Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Stamford Zoning Board Meeting - October 22, 2024

Zoning Board — Tuesday, October 22, 2024

BodyStamford, Connecticut

SessionZoning Board

DateTuesday, October 22, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:39:30

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Alan, yeah.

0:04

Make me a co-host, please, Fanita.

0:09

Thank you.

0:42

You can start the meeting, David.

0:45

Okay.

0:47

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

0:52

I'm David Stein, Chair of the Zoning Board, and it is 635 on October 21st, 2024.

1:00

The members of the board and the staff are holding this meeting by Zoom Video Conference.

1:05

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

1:11

I'd like to do a roll call of the board and the staff.

1:15

Bill Morris.

1:21

Jerry Bozak.

1:23

Here.

1:24

And Raquel Raquel Smith Anderson.

1:28

Here.

1:30

Okay.

1:31

For staff, um Ralph Blessing.

1:34

Yeah.

1:35

And uh Benita Mater.

1:37

Here.

1:39

Okay.

1:40

The board's microphones will be open throughout tonight's hearing.

1:44

The applicant's mics will be open during the public hearing for their application.

1:49

However, I would ask the applicant to please mute their microphones when not speaking in order to reduce background noise.

1:56

The first part of the meeting is the public hearing during which the public has an opportunity to speak.

2:02

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

2:06

This is the procedure for the public to let us know that you'd like to speak.

2:11

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

2:20

If you called in on one of the telephone conference call phone numbers that Zoom uses, please press star nine and this will raise your hand.

2:29

Then press star six to unmute when it is your turn to speak.

2:35

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.

2:43

If you have some problem trying to get through, um, or you're raising your hand and nothing's happening, um, send Vanita an email uh and she will try to fix whatever is wrong.

2:58

And Vanita's email address is V, as in Victor, V Motor, M-A-T-H-U-R at Stanford C T.gov.

3:10

Uh the board requests that members of the public limit your comments to three minutes so that everyone will have a chance to speak.

3:18

This meeting is being recorded and will be posted uh on the zoning board's website.

3:25

You can find the agenda for tonight's meeting uh and all the meeting applications and other materials by going to our website, www.stamford ct.gov slash zoning.

3:39

Uh we will now move on to the public hearing portion of the meeting.

3:43

Uh but before I do that, um, please have the minutes reflect that Raquel Smith Anderson is seated tonight as a voting member uh for tonight's meeting.

3:55

Uh first application we have is 224-33 redness and mead on behalf of 460 Summer Street LLC and 460 Summer LLC.

4:08

The property address is 460 Summer Street.

4:12

Uh site and architectural plans and or requested uses and special permit.

4:18

Applicant seeking to convert an existing five-story class B office building consisting of 28,279 square feet into 40 apartments with the associated parking and amenities.

4:38

Um, I'm not quite home yet, so as you offered, if someone else wants to read it, that'd be great.

4:45

Ah, okay.

4:47

Any volunteers.

5:00

Who's that?

5:00

Bill, you said you'd read it.

5:02

Um digging it out right now.

5:04

Hold on, man.

5:05

Roseanne's where we are.

5:06

Okay.

5:06

Okay.

5:07

Okay, I think I believe I have it.

5:12

Okay.

5:13

Uh Mr.

5:14

David Stein chair zoning board.

5:18

Regarding the zoning board application, 224-3.

5:22

Raymond Matthew, Rennes and Mead representing 460 Summer Street, LLC in 460 Summer LLC, 460 Summer Street, site and architecture plans and a requested uses and special permit.

5:38

Dear Mr.

5:39

Sign and members of the zoning board.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Zoning███████████████████████████27%

Procedural█████████████████17%

Planning and Zoning██████████████14%

Affordable Housing█████████9%

Legal████████8%

Urban Design███████7%

Housing██████6%

Transportation Safety███3%

Building Permit Fees███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Stamford Zoning Board Meeting - October 22, 2024

The Stamford Zoning Board met on October 22, 2024, at 6:35 PM via Zoom, chaired by David Stein. The board reviewed several applications including a proposed office-to-residential conversion, a text amendment for non-conforming building conversions, and a petition appeal. Votes were taken on flood-proofing, a condition removal, and the petition referral.

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes: Minutes from the October 7, 2024 meeting were approved unanimously (5-0).
CSPR 1203 – 102 Rockledge Drive (Matthew and Megan Molloy): Proposed adding a second floor on existing footprint, wet flood proofing the garage, and removing utilities from the base flood zone. The board approved with conditions from EPB, Engineering, DEEP, and Harbor Management (5-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

460 Summer Street (Application 224-33):
- John Heina (architect, Design Development Architects) – Expressed preference not to paint the concrete facade due to maintenance issues with neighboring properties; stated they would investigate enhancing spandrels.
- Dave Adams (29 Clinton Rock Road) – Questioned the impact of restricting egress to Franklin Street (a one-way northbound street) and supported adding trees on the property.
- Sue Halpern (Elm Craft Road) – Questioned lack of operable windows for ventilation and expressed concern about units without side windows; supported reuse of the building.
- Monica Twell (37 Hanraham Street) – Opposed the project, criticizing the board for focusing on aesthetics and not addressing traffic, infrastructure, or ventilation; called the conversion a “disaster.”

Discussion Items

460 Summer Street (Office-to-Residential Conversion) – Applicant Gray Mazio (Redness & Mead) presented plans to convert a five-story, 28,279 sq ft class B office building into 40 apartments (32 studios, 8 one-bedrooms) with 34 parking spaces (up from 29), two ADA spaces, and 4 on-site affordable units at 50% AMI. The building is mostly vacant. The board discussed facade improvements (painting, cladding, landscaping), EV charging stations (two recommended), street trees, and a landscape plan. The applicant opposed painting due to zero-lot-line constraints and ongoing maintenance. The board requested a detailed landscape plan and facade enhancement ideas. The application was continued to November 4, 2024.
Text Change – Section 10 Non-Conforming Uses (Application 224-10) – Staff proposed a tiered conversion rate table to encourage adaptive reuse. The board debated the bonus for on-site BMR units (from 800 to 600 sq ft per unit) and whether to retain special permit requirements for light and air. Some members favored a 700 sq ft threshold for BMR incentive. Discussion also covered whether site plan review provides sufficient oversight versus special permit. The board agreed to continue the discussion to the next meeting.
Petition to Appeal HTD Text Change (Application 224-1) – Ralph Blessing presented a memorandum from the Law Department concluding that the petition did not meet the required threshold (20% of property owners within 500 ft of the HTD district, including Darien properties). Valid signatures totalled 67 out of 426 eligible owners (15.73%); even excluding Darien, the rate was 19.65% (below 20%). The board voted 3-1-1 not to refer the petition to the Board of Representatives.
Coleman Towers – Condition Removal (Application 224-2024) – Rick Redness (Redness & Mead) requested removal of condition #8 requiring shared vehicles, citing that the new parking regulations (Category 1 for affordable buildings) and actual low parking demand (74 occupied units, 52 cars, 0.7 ratio) make the condition unnecessary. The board approved removal 5-0.

Key Outcomes

460 Summer Street: Continued to November 4, 2024, pending revised facade and landscape plans.
CSPR 1203 (102 Rockledge Drive): Approved 5-0 with conditions.
Text Change (Section 10): Continued to next meeting for further refinement.
Petition Referral (HTD): Denied 3-1-1 (Stein, Morris, Smith Anderson in favor; Bozak opposed; Anderson abstained).
Coleman Towers Condition Removal: Approved 5-0.
Next Meeting: Scheduled for November 4, 2024, at 6:30 PM via Zoom, with agenda items including 74 Broad Street (new construction), BMR regulation updates, and continued Section 10 discussion.

Meeting Transcript

Alan, yeah. Make me a co-host, please, Fanita. Thank you. You can start the meeting, David. Okay. 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 635 on October 21st, 2024. The members of the board and the staff are holding this meeting by Zoom Video Conference. The public is in attendance both on video conference and by teleconference. I'd like to do a roll call of the board and the staff. Bill Morris. Jerry Bozak. Here. And Raquel Raquel Smith Anderson. Here. Okay. For staff, um Ralph Blessing. Yeah. And uh Benita Mater. Here. Okay. The board's microphones will be open throughout tonight's hearing. The applicant's mics will be open during the public hearing for their application. However, I would ask the applicant to please mute their microphones when not speaking in order to reduce background noise. The first part of the meeting is the public hearing during which the public has an opportunity to speak. Each member of the public will be muted until it is your turn to speak. This is the procedure for the public to let us know that you'd like to speak. If you came in through Zoom, please use the raise your hand function in Zoom and you will be unmuted when it is your turn. If you called in on one of the telephone conference call phone numbers that Zoom uses, please press star nine and this will raise your hand. Then press star six to unmute when it is your turn to speak. 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. If you have some problem trying to get through, um, or you're raising your hand and nothing's happening, um, send Vanita an email uh and she will try to fix whatever is wrong. And Vanita's email address is V, as in Victor, V Motor, M-A-T-H-U-R at Stanford C T.gov. Uh the board requests that members of the public limit your comments to three minutes so that everyone will have a chance to speak. This meeting is being recorded and will be posted uh on the zoning board's website. You can find the agenda for tonight's meeting uh and all the meeting applications and other materials by going to our website, www.stamford ct.gov slash zoning. Uh we will now move on to the public hearing portion of the meeting. Uh but before I do that, um, please have the minutes reflect that Raquel Smith Anderson is seated tonight as a voting member uh for tonight's meeting. Uh first application we have is 224-33 redness and mead on behalf of 460 Summer Street LLC and 460 Summer LLC. The property address is 460 Summer Street. Uh site and architectural plans and or requested uses and special permit. Applicant seeking to convert an existing five-story class B office building consisting of 28,279 square feet into 40 apartments with the associated parking and amenities. Um, I'm not quite home yet, so as you offered, if someone else wants to read it, that'd be great. Ah, okay. Any volunteers. Who's that? Bill, you said you'd read it. Um digging it out right now. Hold on, man. Roseanne's where we are.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com