March 2020 – Green's Farms Association

Minutes of February Green’s Farms Association Board Meeting. Green’s Farms Association held its Board Meeting on Tuesday, February 25th.

Board Members Attending: Norman Kramer, Lois Sussman, Birthe Shwisha, Matthew Spiegel and MaryAnn Meyer.RTM5 Reps Karen Kramer and Dick Lowenstein were guests.

Minutes of February Meeting

Norman opened the meeting and confirmed the dates for our Annual Meeting and mailing of newsletter/membership. Speaker will be Danielle Dobin, P&Z Chairman.

1) Discussion on P&Z proposal requesting 4 acres of land (lot is total of 11 acres) owned by the State Transportation Department (Post Road and West Parish Road) to build affordable housing units.The response from the State rejected the P&Z proposal as the Maintenance Facility is used daily and is a storm response operations center with a 24 hours a day, 7 day a week operation. P&Z will continue to pursue the State and request that they (the State) reconsider.

The Board discussed possible Town owned properties that could be alternative sites where affordable housing units could be built. Baron’s Property and other Town owned properties (Riverside Drive, Burr Street) were mentioned by Board members.

2) Norman reported on the recent meeting of the State Economic and Community Development that he and Dick Lowenstein attended. This is an effort to attract more businesses to the State and hopefully spur economic growth throughout the State. Proposals include to grow population nearby commuting hubs (train stations), develop multi housing units near train stations as well as build mix use developments. As the State owns most of the train station parking lots, there would be available land to develop multi housing units and possibly “tiered” parking .Green’s Farms railroad station (which is not under consideration for this program) has added new parking spaces for both permit holders and daily parking patrons.

3) Dick Lowenstein (RTM-5) reminded the Board of the upcoming Traffic meetings to be held for every RTM District. RTM District 5 Traffic meeting will be on Tuesday, March 31st at Town Hall at 7pm. All are encouraged to attend to discuss the specific traffic issues effecting Green’s Farms and other areas in town.

4) Detours and road closures will be required as the State begins replacing the Beachside Ave Bridge over I-95. The bridge will be modified to align with the intersection of Beachside Ave and Green’s Farms Road into a T-type intersection. A sidewalk on the north side of the bridge is also proposed. The construction will begin in March.

5) The Board also discussed the new on-demand shuttle service to the train stations. The new ride-sharing service will be run by the Norwalk Transit District and will be soon be launched in Westport. Dick Lowenstein provided details on the program which will have an app for riders to download and summon a ride-share.

6) Date for March meeting not confirmed as Norman indicated he would check with Art and get back to the Board with a confirmed date and place for our March meeting.

Green’s Farms January Board Meeting January 29, 2020

Attending Members and GuestsArt Schoeller, Lois Sussman, Birthe Shwisha, Arie Adler (hosted), Judy Swan, Matt Spiegel, MaryAnn Meyer and DIck Lowenstein (RTM-5 Guest)

1) Art opened the meeting and the first agenda item was traffic. Dick has been diligent for the past year meeting with Town and Police to seek solutions to the traffic issues primarily on Greens Farms Road. He reported that there are more police patrols along Greens Farms Road and the flashing radar sign is still posted. He expects to receive the data from the radar sign shortly and will report back to the Board.Ideas proposed:–Post “No Thru Truck” signs along Greens Farms Road to help lessen traffic volume–Petition the Town and suggest they try out some new solutions–Request additional flashing radar signs along GF Road since the Sherwood Island Connector to Southport (2.5 miles) is without any stop signs.Judy Swan brought to the Board’s attention the blind spot at Turkey Hill Road and GF Road which makes it very difficult to see on coming traffic.

State Rep, Tony Hwang is planning to hold meetings with each RTM District to discuss the traffic issue. It was discussed that GF Association can get involved and should participate.

In other news, Beachside Avenue Bridge will be replaced and the State expects to start construction shortly. The existing bridge will be modified to realign the intersection of Beachside Avenue and Greens Farms Road into a T-type intersection. Sidewalks/foot lanes will be constructed.

In another related matter, the Historic District Commission is taking inventory of historic stone bridges that may need repair. Repairs for the Center Street Bridge at Greens Farms Road (near the GF Fire Department) are being considered.

2) West Parish/Hillandale Road proposalP&Z is proposing a multi unit townhouses(40 units) which would be owned by the Town. The plan would help add to the current units of affordable housing while the Town enjoys a 3.5 year moratorium on further 8-30g projects. P&Z has its eyes on 4 acres of land which is State owned and is part of the 11 acres where the State DOT Highway garage and yard is located. The Board will follow this closely as the proposal may add to the already congested traffic issues on Post Road as well as in the West Parish neighborhood. At present, there are several available parcels along Post Road that are potential sites for further development for commercial use or multi unit housing. Currently there are 514 existing multi housing units along Post Road (Bulkley Road to Roseville Road).

3) Annual Meeting The date for the Green’s Farms Annual Meeting is Tuesday, May 12th. Members of the Board should plan on coming on Saturday, May 2nd to help stuff envelopes to mail out our newsletter and membership information.

Next Board meeting on Tuesday, February 25th.