Study: Industrial zoning rules should be simplified
NORWALK — The city’s industrial zoning regulations should be simplified and modernized to encourage more boutique manufacturing while preserving residential neighborhoods, according to draft recommendations from a six-month study.
As smaller and midsized manufacturing firms become more popular, the city’s zoning codes should reflect those evolving trends to stay competitive, according to Maggie Tsang, an urban designer with Utile Design, which performed the study.
Since 2012, manufacturing firms in Fairfield County with more than 500 employees have declined by 25 percent. Meanwhile, Tsang said, firms with 50 to 250 employees have seen noticeable growth.
“This shows us that the demand for industrial space really tends to be smaller or mid-sized spaces and not really large spaces,” Tsang said at a public meeting last week about the proposed changes.
The city launched the study last September after frustrated residents com
plained zoning rules allowed noisy contractor yards to border residential neighborhoods. The study aimed to find a balance between the needs of residents and the desire for economic development.
“Norwalk has several industrial zones and they’re kind of scattered throughout the city. Some of them have some legacy uses going on, there’s some uses that are conflicting with residential neighborhoods,” Director of Planning and Zoning Steve Kleppin said.
According to the draft recommendations, the city’s eight existing industrial zones should be condensed into three zones. Tsang said the simplified zones will allow developers to better navigate the building process, while preventing large-scale manufacturing from disrupting residential neighborhoods.
Tsang said the first zone should be restricted to heavy industry, including concrete production and oil storage. The zone should include the area north of Oyster Shell Park and the city’s water treatment plant in East Norwalk.
The second zone should allow for light industry such as small manufacturing, as well as other commercial uses. The zones should run along the Interstate 95, Route 7 and Route 1 corridors, as well as in South Norwalk.
Finally, the third zone should combine residential and commercial uses with boutique manufacturing like ceramic studios, bakeries, breweries, distilleries and artists workshops. The zone should be located in the central core of the city, including South Norwalk, East Norwalk and along the Norwalk River.
Tsang said city rules limiting the number of floors per building in the third zone should remain, but overall height restrictions should be relaxed to allow for more space for boutique manufacturing on ground floors.
The changes, Tsang said, will ultimately allow upper-floor commercial space to subsidize ground floor industrial space, which in turn will incentivize developments and grow the city’s tax base.
Mayor Harry Rilling said he supports the proposal to encourage more mixed-use zoning, including boutique manufacturing in downtown Norwalk and light industrial uses in outlying areas.
“I think there are a combination of things that we should be trying to achieve,” he said.
In addition to overhauling zoning categories, the study recommends finding new locations for contractor yards that sit near residential neighborhoods. Contractor yards have been a key point of contention for residents who say they mar neighborhoods with loud noises and large equipment.
The city placed a moratorium on the expansion and creation of new contractor yards last May to allow officials to study the issue. Klepping said the Zoning Commission is expected to vote this week on a yearlong extension to the moratorium, which will give officials time to implement the proposed recommendations.
Tsang said many of the city’s existing contractor yards are located off narrow streets and are surrounded by pockets of residential areas, making it difficult for large trucks to reach them. She suggested new contractor yards could be located at the Muller Industrial Park or on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Other recommendations from the study include barring self-storage businesses from industrial zones, updating the harbor management plan to promote waterfront access and developing separate plans for Norden Place, a largely vacant 330,000-square-foot facility in East Norwalk.
Kleppin said the city plans to hold a second public meeting in the future to gather further recommendations. From there, a final report will be created for the Zoning Commission to consider.