Seven years after Stamford last updated its master plan, urban planners are urging the city to overhaul its zoning regulations to end piecemeal attempts to synch zoning decisions with the city”™s development goals.
As stated in the 2002 master plan, Stamford”™s goals are to emphasize the development of downtown; distinct neighborhoods; diversity; and “city beautiful,” a catchphrase for its parks, waterfront, historic buildings and other locations that give it a distinct character.
As Stamford has grown rapidly in the past decade, a chasm has been created between current zoning regulations and the zoning needs for viable downtown projects, according to Sandy Goldstein, president of the Stamford Downtown Special Services District, who discussed efforts to fill in that chasm in a memo this fall to SDSSD members.
Even before the adoption of the 2002 master plan, Stamford zoning officials have repeatedly approved amendments to accommodate parking or building specifications needed by developers to make projects economically feasible.
For the most part, the strategy has worked. Whether in the case of UBS AG more than a decade ago or Royal Bank of Scotland PLC this year, Stamford”™s downtown and South End continue to be transformed, luring thousands of jobs and providing ancillary work for numerous professional firms providing services to the anchor companies. Most recently, Norwalk-based developer Building & Land Technology L.L.C. swiftly received approval to expand its Harbor Point development of Stamford”™s South End, after BLT promised it had a tenant interested in occupying the proposed building.
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Still, Goldstein and others want the amendments that have helped create such projects made permanent so that companies and developers have a clear picture of what Stamford represents for any future projects, in terms of costs and opportunities. In the election of residential developer Mike Pavia as mayor, businesses would appear to have an ear at City Hall who understands the issues they face in moving projects forward.
SDSSD and the Stamford Urban Redevelopment Commission hired the Regional Plan Association (RPA) to lead workshops this year regarding downtown development and how it might be limited by the current regulations. The RPA wrote Stamford”™s 2002 master plan.
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One of the main changes that year was the addition of an affordable housing component requiring residential developers to create housing equal to 10 percent of any multifamily project for families making less than half of Stamford”™s median income. Developers had previously been freed of that requirement due to the city already having a higher percentage of affordable housing than the state average.
The three groups ”“ SDSSD, URC and RPA ”“ plan to publish a report that could be included as part of a comprehensive rezoning of downtown Stamford.
One summer roundtable focused on how to create a better sense of community through the use of public art, pedestrian and bike pathways, affordable housing and green building technology, according to Goldstein. A second summer roundtable addressed multiple parking issues; in October, another roundtable relied on digital models and photo renderings to critique various ideas for downtown Stamford.
For its part, RPA has been lobbying the state to reserve development aid for municipalities that have adopted “model” zoning ordinances, such as encouraging construction near public transit nodes.
“For example, moderate income rental housing might be a priority for communities like Stamford, where employment opportunities drive demand for housing,” said Amanda Kennedy, an RPA staffer in Stamford. “Although model zoning regulations can serve as a resource for communities looking to update decades-old regulations, model regulations must provide the flexibility for communities to calibrate policies to specific local conditions.”
