Norwalk’s water commissions oppose Industrial Waterfront Land Use Plan

Planning and Zoning Commissioners plan to take action Wednesday on a Norwalk Industrial Waterfront Land Use Plan, after a public hearing.

They’ll need a two-thirds vote in favor, as the Harbor Management Commission declined to make a favorable recommendation. The Mayor’s Water Quality Committee and the Shellfish Commission also oppose the plan.

Harbor Management cited:

• “The intended significant reduction of the Water Street Marine Commercial Zoning District.
• “The lack of consideration of Norwalk’s state-approved Municipal Coastal Program.
• “The intended increase in multi-family residential development in the coastal floodplain contrary to the basic principles of floodplain management and resiliency planning.”

The Norwalk Industrial Waterfront Land Use Plan would be an amendment to the 2019 Plan of Conservation & Development (POCD) if approved.

Shellfish Commission Chairman Steven Bartush on Sept. 7 cited “the loss of the northern half of the marine commercial district on Water Street, and essentially a moratorium on onshore shellfishing infrastructure in the East channel as well, as explicitly stated in the plan for both properties.”

He said, “The coastal flood plain management is has been settled regulation with the Coastal Management Act for 45 years. It’s my personal opinion, that the changes being proposed are just too big, and represent just too much of a fundamental cultural change in Norwalk to let it go through this current regulatory process.”

Mayor’s Water Quality Committee Chairman Joe Schnierlein said on Sept. 7 that a letter was being sent to the Mayor’s Office and the P&Z Commission “to request that the industrial waterfront zone land use study adoption be rejected and placed on hold” until certain issues are discussed with the Committee. In particular, the Committee urges that “the city’s industrial legacy, that includes remaining contaminated sites, be articulated throughout the document so it is clear that contamination remains and can be reviewed prioritize and resolved with appropriate entities.”

The Planning and Zoning Commission meeting begins at 6 p.m. on Zoom. The public hearing is the fifth item on the agenda.