call, phone number, please press star nine, and this will raise your hand so that we'll know that you want to speak. Then press star six to unmute when we call on you. When members of the public speak, please give us your name and address for the record and whether you are in favor of or opposed to the application. The board request that members of the public limit your comments to three minutes so that everyone will have a chance to speak.gov slash zoning. Now we're going to move on to the uh public hearing portion of the meeting. Um before we get there, I just like the um minutes to show that Raquel Smith Anderson is being seated as a voting member for tonight's meeting. Um at Bullshead, which has gotten a lot of attention lately, is not on the schedule for tonight. It is scheduled for our meeting on May 22nd, uh, two weeks from tonight. Um first application that's up is application 223-09 City of Stanford zoning board text change proposing amendments to the VC section 4b7, NXD Section 4B 10, and RHD section 4b11 district regulations to streamline the regulations by referring to existing regulations and to improve access to light and air. Is this better? Uh much. Um for the record, Ralph Blessing, land use brewer chief for the city of Stanford. Um we have uh three text changes uh tonight. Um, the first one um 22 to 3-09 um has uh changes to uh some of the district regulations. Um affected by those changes are um the VC district, the NXD district, and the RHD district. Um mainly this is streamlining um by uh referring to other regulations. Uh those are newer districts, and we uh tried a lot of good things in them, um, which we have uh adopted since then in uh, for example, the parking regulations, other regulations. So we're going to refer to those other regulations rather than having uh them in those regulations themselves. Um one of the uh more substantive changes is that for um the VC and the NXD district, we are uh actually uh introducing side yard requirements. Um 70 feet beyond the street line. Uh currently, neither the NXD nor the VC district have side yard requirements. And um for the NXD district, we also are um streamlining some of the um bulk regulations and we're adding a bonus uh floor area ratio for uh on-site BMR units. Uh many districts have bonus FAR for um uh on-site BMRs. So this is in keeping uh with other districts.

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