OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Stamford Zoning Board Meeting Summary, March 4, 2026

Zoning BoardWednesday, March 4, 2026
BodyStamford, Connecticut
SessionZoning Board
DateWednesday, March 4, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:38:02

Transcript — Verbatim
0:21

Vanita, would you make me co-host, please?

0:24

I did.

0:25

Okay, thank you.

0:31

We can get started now.

0:37

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

0:42

I'm David Stein, Chair of the Zoning Board, and it is 6 38 on March 2nd, 2026.

0:50

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

0:55

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

1:00

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

1:04

Bill Morris?

1:05

Here.

1:06

Roseanne McManus.

1:07

Here.

1:08

Jerry Bozak.

1:10

Here.

1:11

And now for the staff, Benita Matter.

1:16

And Ralph Blessing will be joining us at some point.

1:22

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

1:27

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

1:32

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

1:39

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

1:45

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

1:50

Here's the procedure for the public to let us know that you would like to speak.

1:54

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

2:04

If you called in on one of the telephone conference call phone numbers, please press star nine and this will raise your hand, then press star six to unmute when you are called on.

2:16

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

2:24

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

2:50

And Vanita's email address is VMATHUR at Stanford C T dot gov.

3:02

I'm sorry.

3:14

You can find the agenda for tonight's meeting and the meeting application and other materials by going to our website www.stanford ct.gov slash zoning.

3:38

And this is application two two five-48.

3:43

It's a continuation from our last meeting on February 9th.

3:52

60 Palmer's Hill Road, site and architectural plans and a requested uses.

3:57

Applicants proposing to adaptively reuse the existing two-story building and construct a new daycare facility connected to the existing building, adding 60 surface parking spaces, an outdoor pavilion, outdoor play area, 11 classrooms, and a gross motor space.

4:16

The proposed facility is anticipated to serve up to 220 children.

4:52

Well, it the opponents had presented information from their consultants, both engineering and traffic.

5:03

And we had asked our uh city staff to respond to those.

5:08

Um engineering to respond to the uh engineering related comments and um traffic to respond to the traffic related comments from uh from the opponent's traffic engineer.

5:23

Uh so tonight um we'll be hearing from both uh the applicant, I assume through uh Mr.

5:32

Redness, and um from the opponent through uh attorney Pierce.

5:38

Uh and uh so Mr.

5:43

Redness, why don't you take it away?

5:45

Sure.

5:46

Thank you very much for the record, uh Richard Redness, Redness and Mead here with our team, engineer, traffic, um CLC, uh representatives, Mr.

5:59

Hennessy, the legal side, and we're all here to answer questions.

6:04

Um there were a few things that we were to follow up on.

6:09

Uh first, I'd like to thank Mr.

6:12

Morris for pointing out the lines in the EPB letter from an early EPB letter, uh, because we were able to uh work with EPB staff and and obtain an EPB permit for the development as proposed.

6:28

So we think we buttoned that one up.

6:31

Um with respect to um the uh drainage issues.

6:41

I think we've answered the questions.

6:46

We have a plan that with whatever modifications need to be made after we determine which way we're going to do, whether we all get the solution working with Edge Hill that we want.

7:00

Um I've had additional conversations with them.

7:04

The uh management of Edge Hill understands and is ready to go.

7:09

They're waiting for their recapitalization partner to be in place, and so again, we're all gonna act like that's not gonna happen, but we know that everybody wants it to happen.

7:21

So we're gonna do our best to uh to do that.

7:25

With respect to the drainage, um, I think you know, listen, we we we learned at the last meeting, they changed attorneys, changed tactics, and basically creating uh uh a record for appeal, and that's fine.

7:41

Um we think that the things that they raise are pretty simple things to address, you know, whether it's uh a 1.3 or 1.0 factor that you use, we'll use whatever factor the engineering department feels appropriate.

7:58

And if it's 1.3, that's what we'll use.

8:01

In terms of things like we didn't model the catch basin being removed, fine, we'll leave the catch basin.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Planning and Zoning██████████████████████████████30%
Traffic███████████████████████23%
Procedural██████████████14%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%
Affordable Housing████████8%
Public Transportation████4%
Urban Design███3%
Public Engagement███3%
Transportation Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Stamford Zoning Board Special Meeting Summary

This special meeting of the Stamford Zoning Board, chaired by David Stein, was held via Zoom on March 4, 2026, at 6:38 PM. The meeting covered several applications, including a continuation of a daycare proposal at 60 Palmer's Hill Road, a text change for the CG Commercial District, and approvals for coastal site plans and special permits.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes of the February 9, 2026 meeting (4-0).
  • Approved CSPR 1226 (150 Davenport Drive) for a pool and drainage improvements (4-0).
  • Approved CSPR 1227 (229 Davenport Drive) for an addition over a garage (4-0).
  • Approved ZB 225-39 (80 Lockwood Avenue) special permit for a mosque, with conditions including parking management (4-0).
  • Approved ZB 225-46 (109 Tressor Boulevard) for a 305-unit affordable housing redevelopment, with conditions including 240 permanently deed-restricted units (4-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Nadine Greenwood (president, Palmer's Hill Homeowners Association) spoke against the daycare plan, citing safety risks from traffic, flooding concerns, and the need for a separate entrance and exit. She requested denial without prejudice.
  • Phil Pierce (attorney for Palmer Hill Community Association) argued that the daycare plan lacks enforceable access, will cause queuing and emergency access issues, and has incomplete drainage analysis. He urged denial without prejudice.
  • Mike Moore (president, Stamford Downtown) spoke in favor of the CG text change, praising its design guidelines and the special permit requirement for large uses.
  • Monica Twilight spoke against the CG text change, stating it is inconsistent and will harm residential neighborhoods.

Discussion Items

  • Application ZB 225-48 (60 Palmer's Hill Road): Continued from February 9, 2026. The applicant (Children's Learning Center) proposes to expand a daycare to serve up to 220 children, adding 60 parking spaces and 11 classrooms. The applicant presented a traffic video and argued that concerns are overblown. The board requested a detailed drop-off/pickup operations plan, queuing analysis, separate parking and transportation demand management documents, and a response from the city's traffic engineer (TTP) to the opponent's traffic engineer. The applicant agreed to provide additional videos (including pickup and 9:00-9:30 AM periods) and revised plans. The item was continued to March 9, 2026.
  • Application ZB 225-38 (CG District Text Change): Presented by Ralph Blessing. The change adds comprehensive regulations for the CG Commercial District, divides it into CG1 (north of North Street, up to 8 stories) and CG2 (closer to downtown, up to 16 stories), adds lot coverage limits, urban design requirements (e.g., ground-floor glazing, active uses), and rationalizes approval processes (staff architectural review for smaller projects, board special permit for larger ones). The board discussed the need to clarify when board input is required. The item was postponed to March 9, 2026, for further deliberation.

Key Outcomes

  • Application ZB 225-48 (60 Palmer's Hill Road) was continued to March 9, 2026, for further testimony and revised materials.
  • Application ZB 225-38 (CG Text Change) was held over to March 9, 2026, pending board discussion.
  • All other applications (CSPR 1226, CSPR 1227, ZB 225-39, ZB 225-46) were approved with conditions, as detailed above.

Meeting Transcript

Vanita, would you make me co-host, please? I did. Okay, thank you. We can get started now. I'd like to welcome everyone and call tonight's special zoning board meeting to order. I'm David Stein, Chair of the Zoning Board, and it is 6 38 on March 2nd, 2026. 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? Here. Roseanne McManus. Here. Jerry Bozak. Here. And now for the staff, Benita Matter. And Ralph Blessing will be joining us at some point. The board's microphones will be open throughout tonight's hearing. 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 the meeting is the public hearing during which the public will have the opportunity to speak. Each member of the public will be muted until it is your turn to speak. Here's the procedure for the public to let us know that you would like to speak. If you came in through Zoom through Zoom, please use the raise your hand function and you will be unmuted when it is your turn to speak. If you called in on one of the telephone conference call phone numbers, please press star nine and this will raise your hand, then press star six to unmute when you are called on. When members of the public speak, please state your name and address for the record and whether you are in favor of or opposed to the application. The board requests that members of the public limit your comments to three minutes so that everyone will have a chance to speak. And Vanita's email address is VMATHUR at Stanford C T dot gov. I'm sorry. You can find the agenda for tonight's meeting and the meeting application and other materials by going to our website www.stanford ct.gov slash zoning. And this is application two two five-48. It's a continuation from our last meeting on February 9th. 60 Palmer's Hill Road, site and architectural plans and a requested uses. Applicants proposing to adaptively reuse the existing two-story building and construct a new daycare facility connected to the existing building, adding 60 surface parking spaces, an outdoor pavilion, outdoor play area, 11 classrooms, and a gross motor space. The proposed facility is anticipated to serve up to 220 children. Well, it the opponents had presented information from their consultants, both engineering and traffic. And we had asked our uh city staff to respond to those. Um engineering to respond to the uh engineering related comments and um traffic to respond to the traffic related comments from uh from the opponent's traffic engineer. Uh so tonight um we'll be hearing from both uh the applicant, I assume through uh Mr. Redness, and um from the opponent through uh attorney Pierce. Uh and uh so Mr. Redness, why don't you take it away? Sure. Thank you very much for the record, uh Richard Redness, Redness and Mead here with our team, engineer, traffic, um CLC, uh representatives, Mr. Hennessy, the legal side, and we're all here to answer questions. Um there were a few things that we were to follow up on. Uh first, I'd like to thank Mr. Morris for pointing out the lines in the EPB letter from an early EPB letter, uh, because we were able to uh work with EPB staff and and obtain an EPB permit for the development as proposed. So we think we buttoned that one up. Um with respect to um the uh drainage issues.

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