Stamford residents ‘absolutely disgusted!’
“Fed up Stamford residents do not want empty office parks redeveloped. And they’re petitioning to stop it” (Dec. 22 news story).
The headline of this online Stamford Advocate article is misleading and does not convey the concerns of the Neighborhoods Coalition that organized the petition and its signers. The Stamford Neighborhoods Coalition was formed to address the marginalization of city residents by Land Use boards, address concerns for overdevelopment and the dictatorial nature of zoning changes by city officials who feel they know better about what is good for us and never truly hear or address our neighborhood and city-wide issues. Residents in Stamford are absolutely disgusted!
Zoning has two principal functions: (1) to set the parameters for land use development and (2) to provide protections from divergent or incompatible uses.
The campus office parks are generally surrounded by low-density and single-family neighborhoods. The Land Use Bureau proposal approved by the Zoning Board would permit “premium density” multifamily units of up to 14 units to the acre. A qualifying four acres could accommodate a 56-unit complex which would hardly be compatible with master plan directives that call for the enhancement of Stamford’s low-density residential neighborhoods and the preservation of the existing land-use character to protect neighborhood stability and property values.
The office campus, C-D, zoned sites deserve review and consideration. The Neighborhoods Coalition suggested less intense clustered single-family homes or townhousetype units with a density that relates to or is compatible with the surrounding residential neighborhood.
Not every neighborhood or site has to be maxed out. Properly done and financed, these homes could meet a major need identified in the Affordable Housing Plan and by members of the Stamford Neighborhoods Coalition for affordable home ownership opportunities. However, prior to implementing any planning or zoning changes or approving any project that would increase density, our elected and appointed officials should meet with local neighborhood groups, hear their concerns and undertake a careful evaluation to gauge the effects on neighborhoods, the city as a whole and its quality of life: its resource consumption, infrastructure stress and tax base implications.
Driving north on Interstate-95, approaching the Stamford business center, one cannot help but notice the tight, visually undisciplined and cramped development feel of our city center fostered by the “build to suit” type attitude that has prevailed in Stamford.
A tweak to the regulations here, another tweak there, and “voila,” another story, a reduction in parking, reduced setbacks, the result — increased density. The goal is to get folks out of their cars. It has not worked. The result is a less drivable city with more congestion, stressed and overburdened infrastructure. The construction boom has not lessened our tax burden. In fact, it has increased it.
The result is a city of questionable aesthetics and out-of-scale development as the land use boards, in collaboration with development interests, max out and shoehorn developments next to each other. The city’s land use, planning and zoning functions have abandoned the well-established zoning concept that regulations should be uniform within each district. In Stamford, we do not build to conform to the regulations. We tailor the zoning regulations to the project.
With the sole exception of last year when the tax increase was not imposed because of the COVID virus, tax increases year after year have been multiples of the Consumer Price Index. Additional growth may have added to our grand list, but the value has not redounded to the benefit of Stamford residents. I would suspect that once Aquarian finishes bringing water down from Fairfield because we have run out of our own water supply, we, the taxpayers, will be asked, once again, to cover the cost.
Our school buildings are decaying and we have appealed to the state for help in funding their renovation or replacement. Despite the annual tax hikes, we are unable to provide for our own needs either financially or resource-wise. Growth for growth’s sake without proper planning will be the downfall of the City of Stamford. This trend is well underway and the Neighborhoods Coalition is sounding the warning bell.
Residents have a right to be listened to, their views respected not only for the C-D districts but in the South End, West Side, Cove, Glenbrook, Springdale, Newfield, Westover, North Stamford, and the other residential neighborhoods that make up the City of Stamford. It’s time that our politicians wake up!