Residents, developers worried about city infrastructure before zoning changes happen
DANBURY – Developers, business owners and residents gave the lead consultant of proposed downtown zoning updates an earful about the need for fixing the city’s infrastructure before embarking on a remake of the downtown at a City Hall meeting earlier this week.
While Francisco Gomes, senior project manager at FHI Studios, presented the Department of Planning and Zoning’s proposed new zoning for downtown Danbury on Monday, Nov. 4, many of those in the packed Council Chambers took the opportunity to remind him of the obstacles to development there. They brought up such problems as parking, flooding, and the sewer system.
“I find parking in downtown Danbury deplorable,” one resident said. “For instance, with the library there was only parking for staff, not for patrons. It wasn’t until the bank nearby went out of business and the city acquired it that the library had parking. People just want to run and run out of the library. Now, you have to go to a parking garage blocks away. What is this?”
Gomes responded that he understands the importance of having enough parking in the downtown and that with the proposed zoning amendments there would be fewer parking spaces, but he added that any developer who builds there would have a plan to include their own parking plan.
“We know that parking downtown is a real concern,” he said. “We don’t expect a developer is going to come in and build with no parking. We know there is market demand for parking, and have the ability to lease space, rent space to tenants to provide some parking.”
Another audience member brought up the issue of flooding in the downtown area, and how it wreaks havoc with businesses and residences nearby.
“What is happening with all the areas off Main Street that are flooded all the time?” another resident who has lived in Danbury for more than 40 years asked. “How can you be thinking about going to Project B, when Project A is problematic. People are flooded. Are there anything in the plans for this. That will affect everything you are planning.”
Waleed Albakry, the city’s new planning director, had an answer regarding the flooding issue.
“You are talking about flooding. Why do you think it has been going on?” Albakry said. “Because there has been no investment going on. Because there is no development. If there is to be any development, there has to be change to infrastructure, which will help you and others.”
Regarding the sewer plant issue, the problem seems to be that the pipes are not big enough to carry the sewage from the city and other nearby municipalities, according to Albakry. “Our mayor’s office is working on this topic – the sewer pipe system and flooding – where you have limited capacity with the sewage system,” he said.
A team of officials from the Planning and Zoning Department, Mayor Roberto Alves’ office, City Council, agencies and other commissions have spent the past year working with FHI Studios of Hartford on the proposed downtown zoning amendments. In total, there are 11 recommended zoning amendments. They include:
- Renaming of Downtown zoning district
- Geographic expansion of the district
- Increase in permitted building height
- Minor changes to permitted uses
- Affordable housing incentive/building height bonus
- Restrictions to street facing first floor uses on Main Street
- Reduction in parking requirements
- Access management and consolidated parcel regulations
- Site design requirements
- Building design guidelines
- Sustainable design requirements and incentives
Downtown survey
A big part of the proposed zoning amendment process was a survey of 625 residents conducted by FHI Studios for several months, Gomes said. It had questions that asked them about their vision for downtown.
Nearly 60% of those taking the survey thought Danbury should be open to significant growth and change while about 20% thought the city should be able to grow and change, but only incrementally.
On a five-star scale, survey-takers only gave the city two stars compared to other comparable downtowns in the state.
As for the type of commercial development they want for the downtown, the top three responses were arts & entertainment, food service, and retail. Regarding housing, they favored apartments and large buildings with townhouses and mixed-use development.
“The project origins really come out of, first, the downtown Danbury transit-oriented plan that was completed in 2019,” Gomes said. “That was followed by Danbury’s comprehensive plan, which was a project my team worked on and completed in early 2023.
“Both of those plans identified downtown Danbury as being a high priority for improvements, and a high priority for investment and redevelopment in the city because that’s where the infrastructure is to support development.”
He added that the project area expands beyond the existing central business district mainly because it has a very limited footprint and includes historic structures that can’t be changed.
“We really need to expand into the high-density areas surrounding the central business district to create some opportunities,” he said.
The next steps for the zoning amendment process is the Zoning Commission review of the amendments, finalization of the amendments for adoption, which are expected in the next month. Then, a public hearing would be scheduled in the winter of 2025, Gomes said.