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.