(This page contains publications March 15, 2007 through November 2, 2007)

Viewpoint: Candidates in own words

Laurel Lindstrom

Advocate

November 2, 2007

For more than a decade I have been passionate about improving the quality of life for people who live in Norwalk.

I have a solid background as a community leader – as founder and president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association for the past six years, as the representative for East Norwalk on the Mayor’s Neighborhood Preservation Committee since 2002 and as a founding member of the city-wide Coalition of Norwalk Neighborhood Associations.  

As a board member of the Southwestern Regional Planning Agency representing Norwalk I have gained valuable experience with long-range smart-growth planning and I have a complex understanding of how Norwalk fits into the region.

But they say that all politics is local. As a neighborhood leader, I’m running on a platform of bringing ‘neighborhood’ to City Hall.  Before issues go to the Common Council for action they are first identified at the neighborhood level. 

Addressing issues such as speeding, flooding, public park use, historic preservation, inappropriate development and pedestrian safety are at the forefront of the daily discussions I have with residents and City department heads – and are the focus of dozens of forums I’ve organized through the years.

But I also hear concerns about where our future growth is taking us and whether average folks, seniors on fixed incomes and young adults will be able to afford to remain in Norwalk. Preserving neighborhood character is much more than just overseeing changes in the infrastructure.  Norwalk’s history is one of manufacturing and industry, and of working families. Most of us have made Norwalk our home because of the inclusive culture in regards to the diversity of its people. And this culture is worth fighting to retain.

If elected to the Council I’ll have the knowledge, experience and community connections to bring these ‘neighborhood’ issues to the attention of officials and department representatives at City Hall, and to get them successfully addressed.

I have a proven track record for finding solutions and getting things done. I am known for my integrity, as a hard worker and for researching issues before making a decision.

If elected to the Council I will continue to encourage public participation – and to tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience of the many Norwalk citizens who are active in the community.

If elected as your councilwoman, I will truly be your voice by bringing ‘neighborhood’ to City Hall.

Laurel Lindstrom

The Hour

November 2, 2007

Lindstrom protects environment

To the Editor:

Most candidates for Common Council claim to be pro-environment. But Laurel Lindstrom is the only candidate on the ballot who has backed up that claim with action.

Serving on the board of the Norwalk Tree Alliance and President of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association, Laurel has championed environmental protection at countless public meetings and forums.

As a council member, I am sure Laurel will continue working hard to protect our local environment. If you care about protecting environmental quality as much as I do, be sure to vote for Laurel on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

William Wrenn

Lindstrom will represent District C with distinction

October 30, 2007

Entire city would benefit if Lindstrom is elected

To the Editor:

Laurel Lindstrom gets my vote. Her attributes exemplify my idea of a wonderful public servant. I see her everywhere, working on issues to improve Norwalk for Norwalkers. She’s devoted.

I read articles and letters and Web site entries, carefully composed by her to advocate for open space, traffic and pedestrian enhancements, flooding solutions, and many more. She’s unrelenting and resourceful.

I hear her speak at City Hall to help fine-tune a city development, or raise appropriate questions about zoning and conservation ordinances and their applications. She’s bold.

But mostly, I’ve come to appreciate her dedication to the often thankless tasks of small city advocacy. She has the kind of level-headed, quiet determination that was the hallmark of an earlier era of citizen volunteer who put their neighborhood and neighbors first.

I hope she will be our newest Common Council member, and that the qualities we’ve benefited from in East Norwalk we can share with the greater population.

Beth Ackerman

Norwalk

Norwalk council hopefuls criticize school budget process

By Tim Stelloh
Staff Writer
Advocate
 

October 29, 2007

NORWALK - Education, redevelopment and flooding got much of the attention at a Common Council candidate debate yesterday at Mill Hill Historic Park.

Quality of life issues - such as traffic and crime - and the city's police force also were discussed.

The debate, which featured eight of 29 candidates campaigning this year, was organized by the Coalition of Norwalk Neighborhood Associations and yourCT.com.

All the candidates - responding to a question about a "contentious" education budget cycle this year - said the city's Board of Education needs to handle its budget differently.

Candidates said the school board needs to hire a finance director and the budget process needs to be more transparent.

"If I'm going to give my child or grandchild money, I'm going to oversee how that money is spent," said Gail Wall, a Democrat running in District D.

Asked whether they would support allowing city finance director Thomas Hamilton to oversee the education budget, some - such as Republican Richard McQuaid, who is running at-large - said they would; others said they were unsure.

Michael Geake, a Democrat running at-large, said putting the two budgets under one control could be illegal, and that an education budget is more specialized than a city budget.

For a complex, expensive financing plan to fund infrastructure improvements in the West Avenue redevelopment area, no candidate said they would support the plan if taxpayers would bear a significant brunt of a price tag the developer has said could reach $150 million.

Under the plan, the city would use a Special Services District tax and fees from parking garages to pay back the debt on improvements to roads, storm drains, sidewalks and utilities.

Douglas Hempstead, a Republican running in District D, said the city needs to evaluate the "true economic impact" of the proposal. Robinson & Cole LLP, a law firm recently hired by the city, will evaluate the plan, he said.

The council also needs to ensure developers are held accountable, some candidates said.

Though much attention has been paid to three large redevelopment projects in downtown Norwalk, McQuaid said, city officials should ensure condominium development projects in suburban neighborhoods are subject to equal scrutiny.

Pointing to a controversial condo project on Stuart Avenue, he said such developments are "hit and run" and "no good for the city." Department heads "need to hold their feet to the fire," he said.

Because much of the city's redevelopment will be near downtown, said Laurel Lindstrom, a Democrat running in District C, the city's suburban neighborhoods will likely see less of the kinds of development projects described by McQuaid.

Every candidate said area flooding problems need to be addressed.

"It's been a problem forever," said Steven Serasis, a Democrat running in District A, recounting how he had to reconstruct his front yard to keep his house from flooding.

Wall said the city should resurrect the Flood Control and Erosion Board, a group she said was abandoned by the city. Such a group could apply for flood funds through the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Geake said he has a plan to fix flooding without raising taxes, while Hempstead said a $56 million, five-year plan is in place to address flooding.

The problem, he said, is how the plan is prioritized in the city budget and whether the city can afford it. The flood control board discussed by Wall could tax residents who have problems, he said.

Many candidates said the police department needs to beef up its staff, while others suggested creating a citywide traffic management plan. The city also should improve its databases so departments can communicate better with one another, Lindstrom said.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

The Hour

October 28, 2007

Women find place on Dems' ticket

 With the election just around the corner, Norwalk Democrats are stressing that the gender, age and racial make-up of their ticket mirrors that of the city their candidates hope to serve.

"We're building a party that represents everybody," said Walter Briggs, the Democratic contender for mayor. "I am proud to lead a ticket like this."

On Saturday afternoon, about a dozen local Democrats stood out in the rain to promote their female candidates for Common Council and the Board of Education.

Galen Wells, chair of the Democratic Town Committee, pointed out that exactly half of the Democratic ticket this year—or 10 out of 20 candidate—is made up of women. The Democrats have four women and one man running for the board and six women and nine men running for the council.

In contrast, the Republicans have only two women running for the council—incumbent Kelly Straniti for District D and newcomer Sandy Bonet for District B—and two for the board—Maria Borges-Lopez for District B and Ellen Wink for District A.

According to Wells, women comprise fifty percent of Norwalk's population but only 26 percent of current office holders in the city. Moreover, only one woman currently chairs a council committee, noted William Krummel, who is seeking re-election to the council in district E.

"These (Democratic) women represent a complete cross-section of Norwalk," said Wells, noting that the female Democratic candidates are of a variety races and ages and represent different income levels and neighborhoods in Norwalk.

Why is it important that women are represented in local politics?

"It's well documented—men and women look at the world differently," said Michael Geake, a Democratic candidate for the council at large. "Somewhere in between is the truth."

With half women candidates, he said, "we'll try to get closest to the truth."

"I think there are unique issues that face women," added Wells, such as juggling childcare and career, caring for aging parents and completing their education when they already have children.

On Saturday, the female candidates present raised a wide range of issues of concern to them.

Rev. Phyllis Bolden, who is running for re-election to the council in district B, expressed her concern with the city's affordable housing, cleaning up South Norwalk and small businesses run by minorities and women.

Jody Bishop-Pullan, who is seeking re-election to the board in district E, raised the importance of education to the city's economic success. In particular, she said, women and girls need further encouragement to study math and science.

Laurel Lindstrom, a council candidate for district C, spoke of the need to the need to improve public transportation, relieve congestion on streets and repair and widen sidewalks.

"The ability to travel safely, quickly and economically throughout Norwalk—days, evenings and weekends—without having to go by car, will allow more time for women to spend with their families and to participate in activities that build and strengthen our community," she said.

Lastly, Amanda Brown, an at-large council candidate who has two children, stressed the need for "constructive, safe" after school-programs for children "so they're engaged for good."

Education Reporter Lauren Garrison can be reached at (203) 354-1005 or lgarrison@thehour.com.

Press Release

October 27, 2007

Laurel Lindstrom

With women and men both working longer hours there is little time left in the day to get involved in community-building activities that strengthen neighborhoods, Lengthy commutes combined with a lack of convenient public transportation adds to the time away from home and to the congestion on our streets. For women who traditionally managed the home, cared for the children and volunteered time to civic groups, the pressure is even higher.

To cut down on commute times there needs to be housing opportunities that allow people of all income levels to live and work in Norwalk. 

Roads need to be safe for pedestrians as well as motor vehicles. I strongly encourage the city to move forward with a citywide traffic management plan that emphasizes traffic calming strategies – and to make sure that sidewalks are repaired and widened when roads are paved.

And we need to improve public transportation by making it more affordable and efficient. 

Buses and shuttles that are operated by the Norwalk Transit District and by several social service agencies currently function throughout the city.

The administrator of the Transit District, Lou Schulman, is awaiting the arrival of 7 new vehicles that will add to the frequency of service for Norwalk’s 4 busiest routes. But there are still gaps in service that need to be fixed.

I have already started a dialogue with Lou to explore ways to improve access to affordable and convenient transportation – and I plan to continue this dialogue.

By improving local transportation, not only women but businesses will benefit if there is a more efficient transit system in Norwalk.

Existing residential neighborhoods and the new neighborhoods that will be established in the urban core developments all need to be connected and interconnected. Transportation and roads are the critical link.     

The ability to travel safely, quickly and economically throughout Norwalk – days, evenings and weekends – without having to go by car, will allow more time for women to spend with their families and to participate in activities that build and strengthen our community.

The Hour

October 27, 2007

Letter writer misunderstood statement about condo location

To the Editor:

Eileen Infurchia's letter in The Hour's Oct. 24,issue has really "sent a chill up my spine" (to quote its author).

Seems the author completely misunderstood Laurel Lindstrom's statement that "condos don't belong in this neighborhood." Simply, you do not build single-family homes on Route 1, and you don't build condos in single-family homes area (because of its layout unable to accommodate the additional traffic).

Making a quarrel over a condo location a religious issue is the extreme which even our Lord did not want to happen. Remember "Give God what's God's and Caesar what's Caesar's?"

Sure, it would be nice to live in a perfect society envisioned by the author, but she is not the first to dream about it, and it is called Utopia.

Matt Konin

Norwalk

The Hour

October 26, 2007

Lindstrom best candidate for District C council seat

To the Editor:

As I drive through my East Norwalk neighborhood, I can’t but do my informal tally of who is running.

Living in an apartment- style building, I cannot post a lawn sign, but I want to join the fray. Here is what I posted on a local tree:

“Job Offer: Responsive Representative Wanted, East Norwalk. Votes still available. E-mail me at SeeksResponsiveRepresentation@yahoo.com.”

I have only one applicant who seems to fit the offer. Our applicant’s interest and representation of the East Norwalk Neighborhood Association’s concerns are exemplary of the sort of commitment she promises to bring to the job. Her other accomplishments thus far make me believe she will do more than just show up:

• Founder of Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association and president for past six years

• Representative for East Norwalk on the Mayor’s Neighborhood Preservation Committee

• Co-founder of Coalition of Norwalk Neighborhood Associations and current board member

• Representative for Norwalk on the Southwestern Regional Planning Agency (SWRPA) 2004 — 2007

• Founder of Advocates for Calm Traffic of Norwalk

• Facilitated achievement of ‘Tree City, USA’ for Norwalk (only 13 Connecticut towns have this status)

• Daily contact with constituents, and responsive to their issues and concerns

• Helped get approval of 80K for traffic calming, and a 368K grant for a ‘Safe Routes to School’ program on Strawberry Hill Avenue

• Encouraged neighborhood sensitive development at Norden Place, the former Fitch School and Vets Park

• Collaborated with area flood victims to obtain funds for alleviation of neighborhood flooding

• Worked tirelessly and tenaciously to save open space

• Writer and distributor of free 20-page civic guide ‘Norwalk At Your Fingertips’

• Webmaster for eastnorwalk.org and calmtraffic.org.

• Board, Norwalk Tree Advisory Committee 2002-07

• Board, League of Women Voters 2001-06

• Member of Norwalk Preservation Trust, Norwalk Historical Society, Norwalk Land Trust, Norwalk River Watershed Association and Norwalk ‘2010’ Committee for quality development

I’d be happy to let you see the application for yourself, but, come to think of it, you can check it out yourself at www.LaurelLindstrom.com. Oh, did I mention who she is?

Ed Pulice

Norwalk

Advocate

The Hour

Lindstrom fights tirelessly to better the community

The Hour

October 10, 2007

Input Has Always Been Valuable

October 6, 2007

Norwalk Citizen-News

To the Editor:

September 21, 2007

Advocate

To the editor:

As a resident of Scofield Place, near the former Fitch School, I am writing in response to the Sept. 16 letter that gave a very distorted picture of the neighborhood effort to fight the proposal for 29 condos. It's not the first distorted commentary I've seen. It's time for me to speak up.

Let's get this straight: Laurel Lindstrom is the real neighborhood leader, not only in opposing the proposed condominiums at the former Fitch School property, but in leading the successful opposition to the 328 condos at Norden Place, and organizing a full-scale campaign for traffic calming on Strawberry Hill Avenue and elsewhere throughout Norwalk. She has been at the helm of addressing a myriad of other issues, big and small, that have improved our lives.

For the past six years, as founder and president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association, she has mobilized and organized all of us.

Laurel arranged the petition drive against the Fitch School development, and engaged area residents in order to win a unanimous vote of opposition from the association board.

She's been leading us for years, alerting us to issues we wouldn't know about otherwise. Most important, she mobilizes us by teaching us how to get heard and by bringing our concerns and our numbers to the table at just the right time. This is what Laurel does best. And she does it equally for neighborhoods throughout Nor-walk.

Most citizens would probably agree that you can't fight City Hall unless they've met and worked with Laurel Lindstrom. That's why it would be perfect for citizens to have her in City Hall representing us.

Sarah Hunter

Norwalk

The writer is a board member of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association but is not writing representing the board.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

DPW to air East Ave. problems at public forum

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

September 17, 2007

NORWALK — Dangerous lane shifts, narrow and ambiguous travel lanes, pedestrians risking life and limb crossing the street.

Motorists and residents have long known what's wrong with East Avenue south of Interstate 95. How to fix the problems with the busy thoroughfare will be the topic of a roundtable discussion being held by the Department of Public Works at City Hall next Thursday evening.

"About 10 years ago, there was an intent, at that time, to reconstruct East Avenue, then that died for lack of funding and the (Metro-North) Railroad guys doing nothing. There never was a design completed" for East Avenue, said Director of Public Works Harold F. Alvord. "It's our intention to inform interested residents about the kinds of issues and problems on East Avenue that we would like to address."

Alvord said those issues include the entrance to Olmstead Place, the intersection with Fort Point Street, and narrow lanes along East Avenue.

The roundtable discussion is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. in the Community Room of City Hall, 125 East Ave. Open to discussion will be road-improvement projects for East Avenue, from Exit 16 on Interstate 95 to the Metro-North Railroad Bridge and beyond.

For years, public works officials have been reluctant to sink money into East Avenue before the state revamps Exit 16 over Interstate 95 and rebuilds the railroad bridge. The city doesn't want to spend the money on East Avenue, only to see the state tear it up to rebuild the bridge and exit.

That said, the city did re-pave East Avenue.

"We've milled and overlaid it just to improve driving conditions over the next five years," said Richard Linnartz, principal engineer of design in the public works department. "Otherwise "there's no design at this point. The state has decided what it's going to do with the bridge. We haven't decided what to do with the road."

After years of being on hold, reconstruction of the Metro-North Railroad bridge over East Avenue now seems poised to moved forward. Alvord said the state Department of Transportation plans to put the project out to bid in 2009 and begin construction the following year.

The reconstruction will replace the bridge superstructure, widen East Avenue beneath the bridge, add two five-foot wide sidewalks on either side of the roadway beneath the bridge, and lower the roadway to boost clearance to 14 feet 2 inches. The current vertical clearance is 12 feet 7 inches, according to A. DiCesare Associates, P.C.

The city earlier this summer hired A. DiCesare of Westport to provide engineering services related to the East Avenue Bridge Reconstruction Project. The firm will plan and design the related roadwork on East Avenue, from the railroad underpass to Exit 16.

East Norwalkers have their own thoughts about what needs to be done with East Avenue.

"Everyone is in agreement that there are problems there," said Laurel Lindstrom, president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association. "We need to put everything on the table and come up with what's best for everyone and works in other areas."

Lindstrom said she would like to see all options considered — not just widening.

"If you start widening, it cuts down the congestion, yes, but it increases speeding. Speeding is as much of a problem" as congestion, Lindstrom said. "If the widening is done, it's also going to change the character of the street. Let the residents come (Thursday night) and the business owners and see where it goes from there."

David W. Park, another East Norwalk resident, favors widening East Avenue, from Interstate 95 to Winfield Street. Events at Calf Pasture Beach and Taylor Farm, the presence of the East Norwalk Train Station, and the city's annual Oyster Festival are among the reasons to widen roadway, he said.

"My position on East Avenue is they should widen it up," Park said. "I'm all for traffic flow, not traffic calming."

Park said large trucks now cannot pass under Metro-North Railroad underpass on East Avenue nor on Strawberry Hill Avenue. That sends them onto Winfield other local streets to residents' consternation, according to Park.

"I want to find out if some of these trucks will be able to make it underneath (the rebuilt East Avenue railroad underpass)," Park said.

Judy Goldkopf, owner of Tangles Hair Salon on East Avenue, favors widening the underpass to ease traffic congestion but not widening the entire roadway. She said that would create more speeding and truck traffic. Goldkopf wants answers about the extent of the widening and whether eminent domain will be used.

"I think my business will be very close to the road, which I think will be dangerous," Goldkopf said.

Goldkopf's other issue: The Dunkin' Donuts on East Avenue.

"If they hadn't put that Dunkin' Donuts where they put it, had that not happened, we wouldn't have half the problems," Goldkopf said.

Fate of Master Plan could be in hands of new Council members

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

September 11, 2007

NORWALK — With municipal elections around the corner, a new batch of Common Council members could find themselves responsible for adopting Norwalk's revised Master Plan of Conservation and Development.

A draft copy of the master plan, which will guide city zoning regulations for the next decade, is wending its way to the council floor.

Last Thursday night, members of the council's Planning Committee received and discussed the draft.

Among the questions raised: How might the Nov. 6 election affect the adoption timeline of the plan?

For instance, if the current Planning Committee holds a public hearing on the draft plan before Election Day, might the hearing and input heard at it be for naught, if new people are elected to the council?

"My personal feeling is we should start the (adoption) process, whether we get it done or not before November. I think intelligent people can catch up quite quickly," committee member Douglas E. Hempstead said Monday, referring to the prospect of new faces on the council. "The process has taken six years, so taking a month or two extra matters not. What matters is making sure that the plan is a comprehensive plan that will work."

Matthew T. Miklave, committee chairman, was not available for comment Monday afternoon.

A state law passed in 2001 requires municipalities to overhaul their master plan s every 10 years. While Norwalk's plan was last overhauled in 1991, it was not covered under the law, which was not retroactive. Smaller updates have been made to the plan four times since 2001.

The draft planned, as completed by the Planning Commission July 31, is a 59-page document with sections titled Balanced Economic Growth; Environment and Infrastructure; Community and Cultural Facilities; Transportation; Governance; Open Space and Recreation; and Implementation.

In working to update the plan, the Planning Commission took input from residents, neighborhood associations and an urban planning consultant.

The commission, as author of the master plan, must review and approve any last-minute changes recommended by the council. Hempstead would like any such changes handled in one fell swoop, rather than see the draft plan go back and forth between the council and commission.

"I don't have any issues sending it back, but if we send it back, I want to send back (once)," Hempstead said.

For now, Planning Committee members have their individual issues with the draft plan.

Hempstead said he believes the plan lacks "some details." For instance, the plan proposes more park space, but doesn't spell out how to reach that goal, he said.

William M. Krummel, also on the Planning Committee, believes the draft plan is pushing a golf driving range — if not explicitly — onto Oak Hills Park. A section of the plan calls for providing a "greater diversity of recreation facilities and programs" and to "encourage the building of a municipal golf driving range."

"I'm concerned about the objective of encouraging a golf driving range. Where else would it go other than in Oak Hills? And the Oak Hills mini-master plan said the community had rejected a golf driving range at Oak Hills," Krummel said. "What community group would encourage a golf driving range. It's a bad idea to put it out in the master plan."

Laurel Lindstrom, president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association, said she would like to see the council approve the final master plan before Election Day, but added that much will hinge on public input.

"It would be nice, if they were able to get it approved by the election. Then they wouldn't have to incur the additional expenses — and it's been a long time," Lindstrom said. "If there's no reason to delay it — everyone, it seems, is in agreement it's a good document — it should go forward." "It depends upon what comes up at the public hearing," Lindstrom added.

Residents urged to attend East Avenue meeting

To the Editor:

Anyone who's driven or walked East Avenue from Van Zant Street to Exit 16 knows that there are safety and congestion issues. Road improvement projects involving the state and the city are in the works to help alleviate the problems that exist.

Before the city moves forward with extensive improvements representatives from the Department of Public Works — Hal Alvord and Dick Linnartz — want to meet with residents to gather input.

A roundtable discussion will take place Thursday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. at Norwalk City Hall in the Community Room.

This is a good time to come out and offer your ideas and personal observations before the plans are finalized. I encourage everyone who wants to hear about what's being proposed to attend this important meeting.

Laurel Lindstrom, president

Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association

Printed in the Hour on September 11, 2007 (similar letter printed in the Advocate and Norwalk Citizen-News)

New condo units on Strawberry Hill Avenue may be dead on arrival

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

September 7, 2007

NORWALK — A proposed 29-unit condominium development for the former Fitch School property on Strawberry Hill Avenue could be dead-on arrival.

On Thursday night, the Zoning Commission’s Zoning Committee recommended that the full commission deny DT Development Co. LLC’s request that the city boost the cap on planned residential developments in B Residence zones to allow 29 new units at 61, 63 and 73 Strawberry Hill Ave.

Nearly two-dozen East Norwalk residents left City Hall pleased. “I just feel that the area is overdeveloped. We have a lot of traffic issues on Strawberry Hill Avenue,” said Anne Marie Walsh, a Scofield Place resident. “It really doesn’t fit the character of the neighborhood.”

The full Zoning Commission is expected to take up the matter Sept. 19. The site plan calls for razing the existing building and constructing 29 condominiums units in six buildings; 61 parking spaces; and a pool house at the back of the 3.3-acre property at 73 Strawberry Hill Ave.

For the project to advance, the Zoning Commission must boost the cap on planned residential developments by 29 units, and approve the site plan. If the cap is not raised, the site plan remains non-compliant with zoning.

“I’m inclined to deny the zoning change,” said Andrea Light, Zoning Commission chairwoman, adding that lifting the cap would erode the integrity of a residential neighborhood. “There’s a reason why we put a cap on planned residential developments.”

Commissioner Larry L. Bentley said approving a higher cap — despite comments made by the developer — would set a precedent. He urged the Zoning Committee to “back off on this proposal” until the city’s new Plan of Conservation and Development is finalized.

“I really don’t have a problem with raising the cap,” said Jackie Lightfield, Zoning Committee chairwoman. “But I do have a problem with the site plan … it doesn’t fit the neighborhood.”

Leading up to Thursday night’s meeting representatives of DT Development presented the condominium plan as in keeping with the neighborhood. For instance, some of the condominium units would face Strawberry Hill Avenue in a manner similar to existing single- family homes on the street. Further, the development would result in less paved surfaces and fewer driveways onto Strawberry Hill than would a traditional subdivision, they said.

Many residents, however, including Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association President Laurel Lindstrom ... concluded otherwise and mobilized their neighbors to sign petitions against the proposed development, and to attend the Aug. 15 public hearing before the Zoning Commission....

While acknowledging that the full Zoning Commission has yet to vote, ..... Lindstrom said the residents’ passion drove opposition to the plan. “They really care about (the neighborhood),” Lindstrom said. “They’re very passionate, the neighbors. They really don’t want the condos there.”

City growth, redevelopment driving infrastructural change

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK —

September 4, 2007

Developer Stanley M. Seligson’s request for the city to issue $104 million in municipal bonds to pay for improvements related to his West Avenue project has illustrated how growth and redevelopment stand to impact roads, sewers and other infrastructure used by all residents.

Mayor Richard A. Moccia describes the improvements related to the West Avenue projects as the “largest infrastructure changes” upcoming in Norwalk.

At the same time, they’re hardly the only improvements that will be needed as Norwalk’s skyline and population grow.

“The infrastructure of the city, outside of the West Avenue plan, is going to need sizable investment coming up in future years, and it’s going to be a balancing act again,” said Moccia, referring to various priorities competing for limited city dollars. “The good thing is we’re winding down with our school (renovation) projects.

Paying those off will give us a little flexibility in bonding. But we’re going to have to look hard.”

At present, the city, private developers and residents are often tackling infrastructure improvements on a case-by-case or neighborhood-by neighborhood basis using a variety of forecasting and funding mechanisms.

While infrastructure improvements related to core areas of the city, such as West Avenue, rest upon years of plans and studies, fixes needed for other residential neighborhoods often don’t become apparent until it’s too late.

Over the last two years, many East Norwalk residents learned the drainage systems in their neighborhoods were inadequate. Tired of flooded basements, they pressed the city to invest in larger drainage pipes. The city, in response, has begun committing more capital and operating budget dollars to that end.

“Traffic was going to be our big effort. Then, all of a sudden all this flooding took place,” said Director of Public Works Harold F. Alvord, noting the shift in spending priorities.

In related areas, the city’s Water Pollution Control Authority, Moccia noted, recently approved a hook-up fee for developers tapping into the city's sanitary sewer system. The fee is intended to pay for the “increased system burden” on the sewer system, including the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

To modernize storm drains — a major concern to neighborhoods that flood — the city may create a stormwater authority. The authority could levy funds to improve those drains.

In the area of roads, Hamden-based engineering firm Vollmer Associates last year completed a Master Transportation and Pedestrian Plan for central Norwalk.

The report and recommendations focused on critical intersections in the Wall Street area, West Avenue corridor and South Norwalk, while assuming 1.5 million square feet of development by 2010 and 5.3 million square feet of development by 2015.

After factoring in traffic signal and other improvements, Vollmer Associates concluded that traffic operations in 2010 would be “very similar to existing conditions.”

Of 19 key intersections, levels of service would decrease at only two: Wall Street and East Avenue, and Fairfield Avenue and Washington Street.

“With the planned improvements along West Avenue south of I-95 in place, (status quo) or better conditions can be achieved in the majority of area locations during the busiest time periods,” Vollmer Associates concluded.

Widening roads to speed traffic, however, is no longer en vogue among urban planners, as evidenced by the Wall Street and West Avenue redevelopment projects.

For the Head-of-the-Harbor portion of Wall Street, developer M.F. DiScala & Co. plans to turn St. John’s Place into a European-style piazza with pedestrians crossing Wall Street on textured crosswalks.

Seligson Properties, meanwhile, envisions West Avenue becoming a landscaped boulevard with wide sidewalks.

“You want people to understand they’re coming into a pedestrian environment,” said Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Timothy T. Sheehan. “If you’re going to go through the central business district, you are not going to move through the way you’re moving through it now … 45 miles per hour. Our hope is that you’re going through that corridor at more like 20 or 25 miles per hour.”

Sheehan said ramps, intersections and traffic signals will be improved to handle the added traffic. At the same time, the various redevelopment projects will be interconnected.

For instance, a new north-south artery is envisioned by connecting Wall, Isaacs, Academy, Crescent, North Water and Reed Streets.

Ultimately, the state Traffic Commission must review and approve the planned road improvements for the larger redevelopment projects, Sheehan added.

Michael B. Greene, the city’s planning and zoning director, believes infrastructure is keeping pace with development. He pointed to Connecticut Avenue before it became home to big-box retail stores.

“Millions of square feet of additional retail space and development (later), and traffic flows now better than it did 15 years ago. (Before) it was only one lane in each direction,” Greene said. “If you look at the levels of service, roads are keeping up with development.”

In March, the Common Council approved Seligson’s conceptual master site plan to fill out the 19.8-acre area bounded by West Avenue, Chapel and Academy Streets with 350 new residential units, 75,000 square feet of office space and 393,174 square feet of new retail space in the core area. Seligson is seeking $104 million in municipal bonds to pay for road and other related infrastructure improvements.

The money would be repaid through parking fees and taxes from a special services district.

Jeffrey Kaplan, director of marketing and communications for Seligson Properties, said the city and Redevelopment Agency have commissioned several important studies addressing growth and infrastructure.

“As one of the developers of the downtown area, we are working hand in hand with the City of Norwalk department heads and the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency to implement the improvements described in these studies,” Kaplan said. “Our collective goal is to design and build a new neighborhood whose infrastructure is intelligently designed to keep pace with future growth.”

Matthew T. Miklave, chairman of the council’s Planning Committee, said traffic, market and other studies have been done over the last six years with respect to the redevelopment projects. In the area of road improvements, he noted that Metro-North Railroad Danbury Branch Bridge in the Reed-Putnam area will be replaced in order to extend Reed Street.

“We are physically raising the train tracks,” said Miklave, pointing to the magnitude of that project.

At the same time, Miklave said infrastructure goes beyond roads and bridges to schools and housing.

“Housing for working families. That’s an infrastructure improvement (because) we’re talking about getting cars off the highways and people living where they work,” Miklave said.

Laurel Lindstrom, president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association, said the city’s nearly completed Master Plan of Conservation and Development recommends that development occur only where adequate infrastructure is in place.

As such, she describes the master plan as a solid document and conceptual framework for future planning.

At the same time, Lindstrom doesn’t consider the plan the end-all in planning.

“We need to tweak and make adjustments as we go forward,” Lindstrom said. “We’ve got to make use of it and remember the broad concepts. But then we’ve got to prepared to do further work as we go forward.”

City nets $6K grant for trees at Mathews park

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK —

August 21, 2007

White Pines, Douglas Firs, European Beech and Red Maples are among the trees to be planted at Mathews Park with a $6,000 America the Beautiful Grant recently landed by the city through the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The trees will be planted along where the Norwalk River Valley Multipurpose Trail will run, according to Mayor Richard A. Moccia’s office.

“I wish to thank both the Department of Public Works and the city’s grants coordinator, Katherine Pytleski, for their efforts in preparing the grant application,” Moccia said. “The grant will allow us to enhance the aesthetics of that portion of the walk that passes through the park.”

The grant is part of matching funds — collectively $16,300 — with which the city hopes to plant nearly three-dozen trees at the park, according to Pytleski, who worked with the public works department to apply for the grant.

“The grant just makes it a little bit easier for the city,” Pytleski said. “This is the first tree grant we’ve gotten since I’ve been here, and we’ll certainly be looking for more.

Trees are a very important part of any city. We’ll be working with the Norwalk Tree Alliance.”

The grant comes as work proceeds on the multipurpose trail, which will run from The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk to Grist Mill Road, and five months after Deering Construction, the firm contracted by the city to build a parking

lot for the trail near the Lockwood- Mathews Mansion, cut down nearly two-dozen “invasive tree species,” according to public works officials. The cuttings

angered many residents.

The $6,000 grant and resulting plantings are not necessarily intended to replace those trees, although some new trees will be placed in areas where the original trees once stood.

Rather, the grant will help the city move forward with its original planting plan, as spelled out in a master plan put forward a decade ago. That plan calls for restoring the look and feel of the area a century ago, according to Paul Sotnick, assistant civil engineer in the public works department.

“What we’re going to try and do is restore plantings in line with what existed in the 1900s.

… Japanese Zelkova, Norway Spruce, Eastern White Pine, a European Beech, Red Maple,” Sotnick said. “It was basically to try and restore some of the historic (look).”

Sotnick said the new trees will help restore the park canopy, but not be in the exact location where trees were removed earlier this year. The trees will be planted along the path of the future trail, from the tennis courts to the front gate of the park.

“We’ll try and get the largest trees we can for the price,” Sotnick said. “They won’t be the size of those taken out, but they will eventually grow to that.”

Laurel Lindstrom, a former member of the city’s Tree Advisory Committee, welcomed the state grant.

“What is really terrific is that the city is being able to take advantage of so many more grant opportunities, this is just one more that makes a big difference,” Lindstrom said. “It really decreases the costs to Norwalk.”

Norwalk is one of a dozen Connecticut communities carrying the title “Tree City USA.”

In early May, residents were invited to Mathews Park to learn more about tree preservation as part of the Norwalk Tree Festival. The Norwalk Tree Alliance and Norwalk Tree Advisory Committee sponsored the festival.

Zoning panel gets earful on Fitch condo plan

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK —

August 16, 2007

Residents sounded off Wednesday night against DT Development Co. LLC’s plan to build 29 condominiums/townhouses at the former Fitch School site on Strawberry Hill Avenue. Among those opposed to the plan is Laurel Lindstrom, president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association….

DT Development seeks to raze the former school and two adjacent houses at 61 and 63 Strawberry Hill Ave. to build the condominiums.

The property is located in a B Residence Zone, for which the city has capped the number of Planned Residential Development units. DT Development has asked Zoning commissioners to boost that cap by 29 units and approve the site plan, which shows 29 condominiums units in six buildings; 61 parking spaces; and a pool house at the back of the 3.3-acre property at 73 Strawberry Hill Ave.

Lindstrom said the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association board of directors, based upon responses of residents living near the property, opposes a higher cap and a Planned Residential Development for the site. “The planned PRD is viewed by the neighbors and by the ENNA Board as incompatible with their neighborhood, which is comprised of single family homes fronting on public rights of way,”

Lindstrom recently wrote. “Residents know their neighbors, are aware of their comings and goings and are able to quickly identify intruders or people who may be there for other than ‘neighborly’ purposes. Such neighborhoods are safer to live in and foster a spirit of cooperation.”

By 10:45 Wednesday night, more than a dozen people had spoken in opposition to the planned condominium development, and the commission had taken no action on the plan. Earlier in the evening, traffic and drainage consultants, an economist and landscape architect, and Norwalk landuse attorney David F. Waters — all hired by DT Development — pitched the condominium plan as preferable to an 18-home subdivision, which otherwise could be built on the property.

Waters said the developer worked with city planners to create buildings and landscaping that fits into the existing Strawberry Hill Avenue neighborhood. Trees and a stone wall would be added along the street. Two of the condominium buildings, built in vernacular New England style with shingles and brick, would face the street, according to the consultants.

According to Waters, the plan leaves zoning commissioners with greater control over architecture, landscaping, layout and other aspects than would a residential subdivision. “Here, you can tell us exactly where you want every building to be … you don’t get that in a subdivision,” Waters said. “You have complete control with a Planned Residential Development, which you don’t have with a subdivision.”

August 14, 2007

Residents urged to speak on Fitch school site plan

To the Editor:

Based on the responses we've received from residents who live near the former Fitch School property located on Strawberry Hill Avenue, as well as our own deliberations, the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association Board of Directors opposes amending zoning

regulations to raise the cap on the number of Planned Residential Development units permitted in B Residence zones; and opposes approval by the Zoning Commission that would allow construction of the PRD proposed for this site.

While the impact on traffic, drainage, schools and infrastructure of the 29-unit PRD may be similar to that resulting from the 18 detached houses on a cul-de-sac that could be built 'as of right,' and while we applaud the inclusion of affordable housing in the PRD, the lack of connection to the larger neighborhood is the deciding factor in the board's decision.

The planned PRD is viewed by the neighbors and the ENNA as incompatible with their neighborhood, which is comprised of single family homes fronting on public rights of way.

Residents know their neighbors, are aware of their comings and goings and are able to quickly identify people who may be there for other than "neighborly" purposes.

By contrast, the units in the proposed PRD front on private interior roadways that will be infrequently visited by neighbors, creating a pocket of unobserved activity that decreases safety and neighborliness for everyone in the vicinity, including the PRD residents.

Starting two years ago when the PRD was first proposed, the ENNA has presented the pros and cons of the PRD as compared with a cul-de-sac of private homes. These discussions resulted in the drafting of a petition opposed to raising the cap on PRD units.

As a board representing the neighborhood, and based on the merits of the case, we support the residents in their opposition to the planned PRD. We also strongly encourage residents, no matter what their stand on the PRD, to attend and speak up at the Zoning Commission public hearing on this proposal on Wednesday, Aug. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall. Written comments may also be submitted to Planning and Zoning at City Hall prior to 5 p.m. on Aug. 15.

Laurel Lindstrom, president

Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association

Vote expected on oil depot project

By Tim Stelloh
Staff Writer

Advocate

August 14, 2007

NORWALK - Two contentious development proposals - one for a South Norwalk oil depot, the other for an East Norwalk residential development - will be considered at a Zoning Commission meeting tomorrow night at City Hall.

The commission will vote on the oil depot, which large crowds have opposed at previous meetings.

The proposal submitted by Gault Inc., a Westport heating oil distributor, would add several house-size fuel tanks to 350 Ely Ave., where heating oil and diesel fuel would be stored and distributed.

Gault is applying for a permit with the Zoning Commission that would require the commission to look at the impact of the facility on the surrounding area.

Residents, local officials and lawmakers have complained about increased truck traffic and potential environmental problems. Others have said it is unwise to place a fuel-tank facility on a site that already is in poor environmental shape.

For 40 years, 350 Ely Ave. was home to Guard All Chemical Co., which blended chemical solvents.

Sam Gault, whose family owns the heating oil company, has said that traffic would not be impacted significantly and that state-of-the-art technology would prevent environmental degradation.

Harmful contaminants left from when Guard All operated on the property would be capped with a plastic impermeable sheet, Gault has said.

A Zoning Commission panel approved the permit last week, with commissioners saying it would not significantly impact the surrounding area.

The portion of the meeting dealing with the Gault plan will not be open for public comment.

However, the commission will hold a public hearing on a condo development in East Norwalk.

The proposal, put forward by D.T. Development Co. of Greenwich, would knock down the former Fitch School on Strawberry Hill Avenue and replace it with 29 condos.

The developer also is asking the city to raise the cap on the number of units that can be built in the city's B-Zone residential neighborhoods.

Neighbors have been critical of the project, citing traffic concerns and other problems, and both Common Council nominees in the district oppose the project.

Laurel Lindstrom, the Democratic contender and president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association, said in a statement on behalf of the association that the proposal is "incompatible with the neighborhood."

The development's "lack of connection to the larger neighborhood" - which is made up of single-family homes - was the decisive factor in the association's decision to reject the proposal, the statement said...

...The developer did not return phone calls seeking comment. The project's attorney, David Waters, has said the condos fit in the neighborhood because the property has always housed institutional buildings - first the school, then a nursing home that went bankrupt in 2002.

Waters also has said that several of the condos would be set aside as below-market units - a pledge that wouldn't be guaranteed were the developer to build single-family homes.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

Letter to the Editor (The Hour):

 August 12, 2007

Based on the responses we’ve received from residents who live near the former Fitch School property located on Strawberry Hill Avenue, as well as our own deliberations, the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association Board of Directors:

1. Opposes amending zoning regulations to raise the cap on the number of Planned Residential Development (PRD) units permitted in B Residence zones; and

2. Opposes approval by the Zoning Commission that would allow construction of the PRD that’s proposed for this site.

While the impact on traffic, drainage, schools and infrastructure of the 29-unit PRD may be similar to that resulting from the 18 detached houses on a cul-de-sac that could be built ‘as of right’, and while we applaud the inclusion of affordable housing in the PRD, the lack of connection to the larger neighborhood resulting from the proposed PRD is the deciding factor in the board’s decision.   

The planned PRD is viewed by the neighbors and by the ENNA Board as incompatible with their neighborhood, which is comprised of single family homes fronting on public rights of way. Residents know their neighbors, are aware of their comings and goings and are able to quickly identify intruders or people who may be there for other than “neighborly” purposes. Such neighborhoods are safer to live in and foster a spirit of cooperation.

By contrast, the units in the proposed PRD front on private interior roadways that will be infrequently visited by neighbors. Its residents will be cut off from the rest of the neighborhood, creating a pocket of unobserved activity that decreases safety and neighborliness for everyone in the vicinity, including the PRD residents.

Starting two years ago when the PRD was first proposed, the ENNA has taken a leadership role informing and educating residents to the process, and has presented the pros and cons of the PRD as compared with a cul-de-sac of private homes. These discussions resulted in the drafting of a petition opposed to raising the cap on PRD units which the ENNA circulated, obtaining more than 100 signatures. Although residents have heard the arguments for and against, those who continue to contact us remain strongly opposed to the PRD.

As a board representing the neighborhood, and based on the merits of the case, we support the residents in their opposition to the planned PRD.

We also strongly encourage residents, those we’ve heard from and those we haven’t – no matter what your stand is on the PRD, to attend and speak up at the Zoning Commission public hearing on this proposal that will take place Wednesday, August 15 at 7:30 PM at City Hall. Written comments may also be submitted to Planning and Zoning at City Hall prior to 5 PM on August 15.

Laurel Lindstrom, President

Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association

http://eastnorwalk.org

Zoning Committee to consider permit for 29-unit condo

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

August 8, 2007

NORWALK — A planned 29-unit condominium development for the former Fitch School on Strawberry Hill Avenue is entering its final lap before the city's Zoning Commission.

On Thursday night, the commission's Zoning Committee is scheduled to perform its final review of DT Development Co. LLC's request that the city boost its cap on planned residential developments in B Residence zones to permit 29 new units, and approve the site plan for the property at 61, 63 and 73 Strawberry Hill Ave.

A public hearing before the full Zoning Commission is planned for Aug. 15.

Some East Norwalk residents viewed a similar plan, brought forward several years ago, as a threat to traffic and the character of the neighborhood. Residents are now weighing in on the revamped plan.

"A couple years ago, the residents really did not like the idea of having the condominiums in there, but I haven't heard as much from them this time around," said Laurel Lindstrom, president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association. The association "is going to discuss it (this) evening and make a decision as to what our position will be.

"There are so many varied responses throughout the neighborhood," Lindstrom said. "We'd really prefer to have the residents, who feel they are the most impacted, to come and speak to the commission (Aug. 15)."

....

... Jackie Lightfield, Zoning Committee chairwoman. "However, in this particular application, because of the efforts (the developer) is making in terms of preserving open space, this is a pretty good application for that property."

Lightfield said the developer has made arrangements allowing continued access to Fitch Park, which lies immediately north of the proposed development, and plans to make the residential units fronting Strawberry Hill Avenue look like single-family homes.

Court's ruling seen having limited impact on local cases

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

August 5, 2007

NORWALK — A recent Connecticut Supreme Court decision that found the Fairfield Plan and Zoning Commission wrongfully rejected a residential subdivision by considering off-site traffic, has drawn the attention Norwalk planning and zoning officials.

Norwalk, they say, has never rejected a subdivision request because of anticipated off-site traffic — added traffic to nearby roads and intersections as a result of new development.

At the same, such traffic regularly figures into the discussion of subdivision and development applications in Norwalk.

"We still can require the developer doing the subdivision to give us a traffic count. However, based on this decision, we cannot take that into consideration when we're talking about whether to accept or reject a subdivision," said Walter O. Briggs, chairman of the Norwalk Planning Commission. The Fairfield "decision was on a subdivision for single-family homes. I am not clear that that applies to things like multi-family housing."

In the Fairfield case, a trial court had concluded that the town Plan and Zoning Commission had rightfully considered off-site traffic in rejecting an application by Pansy Road LLC to subdivide a property to build a five-lot, residential subdivision. A cul de sac, connecting to Pansy Road, would serve as the entrance to the subdivision.

Last month, however, the state high court reversed the decision by finding that the commission "improperly denied the plaintiff's subdivision because of the existing traffic congestion on Pansy Road."

Among the issues raised in the Fairfield case was whether the commission had acted in an administrative or legislative capacity. The high court concluded that the commission was acting in its administrative capacity and thus had no choice but to approve the subdivision application, if it conformed to zoning regulations.

"This is exactly the way the (Norwalk) has enforced its regulations for years," said Michael B. Greene, Norwalk's director of planning and zoning. "We've been doing it correctly for the past 20 years. But that's why it's an important decision too. If we were doing it incorrectly, we would be concerned."

Of concern to Fairfield residents, according to attorney Richard H. Saxl, who represented the town before the high court, was the fact that the proposed subdivision lies nearby Osborn Hill School.

"It's right next to an elementary school. You've got a parent's drop-off a few feet away from a proposed road," Saxl said. "It's good planning to take into account off-site traffic, but according to the Supreme Court it's bad law. We have regional planning everywhere for everything and the only thing you can't do it for is a subdivision?"

Ken Flatto, Fairfield first selectman, said he is believes the town Plan and Zoning Commission "did an excellent job" in rejecting the subdivision "on its merits." He is disappointed with the high court decision.

Said Flatto: "This development was literally proposed 50 feet from a school."

Traffic concerns are hardly unique to development near schools.

In Norwalk, residents have raised the specter of office parks, residential subdivisions and other developments clogging intersections block away.

East Norwalk residents, for instance, cited traffic concern in asking Zoning commissioners last year to reject a 328-unit, multi-family housing development then proposed for the eastern half of the Norden site.

"(Off-site traffic) came into play for the Norden property, but that (development) got stopped for conservation purposes, not for traffic purposes — it never got that far," Briggs said.

Developers, aware of traffic concerns, often submit with their applications traffic reports, giving existing and projected post-development service levels at nearby intersections during morning and evening peak periods.

Norwalk land-use attorney Frank N. Zullo said lower courts had "sort of been nipping away" at the law by allowing planning boards to take off-site traffic into consideration when considering subdivision requests. The state Supreme Court decision reverses that trend, he said.

"The Supreme Court came back with both feet right on the ground, stating very clearly the extent to which off-site traffic can be considered in regard to any zoning action," Zullo said. "It always been the law, but a couple cases chipped away at it."

Laurel Lindstrom, president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association, said she is not surprised by the court decision. She said residents must work to change their zoning regulations rather than "generally saying the traffic is bad and is going to get worse."

Lindstrom said many developments, particularly smaller ones, are viewed "in isolation," when they have a cumulative effect on traffic. She would like to see more attention given to traffic impacts on neighborhoods.

Saxl, meanwhile, believes that a change in the law is in order.

"If everybody is upset about this as the people living around Pansy Road are, they (should) tell their representatives to change the law," Saxl said.

Blueprint for Norwalk's future ready for final vote

By Tim Stelloh
Advocate Staff Writer

August 1, 2007

NORWALK - The city came one step closer yesterday to adopting a plan that rethinks its future.

The city Planning Commission approved the Plan of Conservation and Development, which, among other things, calls for concentrating development in Norwalk's urban center; protecting its suburban neighborhoods and the environment; and making better use of mass transit.

The master plan is a blueprint for the city's future, intended to set a direction and goals for the next 10 years. It still needs approval from the Common Council. Even after final approval, however, the plan could be amended.

The commission spent much of yesterday's meeting correcting grammar mistakes and typos, but it has been incorporating recommendations into the plan since it finished a draft version earlier this year and circulated it for public review.

Some of those changes include not locating high-density development in flood-prone areas; identifying areas that lack parks, such as the Spring Hill neighborhood; and managing and conserving publicly owned Norwalk Islands.

The plan also calls for addressing childhood obesity and updating city park plans every two years.

Officials who drew up the plan have said they consulted city department heads, neighborhood groups and other interested parties in preparing the document.

Laurel Lindstrom, who heads the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association and is a Democratic contender for Common Council, said after the meeting yesterday that the city did a good job of putting the plan together. But how the city carries it out is key, she said.

"The most important part is implementation, and how it all unfolds as we go forward," she said.

The plan contains a section on implementation that was prioritized based on input from the public and city department heads, Planning Commission Chairman Walter Briggs said. The section explains how changes will be carried out and estimates how much they will cost.

The master plan hasn't been updated since 1991, though individual neighborhood plans in areas like West Avenue and Wall Street were created in the meantime.

Briggs, who is stepping down from his position as chairman this month and is a Democratic mayoral hopeful, said he has been working on the plan since 2001, shortly after the process began.

"It's been long, and it's been tedious, but it's something that needs to be done," he said. The master plan is a "good road map for the future," he said, and represents "a cross-section of what everyone in the community wants."

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

Council moves closer to mulling feasibility of park amphitheater

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

July 25, 2007

NORWALK — The Common Council authorized Tuesday night paying a development advisor $6,100 toward what could lead to an amphitheater at Veterans Memorial Park in East Norwalk.

Emphasize the word 'could.'

"This is potentially a very divisive development here," said Councilman William M. Krummel. "We've had some concerns about recent events that have taken place in the park. There have been concerns expressed by the neighbors, and I want to make sure, as much as possible, that the thinking and the work done to investigate the feasibility of this amphitheater gets maximum public attention."

Krummel joined other council members in voting to pay Diana Harrington the sum — the final payment of a roughly $36,000 contract, according to city officials — after receiving assurances that the council's Recreation, Parks & Cultural Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing on the topic of having an amphitheater in the park.

"If we don't have a meeting in August, it will definitely be at our September meeting," said Fred A. Bondi, parks committee chairman. "It will be a public hearing on this issue."

Said Krummel: "Good. It's on the record."

The Colombian Independence Day festival held at the park July 15 drew complaints from East Norwalk residents about music decibel levels, traffic and parking.

And, the prospect of an amphitheater being built at the park has alarmed some residents, according to Laurel Lindstrom, president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association.

"Their concern really is ... there already is a lot of noise coming from the festivals," Lindstrom said. "The neighbors have accepted the fact that there might be a half-a-dozen concerts there. That's something to be expected. When it comes to actually putting an amphitheater in there, then the anticipation is that the concerts will happen more frequently ... continual traffic, continual noise."

Michael A. Mocciae, the city's director of recreation and parks, said Harrington surveyed whether there was interest in the community to "fund (a feasibility study) and to "potentially fund the amphitheater."

"The conclusion is that the energy is very positive regarding the arts groups and their interests, and there's very good interest on the behalf of corporations," Mocciae said. "The city can now decide with a master plan to have the potential corporate funds to fund the feasibility study."

Mocciae distinguished between the amphitheater and noise from festivals.

"There's two different issues here. One is a permanent amphitheater, the other is the existing groups that have had events down there that drew some complaints from the neighbors," Mocciae said. "You tighten the existing rules regarding the events, the duration, the loudness and the parking issues."

Amphitheater project plan on Common Council's agenda

By Tim Stelloh
Advocate Staff Writer

July 23, 2007

NORWALK - As proponents of the Veterans Memorial Park amphitheater look to keep the project rolling at tomorrow's Common Council meeting, an opponent of the plan is still wary.

The council will vote on approving a final payment to a consultant for a $35,000 study that looked at privately financing the project, said Fred Bondi, chairman of the Common Council's Recreation, Parks & Cultural Affairs Committee. Bondi, a supporter of the plan, said the amphitheater would cost about $1 million.

The results of the study were positive, he said. Funding "could come from General Electric, or anyone who can donate to the project. Or one big person like Spinnaker (Real Estate Partners) could put up the whole amount," he said. "It's just a matter of putting the whole plan together and getting things going."

Bondi said concerts and festivals held at the park - such as the Oyster Festival and the Jazz Festival - will continue, but he did not know whether additional events would be held if the theater were built. Private financing would pay for the construction of the theater, but the city would maintain control after it is completed, he said.

Laurel Lindstrom, president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association and a Common Council hopeful, questioned the need for an amphitheater. She cited the lack of an updated master plan that addresses community needs and possible noise problems, and said there was not enough public participation when city officials came up with the plan.

"The amount of events that we have right now is a good balance for the community," Lindstrom said. "It's got to be managed in a way that doesn't infringe on the rights of the neighbors. It just doesn't sit right with me. I don't know if there's a need at all in Norwalk for it."

Bondi said little funding is available to update the park's master plan, and dismissed Lindstrom's concerns as politics, saying there will be public hearings.

Lindstrom said she is simply fighting for the neighborhood.

"For the last six years, I've been out in the neighborhood fighting for quality-of-life issues. This is not new for me. If I didn't say anything, that would be unusual."

Earlier this year, Mayor Richard Moccia quashed a golf course-amphitheater proposal for the park, citing a lack of political support. Lindstrom has said she helped collect 300 signatures from park neighbors who opposed that project.

Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.

Published in The Hour July 17,2007

Similar letters also published in The Advocate and in the Norwalk Citizen-News.

Public input sought in East Avenue discussions

To the Editor:

As president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association, I've recently heard from residents who are confused about the timeline and scope of the road work proposed for lower East Avenue.

The proposed work is actually three separate projects, one under control of the city (Public Works) and two under state control (DOT). Only one of the DOT projects and the first phase of the city project, has approvals and funding in place.

The DOT is planning work at the Metro-North bridge location starting in 2010 that will widen and lower the road under the bridge. Public Works, in preparation for that project, is doing engineering work to plan for additional alterations to East Avenue, including widening the street from the railroad underpass to Olmstead Place (just south of Exit 16). City funds for the construction phase have not been approved by the Common Council as yet — and won't need to be up for approval until 2010 since this work will start after the completion of the DOT project.

The DOT also has bridge work proposed at Exit 16 from Olmstead Place north to Hendricks Avenue that would reconfigure the intersections. This is the project that is unfunded and has no foreseeable start date.

At the beginning of June, when the council approved funds for the engineering work on East Avenue, I contacted members of the council's Public Works Committee and Hal Alvord, director of Public Works, about arranging a public meeting with representatives from Public Works and DOT attending to provide information and to allow public comment.

The city is arranging to hold a public meeting that is planned for sometime in September.

Early in the design phase, before the plans are set, is the ideal time for public participation to begin so that new information and creative solutions can be heard by officials and built into the plan.

Laurel Lindstrom

Norwalk

East Norwalk condo project heads for review

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

June 12, 2007

NORWALK — Some East Norwalk residents bristled last October when the city's Conservation Commission approved a 29-unit condominium development for the former Fitch School on Strawberry Hill Avenue.

Seven months later, "Strawberry Hill Commons," as the project is called by DT Development Co., LLC, is headed to the city's Planning and Zoning commissions for review.

Tonight, Planning commissioners are scheduled to review and offer their recommendations. On Thursday night, the Zoning Commission's Zoning Committee will begin its review of the project.

To build the condominiums, DT Development needs two approvals from the Zoning Commission: A lifting of the city's cap on planned residential developments in B Residence zones to permit new 29 units — then approval of the site plan to actually build the units.

"We're just making sure that we have everything right," said David F. Waters, the Norwalk land-use attorney representing DT Development, explaining the lag time in the plan resurfacing before the city. "Certainly I think that the design of the units is consistent with the single-family nature (of the neighborhood) — certainly more so than the building that is there right now."

DT Development seeks to raze the former school and two adjacent houses at 61 and 63 Strawberry Hill Ave. to build the condominiums. The developer owns one of the houses and is under contract to buy the other, Waters said.

The site plan, prepared by William W. Seymour & Associates, P.C., and resubmitted to the city's Planning and Zoning Department, shows 29 condominiums units in six buildings; 61 parking spaces; and a pool house at the back of the 3.3-acre property at 73 Strawberry Hill Ave.

The development plan also required Conservation Commission approval, because of a pond immediately to the south and a slope leading to that pond. In approving the plan last Oct. 10, Conservation commissioners accepted the developers assertion that the storm-water management plan will reduce flooding problems in the neighborhood.

For East Norwalk residents, the proposed condominium development has a long history.

An informational meeting about the development, held by the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association in July 2005, drew at least 50 people, according to association President Laurel Lindstrom. "This was a hot item when the ENNA invited residents to a presentation on the plan a couple of years ago. It is still likely to be a hot item," wrote Lindstrom in a recent e-mail update to association members. "And anyone who wants to hear firsthand should attend the P&Z meetings this week — in particular the Thursday meeting since the Zoning Commission is the main approving body for this project."

This week's meeting on the proposed development, she reminded, are not public hearings. A public hearing is anticipated in July or August.

Lindstrom said ENNA board of directors has held off taking a formal vote on the development until the plan returned to the city for review. With that now happening, a position could be forthcoming.

"I think what we're gravitating toward is that we acknowledge that the residents that live in the vicinity have concerns, and we will support their involvement, participation and probably will end up supporting (them)."

From Connecticut Earth Network – Ctearthnet.org

From the Groundswell Page

Norwalk, CT (June 2006)

When the state fails to enforce a statute requiring municipalities to update Plans of Conservation and Development (POCD) every ten years, Norwalk residents take matters into their own hands.

With a new plan for Norwalk five years overdue (the previous having been approved in 1991), community-based groups argue that the city is left without direction and its neighborhoods are suffering for lack of a blueprint for land use planning.

Led by Laurel Lindstrom, president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association, neighborhood groups initiate action to gather input from people in various neighborhoods in this large and diverse city that can be used to inform a new Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD).

Published in the Advocate on June 3, 2007

Similar letters also published in The Hour on June 4 and in the Norwalk Citizen-News on June 8.

Film industry can benefit Norwalk

Laurel Lindstrom

Lately the local papers have been writing about the generous tax breaks for the film industry that were passed by the state legislature last year resulting in a surge of interest in

film making in Connecticut. The Advocate published an article on May 18 that included information about the change in legislation.

This change has the potential to be an economic and cultural windfall for towns and cities in Connecticut – including Norwalk.

The film industry’s rapid growth within the state and the potential effect on Norwalk is good reason for the City to take a more active role. As an industry in Connecticut, it’s just taking off.  And as it does take off we want to be in the driver’s seat and not just passively along for the ride.

As filming takes place in Norwalk, we’re naturally star-struck.   But we also need to be actively and aggressively putting together a strategy that prepares and markets Norwalk, and places us in the best position for benefiting economically from this opportunity.

Norwalk’s Marketing Director, Tad Diesel, is going to need plenty of help with his promotion efforts. But so far I haven’t heard any discussion that includes the Common Council, commissions or the public.  There needs to be a focused and comprehensive planning approach aimed at establishing Norwalk as a ‘film central’ and at maximizing the City’s returns.

Steps to achieving this end could include:

1.    An advisory committee with members from the Common Council, and representing the arts, marketing, business, neighborhoods, historic community, enforcement, etc.

2.    Public outreach – involve citizens early

3.    Promotion, research and marketing

4.    Education for careers in film industry. Norwalk Community College could be brought into the planning to educate potential local crew as well  as offering courses in entertainment law and other courses related to the industry,

5.    Collaboration with production companies that would lead to construction of a studio  including a sound recording facility in Norwalk

If we succeed in making our city a home for film making, Norwalk will be a more vibrant city and additional revenue will be pumped into our economy to help pay for city services.

But all of Norwalk needs to be brought into the picture so that the buzz that is already spreading throughout the City gets channeled effectively. 

Excerpts taken from document submitted to the Planning Commission on May 30, 2007

Master Plan Priorities

Members of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association Board of Directors met prior to the May 30 public hearing to review Norwalk’s April 2007 Draft Plan of Conservation and Development.  We were impressed by the amount of work that went into this document and the inclusion of many items that our association and other neighborhood associations requested.

Based on future predictions and trends identified in the Planning Commission’s draft document we identified specific concerns and priorities during our review of the document.  

We connected the dots between some of the points made in the draft document, and expanded on items that we believe are important.

We also want to make sure that priority items become part of the implementation section so that these priorities are kept alive and become integrated into future planning.

ENNA Board of Directors (Laurel Lindstrom, president; Sarah Hunter; Diane Cece; Erik Nees; Gordon Tully; Maribeth Becker; and Advisory Board Members Marija Bryant; and Nick Overall) has identified the following priorities.

Our six priorities are:

1. Maintain the scale and character of the existing neighborhoods which are located in areas identified for denser development

2. Decrease dependence on the automobile in conjunction with increasing the convenience of other modes of travel

3. Avert the decline of middle-income residents related to rising cost of housing, and prepare for an increase of working families with children

4. Prepare for a population increase, increase in elderly and a changing diversity

5. Conduct ongoing assessment, and upgrade and maintain infrastructure

6. Ensure public participation throughout the planning process for all public parks, right-of-ways, open space and other public land

Laurel Lindstrom, President

Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association

Go to ENNA website at http://eastnorwalk.org Documents Page for full list of specific priorities listed under each of the six broad categories

Thanks, David, for sending this out to everyone. 

I attended a similar 'Safe Routes to School'
teleconference session last year at the SWRPA office
in Stamford. Mike Yeosock and Fred Eshraghi from
Norwalk DPW also attended. 

Following that session Mike did a great job of
successfully applying for and securing program funds
for the Strawberry Hill corridor within the ENNA area
where three schools are located - and where there is a
great need for increased safety measures on the
streets. 

Several other locations in Norwalk could also easily
qualify. So I would encourage anyone who wants to
learn more to attend the workshop next week. 

-Laurel Lindstrom
 
--- "Shockley, David" <DShockley@norwalkct.org> wrote:

> Hello Everyone,
>  
> DOT is presenting a Safe Routes to School program
> awareness session at the
> Westport Police Station on Wed. April 25. Please see
> attached for details. 
>  
> I spoke with the coordinator this morning and they
> will allow persons to
> register until Monday April 23. This neighborhood
> concern surfaces
> periodically and it would be helpful if some of our
> neighborhood advocates
> could attend this information session. I am unable
> to attend due to a
> training session on this date. 
>  
> If anyone would like to go, please register by
> filling out the form and
> faxing it to Mary McCarthy at UCONN by Monday.
> Please let me know if you
> intend to go. Thank you.
>  
>  
> Sincerely,
> David L. Shockley
> Neighborhood Improvement Coordinator
> Norwalk Redevelopment Agency 
> tel: 203-854-7810 ext 6782
> fax: 203-854-7734
> dshockley@norwalkct.org
>  
> 

Published in the Hour on May 17, 2007

Norwalkers can work together for safer streets

Another view

Laurel Lindstrom

I would like to respond to an article in Monday's The Hour about Common Council District C candidates, to thank the reporter Robert Koch for his mention of a grassroots organization that I founded, Advocates for Calm Traffic, and to clarify some of the information about ACT presented in the article.

My involvement in traffic calming started as early as 1994 when I worked together with my neighbors to have traffic safety measures installed on Raymond Terrace where I live. As with many people, my interest in traffic calming grew out of what I saw on my own street. From talking to other people I realized that the problem was citywide, which led me to organize ACT as a traffic-calming advocacy group to address speeding issues citywide.

ACT was the spearhead group that got speed humps funded and installed on dozens of streets throughout Norwalk's neighborhoods. At that time the use of speed humps, which are extremely effective on select streets, was the city's traffic calming measure of choice. But ACT was equally involved in working with residents to find other creative and comprehensive solutions to address speeding.

The group's Web site can still be found at www.calmtraffic.org. I continue to maintain it as a community service because it is chock-full of valuable information and also links users to dozens of related sites.

Traffic calming is a combination of enforcement, engineering and education. As I learned more about traffic calming, I found that my interests broadened into all of the related issues in the neighborhoods and beyond.

In addition to funding considerations, awareness of the inter-relatedness of planning, development, zoning, housing, employment, governance, etc. is key to the implementation of an effective traffic calming program — as is true for the implementation of many other programs.

As a result of my growing interest in a broader vision for Norwalk and for the region, former Mayor Alex Knopp appointed me to the South Western Regional Planning Agency where I continue to serve as a representative for Norwalk.

Listening to residents' concerns, attending commission and council meetings, participating in committees and meeting with city department staff in order to improve neighborhood safety and quality-of-life became a part of my day-to-day routine — a routine that I continue to this day.

The Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association grew out of informal meetings that I've held for the past 10 or more years with neighbors along the East Avenue, Calf Pasture Beach Road and Strawberry Hill Avenue corridors. I organized the ENNA as an adjunct to ACT.

Once the main goals of ACT were accomplished, and the organization became less active, the neighborhood association grew.

The ENNA and other neighborhood associations that subsequently formed throughout

Norwalk are the organizations that, in addition to a wide range of neighborhood issues, have taken on the work that ACT once did. And by co-founding the Coalition of Norwalk Neighborhood Associations in 2004, another grassroots organization was put in place to advocate for strong and safe neighborhoods.

Valuable connections that I made with neighborhood and community leaders, police and public works officials while chairwoman of ACT carried over into my role as president of the ENNA. I've organized and led a number of public forums with Police Chief Harry Rilling and others as guest speakers — because education and enforcement are important components of traffic calming. Getting the word out about Slow Down Days that are scheduled throughout the year by the city is one more tool in promoting safe driving and pedestrian safety.

My interest in making streets safer has persisted in my work with the ENNA, as I continue to initiate and direct the initiatives related to traffic calming, most recently successfully advocating for funding for a traffic-calming study and a federally funded grant for "Safe Routes to School" implementation on Strawberry Hill Avenue.

Visit www.calmtraffic.org. And let me know if you have suggestions, or know of links to important sites not listed that I can add to the site.

Published in the Hour on April 28, 2007

Council should create an independent ethics body

Letter to Editor:

The ‘Another View’ column from Gordon Tully on ethics codes that was published in the Hour about a month ago struck me, as it did many others, as making absolute sense.  From his research on the Model Code, it’s clear that the revised code for Norwalk needs further revision.

His most recent piece on the same topic simply underscores the need.

And although it’s commendable that there is an interest by officials in revising our antiquated ethics code, it just doesn’t make sense to update it unless it includes provisions that will provide the fairest and most ethical process in the administration of the code.  An independent commission, one that does not include elected officials as members, seems obvious.

The fact that a public hearing already took place is not reason enough to exclude these later recommendations – or to shy away from scheduling an additional public hearing if it would help the process. After all, the final product is what matters. And we should end up with an ethics code that citizens trust will uphold rather than skirt the high ethical standards Norwalk deserves.    

Laurel Lindstrom

Time to deep-six miniature golf plans for park

Hour Editorial

3-28-07

The cat's out of the bag, thanks to some alert East Norwalk residents, and now we are awaiting a public hearing on a proposal to allow a commercial miniature golf course in Veterans Park.

We expressed our opposition to the proposal in this space once the word was out and now we reiterate it in the strongest terms.

Allowing this would be the proverbial camel's nose under the tent. A miniature golf course no doubt soon would be followed by batting cages and a talked-about amphitheater. We were under the impression that if an amphitheater were to be built anywhere, it would be in Oyster Shell Park, north of the Maritime Aquarium.

What is disturbing is apparently the preliminary plans for the golf course already have been reviewed by the Planning Commission and the Common Council's Recreation and Parks Committee.

Why was this allowed to progress this far under the radar? Again, we admit we may have been asleep at the switch, but now we're focused on opposing it.

Veterans Park — old-timers will remember when it was called Duffy Field — was a rough mixture of fill and clamshells in a salt marsh that was filled in to create the park.

Over the years, it has been improved and increased regulation over its use has made it a friendly venue for families. It is host to several sports, including baseball, soccer and cricket, just to mention a few.

The boating public is well-served by its launching ramps at the northern end of the park.

It is the site of the annual Oyster Festival, admittedly a great attraction that brings thousands of visitors to the city. The downside of the festival is the beating the park takes during the fest — fortunately, each year somehow it is restored to its original condition.

Just because the city has a record of ignoring deed limitations on park land is no reason to add to that record.

It has taken several years to restore Mathews Park, the former site of the police station and the public works garage, and that's an unfinished task — it will be until the old police station is razed.

We have always extolled Norwalk's harbor as one of the best and safest on this side of Long Island Sound. The view of the harbor and out to the islands at its entrance remain a pleasant and irreplaceable vista.

Proponents of the miniature golf course are trying to sell it as an attraction for families. It might be true that families would visit in the daytime, but late hours in the evening — requiring extensive lighting — belies that contention. Quite simply, the area doesn't need more traffic, filled as it is with a number of bars and restaurants.

"Open space" is the buzzword these days, and it's not always easy to come by. Let's not trash this gem in the center of the city at the harbor's edge.

City urged to rethink golf course at Vets Park

Laurel Lindstrom Theodore J. van de Kamp and Nancy Firooznia

Hour 'Another View'

3-27-07

We are writing to express our serious concerns about the commercialization of Veterans Memorial Park with the planned 36-hole miniature golf course, batting cages and construction of an amphitheater.

The miniature golf course, which could be voted on by the Common Council before the summer, is a bad idea for a number of reasons. The problems of visual impact, visibility to the harbor, and lack of cohesion and conflict of activities within the park, are reasons enough to be concerned. And there are more.

It is being touted as a way to keep out "troublemakers." While it's true that a few years back, residents around the park had to live with drug dealing, drag races, underage drinking, noise, shootings, criminal activity and generally disruptive behavior, things have changed. To the city's credit, it did a great job eliminating this problem from the park with tollgates, speed bumps, earlier park closings, and more effective enforcement.

Now we see this progress being reversed by what can only, at best, be called an ill-conceived project. The defenders of the miniature golf course promote it as a magnet for families that will improve the environment of the park and provide additional revenue for its upkeep. With all due respect, this reflects a wishful-thinking mindset that conveniently side steps some serious potential problems

Consider:

The golfers — The course will be open until 10 p.m. during the week and reportedly until 11 p.m. on weekends. We question if the dominant players will be families during these evening hours. The more likely groups will be unsupervised teenagers or possibly customers from the SoNo bars and pubs who want to play a round or two after a few drinks. In other words, it's a new hangout.

Traffic — In an already dense area with its restaurants, bars, and shops, the golf course can only add to that density and increase traffic problems.

Increased expenditures for city — With a commercial venture that attracts crowds, the city will have to consider additional security in the park and surrounding the park, pressuring an already overextended police force. And, in the case of an injury, the majority of the liability would fall back on the city since this is still city property and the vendor's insurance liability is minimal (as stated in the city's request for proposal).

Off-season vandalism — Since the course will only be open in the summer months, who is going to bear the cost to watch over the facility in the off-season to avoid vandalism and misuse of the facility?

"Slippery Slope" precedent — In a city where we are trying to preserve our open spaces for the enjoyment of local residents, this move towards commercialization sets a dangerous precedent for the future. Already, there are plans in the works to build an amphitheater in the park for concerts and other events. We find it amazing that this idea would even be given a minute's notice given the city's experience with the Oyster Festival; namely; massive traffic jams, noise, increased demands on the police department, costly repairs to damaged park land, and lack of profitability. Just imagine a mini-Oyster Festival every summer weekend.

Lack of transparency — Perhaps most important is the "under the radar" nature of how this project moved forward. The residents and taxpayers in the East Norwalk neighborhoods around the park will be those ones who bear the brunt of whatever impact this project has — yet there was no attempt at getting public input, involving people in the process, or even obtaining critical market analysis to show that a project like this is appropriate. By the time citizens and taxpayers knew anything about what was happening to "their" park, the preliminary design for the miniature golf course had been reviewed by the council's Recreation and Parks Committee and by the Planning Commission. We were told that the revised design will be ready for final review within a month and then would go to the Common Council for a vote soon after. The decisions had already been made.

It took an editorial in The Hour and perseverance by the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association to bring this out into the open. Only then was there an offer to hold a public hearing, which is yet to be scheduled.

We are very interested in hearing from other concerned citizens and from members of the council about their views on this project. Please contact us. We hope that at the very least the city would hold a public hearing to listen to what citizens have to say about what the city does with public space.

Laurel Lindstrom Theodore J. van de Kamp and Nancy Firooznia are residents of Norwalk.

Lindstrom Announces Common Council Bid

By Lauren Garrison
Norwalk Citizen

Article Launched:03/26/2007 03:19:51 PM EDT

Laurel Lindstrom, whose name is familiar to many East Norwalk residents, has decided to throw her hat into the ring for the 2007 Common Council race.

Lindstrom, who is running as a Democrat in District C, is the first to announce her candidacy for the council. She is perhaps best known for founding the East Norwalk Neighborhood Association one of the city's first such organizations five years ago and serving as its president. Since then she has co-founded the Coalition of Norwalk Neighborhood Associations, and she is currently a representative for Norwalk on the South Western Regional Planning Agency.

Now, Lindstrom said in an interview last week, she is ready to "move on to another capacity."

Lindstrom said she had contemplated running for a council position for several years, but now "seemed like the right time to do it" as she feels the ENNA is "well enough established" that she can focus her attention elsewhere.

For each council district, two candidates are nominated by the Democratic Party and two by the Republican Party, for a total of four on the ballot. Whichever two candidates get the most votes in the election win the district's seats. On Wednesday, District C's current representatives, Democrat Fred Bondi and Republican Nicholas Kydes, said they plan to run for re-election.

Per protocol, Lindstrom announced her intent to run to Council member Kevin Poruban, D-At Large, who is the party's District C chairman. Also in an interview last week, Poruban said, "I fully support Laurel, and I'm glad she's stepping forward to do this. I consider her the mother of the grass-roots neighborhood organizations."

If elected, Lindstrom said she plans to put her experience in the ENNA, the CNNA and SWRPA to good use. Her involvement has given her "a local neighborhood perspective and a more regional perspective," she said. Communicating with the public on a regular basis, "I've been able to have a fairly good understanding of what the needs are," she said.

One of Lindstrom's top priorities would be "listening to what the public has to say and making sure that they're included in the process." As an elected official, she said, she would consider each issue very carefully, be sure to hear all aspects of it, and receive a lot of public input before making a decision.

Though Lindstrom said she didn't want to "get too much into positions" this early in her campaign, she mentioned a few issues that concern her. On a neighborhood level, she said, there are always issues relating to development, infrastructure, traffic and quality of life that need to be addressed. These issues often are interconnected, she said, and considering how they all fit together is important. Another concern is "making sure we don't lose anything because Norwalk is an incredibly unique small city," Lindstrom said. "I want to make sure that feel stays here." She also wants to ensure that city residents can afford to remain here.

While Lindstrom has never held a public office, she has put time and effort into learning the processes of local government. "When I first started getting involved in local community issues back in 2001, I started attending meetings at City Hall. For a year and a half, I attended all the council meetings and all the committee meetings. I was actually attending more committee meetings than the council members. It was a wonderful learning process. So I've really done my homework, and I got very passionate about Norwalk and what was going on in Norwalk."

Lindstrom also noticed that many members of the public only attended meetings when an issue pertinent to them arose. People often would be confused about how the meetings worked, when they were allowed to speak, and so on, so Lindstrom began answering questions for them, she said. "I realized there was a need for education [about government] out there in the neighborhood." This realization prompted her to form the ENNA.

Asked what personal qualities she would bring to the council, Lindstrom said she considers herself to be conscientious, organized, thoughtful, tenacious and a good listener. She said she also is able to pick up new skills quickly, which she considers essential for the job. For example, when she decided the ENNA needed a Web site, she learned to make one without any prior experience.

Lindstrom has lived in Norwalk for the past 14 years. She grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, and came to the United States in 1984. She lived in New York for several years before moving to Norwalk. She works in home care nursing in Stamford.

Neighborhood leader vies for Council seat

By ROBERT KOCH

Hour Staff Writer

3-15-07

NORWALK — After nearly a decade of working to curb speeding, balance development and tackle other quality-of-life issues in East Norwalk, resident Laurel Lindstrom has thrown her hat into the ring to serve on the city's Common Council.

"As founder and president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association, I have had the opportunity to already serve the citizens of the district in the role of a neighborhood leader," wrote Lindstrom, a Democrat, in a recent letter to District C Democratic Committee Chairman Kevin M. Poruban. "I am excited at the prospect of serving as their elected Councilwoman."

In her letter, copied to Democratic Town Committee Chairwoman Galen Wells, Lindstrom wrote that she hopes to be endorsed as the Democrats' District C council candidate.

District C Democrats will choose their candidates in late spring. In July, the Democratic Town Committee will make its endorsements for the various offices.

Wells said Lindstrom would make a good councilwoman, based on her involvement in the community, from the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association to having edited "Norwalk At Your Fingertips" and "Know Your Town" informational directories.

"I certainly would support her,' Wells said. "I think she would have a lot of support."

Lindstrom, born in Vancouver, Canada, came to Norwalk in 1993. She works as a home-care nurse. In January 1993, she founded Advocates for Calm Traffic to slow speeding in the Raymond Terrace neighborhood where she lives, according to her resume.

In December 2001, Lindstrom founded the East Avenue Neighborhood Association — later to become Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association. Lindstrom said she has spoken with residents and, based on their input, believes she would not have a conflict of interest by remaining on the neighborhood association and serving on the council. She said she has always been able to "wear different hats."

Mayor Richard A. Moccia, however, questioned the appropriateness of someone serving on the council and with a neighborhood association.

"My question would be, who (would) she represent, the party she's running with or the ENNA?" Moccia said.

Lindstrom served five years on the board of the League of Women Voters of Norwalk and is a member of the Norwalk Land Trust, Norwalk River Watershed Association, Norwalk Preservation Trust and Norwalk Historical Society, according to her resume. Lindstrom is a justice of the peace and currently sits on the city's Tree Advisory Committee, Mayor's Neighborhood Preservation Committee, executive committee of the South Western Regional Planning Agency, according to her resume.

She is treasurer of District C Democrats. While acknowledging her involvement in the political arena, Lindstrom said she remains open-minded and works with "those who have opposing views."

Over the years, Lindstrom has been familiar face in City Hall, particularly at meetings involving planning and zoning. Lindstrom led the ENNA effort to develop a mini-master plan to be worked into the city's Plan of Conservation and Development — a blueprint for zoning regulations.

"The developments that are going on and the growth, I want to be part of (that discussion)," Lindstrom said. "I think it's great it's happening, but we have to make sure we don't lose ... that Norwalk character, the historic aspects and make sure we always have adequate open space and parks."

Lindstrom said she also would address flooding and infrastructure, housing affordability, eminent domain if she is elected to the council.

For now, Lindstrom's possible candidacy is in the hands of the District C Democratic Committee, whose chairman, Poruban, said he would support her candidacy.

"I'm glad she's doing it," said Poruban, who lives in East Norwalk and represents Norwalk at-large on the council. "I consider her the mother of the neighborhood associations. Laurel more or less got the momentum going behind these associations."

Representing District C on the council are Democrat Fred A. Bondi and Republican Nicholas D. Kydes. Republican Joanne T. Romano, also of East Norwalk, holds another at-large council seat.

Jeffrey M. Konspore, Republican Town Committee chairman, said Romano and Kydes have done an excellent job on the council. He expressed hope that both will seek reelection this fall. At the same time, Konspore said other Republicans have expressed interest in a District C seat.

"I'm confident we'll have a full slate of candidates," Konspore said.