It is truly stunning to see Walter Briggs leading the grandstanding show at the site of the former Guard-All chemical plant with calls for revising zoning regulations against oil tank farms. Let’s not forget who was more concerned about developing economic activity in industrial zones as chairman of the Industrial Zones committee and Planning Commission.
“I am inalterably opposed to Gault’s planned use for the property,” said Rowayton resident Walter O. Briggs, a member of the city’s planning commission and candidate for mayor, “and this is to tell Gault we don’t want them here.”
Standing next to people you need to come out and vote for you, it must be easy to say that Walter. Also from The Hour:
The property is zoned for restricted industrial use, which allows for a fuel oil storage depot with a special permit. Briggs said he’ll propose revising permitted uses in a restricted industrial zone to eliminate oil tank farms, although that would not apply retroactively to Gault’s proposal.
Now Briggs wants to revise the zoning regulations? Funny that’s not what he said a few weeks ago:
Briggs in a July 30th statement he wrote:
The Gault Fuel Oil Storage and distribution center is inappropriate.
…
The Industrial Zone Committee of the Planning Commission reviewed the zoning regulations for restricted industrial zones. The purpose of this review was to increase the uses of this zone which we did. We did not have the authority to prohibit any current uses in the zone, including oil storage which is allowed in this zone by special permit. However, we did not propose to allow this “as of right” like other uses. Instead this use must be appropriate to the surrounding area. The regulations say the Zoning Commission must consider adverse impact of noise, odor, fumes, dust and artificial lighting. It must consider the impact on neighboring properties and proximity to community facilities along with other factors.
What changed? Hrmm, could it be the press release that Council President Mike Coffey sent out Friday night? There’s nothing like good old fashioned pandering to bring Dems together. Is this a hint of what’s to come this election campaign, the united front of pandering to anyone who might be motivated to come out and vote? The thing I find strange is that while the issue may have merits, what about when this very issue of what to do with industry near residential came up, there was a different tune being played. Let’s review the historical minutes (emphasis mine):
The Chairman said that the industrial zones have been here for a long time but are shrinking and have been deteriorating. The Planning Commission is redoing the Master Plan and they need to include what they can do to promote industry in Norwalk. Most of the industrial zones have been so zoned since 1929. Mayor Knopp, who will be at the meeting later, has suggested that the Chairman of the State DECD be asked to speak to the committee at the next meeting so they can have an understanding of what is available from the State. They will also hear from the developers in the area who own industrial property and any other people the committee feels they should be talking to. The Chairman said he would like to hear the thoughts of committee members.
Mr. Massad asked if there are cities that have gone through the comprehensive review of their zoning systems that Norwalk is facing. Mr. Paul said that Baltimore had contaminated industrial zones. They took the inventory and created a master plan.
Mr. Musante said that the most successful cities start out with an economic strategy and change zoning to accommodate what they want.
Ms. O’Brien spoke of the Governor’s Job Summit, which will take place with strategic partners outside of the state. They have to have an inventory of assets. Connecticut is still a center of innovation, but they have to build on that strength. Mr. Paul said that the key is creating a master plan.
Mayor Knopp said that they don’t have to retool their entire economy as Pittsburgh did. They have a diversified economy. They should focus on the zones.
Mr. Musante said they need to understand what their needs will be in the future. They have to allow for more economic base uses in the zones.
Mayor Knopp said that the new police station site had contamination. This will have a positive effect on the area, although not in additional property taxes generated. There should be some way to promote that type of reuse although the traditional funding mechanism is not there. Mr. Paul said if they can provide a developer and a grant and the City can go into a long-term lease with the developer, that would be an out-of-the-box way to do it.
The Chairman introduced Mr. Johnson, who reviewed his background. He said that the Manufacturing Alliance just published the Mac Index Report, a study comparing Connecticut with other states in terms of economic infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, quality of life and cost. Connecticut is one of the most expensive states in which to manufacture but that is partially made up for with productivity. Manufacturing accounts for 17% of the income in Connecticut. For every manufacturing job, they sustain two service sector jobs. Manufacturing built this state, but we encourage our children to go into other jobs. The average manufacturing job pays 20% more than service jobs and they also have terrific benefits. The state has lost 40,000 manufacturing jobs in the last four years. In addition, manufacturers in the state face fierce competition from foreign companies, especially China. This is due to much cheaper pay rates, etc. The playing field is not level.
March 17, 2005
This is the smoking gun, so to speak, because the issues of traffic by residents on Ely avenue were indeed brought up.
Mr. Massad thanked all of the presenters and stated that he agreed with the Mayor on the distribution issue. As a resident of Rowayton, he has an issue with truck traffic. He agreed with Mr. Glickson that there is not much opposition to Restricted Industrial Zoning. He asked if anyone had any specific suggestions as to the types of changes the Committee should be making. He suggested the Committee focus on the details to make it right so they can make things more flexible without making distribution a problem.
A woman from the audience who represents 345 Ely Avenue reported that they lost Federal Express as a tenant due to traffic issues. She stated the traffic has increased incredibly in several areas of Norwalk. Regarding her particular building, she asked if a deal could be made for a distribution company to possibly divert traffic down to I-95 via Martin Luther King Drive.
Mr. Briggs stated that there was an arrangement made with UPS to divert traffic to I-95 via Martin Luther King Drive, as opposed to using Exit 12, and it worked for a while. The woman also stated that Huffman Koos wanted to take the building but the deal couldn’t be made due to timing issues and the permit process taking as long as 90 days. Mayor Knopp agreed, but felt that he didn’t want to people to assume that flexibility was somehow a sheep’s clothing for what he regarded as the wolf of distribution.
In the end, Briggs and the industrial zones committee chose not to bring up any changes to existing permitted uses, like oil storage facilities. Briggs should not be allowed to rewrite history to suit his campaign needs.
The Industrial ZOnes Committee Recommendations January 2006
source: The Hour, Dems say no to fuel tank storage plan, by, August 19, 2007
I just thought it’d be valuable context for this post, though I suspect there’s much less drama than we’d all enjoy kicking up in this story. It seems to me that TG is right (from the Demo delay thread) that the letter of the law allows it, and the press conference was an opportunity for Council members and the former Planning chair to publicly support changing that law.
