DANBURY – Developers, business owners and residents gave the lead consultant for proposed downtown zoning updates a lesson on the need to repair the city’s infrastructure before embarking on a downtown overhaul at a City Council meeting earlier this week.

As Francisco Gomes, senior project manager for FHI Studios, presented the Department of Planning and Zoning’s proposed new zoning for downtown Danbury on Monday, Nov. 4, many in the packed Council Chambers took the opportunity to remind him the obstacles to development. there. They mentioned problems such as parking, flooding and the sewage system.

“I find the parking in downtown Danbury deplorable,” said one resident. “For example, in the library there was only parking for staff, not for users. It wasn’t until the nearby bank closed 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 lot blocks away. What is this?”

Gomes responded that he understands the importance of having enough parking downtown and that with the proposed zoning amendments there would be fewer parking spaces, but added that any developer building 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 to come and build without parking. “We know there is a demand for parking in the market and we have the ability to lease space, rent space to tenants to provide some parking.”

Another audience member brought up the topic of downtown flooding and how it wreaks havoc on nearby businesses and residences.

“What’s going on with all the areas of Main Street that are flooded all the time?” asked another resident who has lived in Danbury for more than 40 years. “How can you be thinking about going to Project B, when Project A is problematic? People are flooded. Is 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 about the flooding problem.

“You’re talking about flooding. Why do you think it has been happening? Albakry said. “Because there has been no investment. Because there is no development. If there is to be any development, there has to be changes in infrastructure, which will help you and others.”

On the issue of sewage plants, the problem appears to be that the pipes are not large enough to transport wastewater from the city and other nearby municipalities, according to Albakry. “Our mayor’s office is working on this issue: the sewage system and flooding, where the capacity of the sewage system is limited,” he said.

A team of officials from the Planning and Zoning Department, Mayor Roberto Alves’ office, City Council, agencies and other commissions spent the past year working with Hartford’s FHI Studios on proposed zoning amendments for the city’s center. In total, there are 11 recommended zoning amendments. They include:

• Downtown Zoning District Name Change
• Geographic expansion of the district
• Increase in permitted building height
• Minor changes to permitted uses.
• Affordable Housing Incentive/Building Height Bonus
• Restrictions on first floor street-facing uses on Main Street
• Reduced parking requirements.
• Access management and consolidated land regulations
• Site design requirements
• Building design guidelines.
• Sustainable design requirements and incentives.

center survey

A big part of the proposed zoning amendment process was a survey of 625 residents conducted by FHI Studios over several months, Gomes said. I had questions asking them about their vision for downtown.

Nearly 60% of survey respondents 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, pollsters only gave the city two stars compared to other comparable centers in the state.

As for the type of commercial development they want for downtown, the top three responses were arts and entertainment, food service and retail. In terms of housing, they favored apartments and large buildings with townhouses and mixed-use developments.

“The origins of the project really stem from, first, the downtown Danbury transit-oriented plan that was completed in 2019,” Gomes said. “This was followed by the Danbury comprehensive plan, which was a project my team worked on and was completed in early 2023.

“Both plans identified downtown Danbury as 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 primarily because it has a very limited footprint and includes historic structures that cannot 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 are review of the amendments by the Zoning Commission and finalization of the amendments for adoption, which is expected next month. A public hearing would then be scheduled in the winter of 2025, Gomes said.