Smart Growth ENews THE FUTURE IN FOCUS

To subscribe or unsubscribe http://www.1000friends-ct.org/subscribe/subscribeform.htm Smart Growth ENews 1000 FRIENDS of Connecticut October 2009 Volume 4, Issue 10 THE FUTURE IN FOCUS “Talk is how we get rid of the dead ideas that hold us back,” Kip Bergstrom, Stamford Redevelopment Commission In the north, east, middle and south of the state -and maybe in your town too -- citizens are putting their shoulders to the wheel to reshape where they live. They’re conducting planning charettes. They’re buying locally grown. They’re auditing their greenness, and they’re cataloguing their natural The Reinventing Stamford initiative lists the and cultural assets. In every case, they’re getting following challenges before the city: financial way-past talk and doing the work it takes to grow turmoil, global connectivity, immigration, climate more smartly and more sustainably. change, resource scarcity, hardened government, October 30th, the first season of the Higganum and demand for “whole” places. Reinventing Village Market will end. The Village Market is a Stamford is enthusiastically championed by Kip friendly little farmer’s market on the Higganum Bergstrom, Executive Director of the Stamford Green. It is the first program of a group of citizen Urban Redevelopment Commission. activists, lead by Liz Bazazi and Market Master Mindi Swanson, with big ideas for the future of this mid-state town. When the town’s market and Continued on hardware stores closed their doors, the group page 2. sprang to action. It arranged the successful Friday afternoon farmers market featuring fruits, Inside the October vegetables, cheeses, pastries and coffees. The Edition group is recruiting volunteers, seeking funding, looking at parks, historic structures and mapping FUTURE 1 IN FOCUS out a hopeful future for the village and the town. Reinventing Stamford is a series of civic conversations to make Stamford a learning community and a green city, today and into the future. The project seeks to coordinate new developments and practices behind the results of a comprehensive civic conversation. PLANNING TOOL EVENTS FROM THE BLOGS GIVE TODAY 3 4 6 8 Make your tax-deductible donation to 1000 FRIENDS at http://www.1000friends-ct.org/support.htm Smart Growth ENews extensively rework parking, streets, uses and form in the villages of Flanders and Niantic. It also makes recommendations on what parts of which parcels are the best for building and where water resources, high-quality soils and top-notch views should be protected from development. Hear Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy and Bergstrom talk about Reinventing Stamford at http:// www.smartcityradio.com/ show/2381/Reinventing-StamfordA strategy to reinvent Stamford is being drafted this month. A project list is being developed and the initiative will include a series of metrics to gauge progress and will identify funding sources. Simsbury has quietly finished a community planning exercise in which citizens participated in a charette to build consensus about You can review documents and what the future development in the resources related to Reinventing center should be. Coming on the Stamford and share your thoughts on heels of the acrimonious River Oaks the discussion board at http:// battle, the charette team came in www.reinventingstamford.com/ from Boulder, Boston and Annapolis to spend five intensive evenings East Lyme, one of Connecticut’s discussing low impact development, faster growing towns, last updated its affordable housing, economic Plan of Conservation and diversity, walkability, hanging-on-to Development in 1999. They are the specialness of Simsbury and scheduled to renew the plan this more. The final presentation is online year. Wisely, East Lyme’s leaders at www.simsbury.blogspot.com. decided to make the next iteration a document that is strong and visionary 1000 FRIENDS of Connecticut and based on a careful assessment celebrates these bold visionary of East Lyme’s natural assets and efforts and invites participants in any cultural resources. The town engaged of these efforts to share your the UCONN Community Research and thoughts and experiences on the Design Collaborative to pitch in. The Discussion Board of the Campaign to project team, led by landscape Grow Connecticut Smart Facebook architect Associate Professor Peter Group at http://www.facebook.com/ Miniutti, met 20-odd times with group.php? citizens. They mapped, gid=9017389959. photographed, described and group.php? extensively catalogued findings in a 9959.gid=901738 Lands of Unique Value Study. The study identifies eight zones in town. It makes recommendations to THE FUTURE CONTINUES Page 2 Volume 4, Issue 10 Smart Scenes, Fall In these scenes: Front Street, Hartford and Farmington Valley leaf-peeping Columbus Day Weekend. Want to help your community develop sustainably, but not sure how? A given set of tools are being used in urban planning and development today. We won’t be able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with technology alone, we will need to combine technological change with changes in our behaviors, transportation priorities, building design and placement, economic development strategies, and fair housing policy. In Connecticut, most planning is done locally, these tools offer ways for volunteers and town staff to develop the analysis they need to plan successful and sustainable communities. The tools discussed are: Density;             new report takes a comprehensive look at the state of tools municipalities can use to model and evaluate relative climate change benefits earned by developing differently. The tools it explores can be employed at the project, neighborhood and metropolitan scale. It summarizes the relationship between urban form and climate change and features four case studies on how a Athena Impact Estimator for Buildings; Community Energy and Emissions Inventory; Community Viz; Development Pattern Approach; Energy Demand Characterization; Envision Tomorrow; INDEX and Cool Spots; I-PLACE3S ; MetroQuest; Tool for Evaluating Neighbourhood Sustainability; and UPLan. The report is Urban Planning Tools for Climate Change. Its authors are: Patrick M. Condon, Duncan Cavens, and Nicole Miller. It was published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and is available for purchase in hard copy or free download at www.lincolninst.edu. Neighborhood Explorations — the View of Page 3 Smart Growth ENews ULI Westchester/Fairfield Workforce Housing Task Force presents WORKFORCE HOUSING FINANCE STRATEGIES AND BEST PRACTICES Fairfield County/East Coast Greenway Bicycle/Pedestrian Summit October 22nd, 10 to 3 PM (Optional Hike at 8:30 AM, Wine & Cheese reception 4 to 6 PM) UCONN Stamford http://fairfieldbikeped.event.brite.com Events with ULI Senior Fellow John McIlwain October 16th, 8:00 to 3:30 PM One University Place, Stamford Registration $45 to $85 Call 201/312-8817 and mention 8142-1004 Also featuring: Tim Bannon, CHFA; Joan McDonald, DECD; Ethan Handelman, CAS Financial Services; Richard Gerwitz, Citi Community Financial; Joan Carty, Housing Development Fund. CCEJ 5th Annual Environmental Justice Conference October 17th , 8:30 to 5 PM Call Dawn at 860/548-1133 Rail~Volution 2009 Building Livable Communities through Transit Boston October 29 to November 1st www.railvolution.com Bus Rapid Transit Symposium October 15th, 9 to Noon Room 2B, Legislative Office Building, Hartford October 29th, 6 to 8:30 PM Gates Lounge, 290 Eighth Avenue, NYC $150 Guests of honor: Streetsblog and NJ Senator, Robert Menendez Page 4 Planning Partnerships Prosperity Email rlynch@tstc.org or call 860/796-6988 November 5 & 6 Mohegan Sun, Uncassville WWW.SNEAPA.ORG Events Benefit for Tri-State Transportation Campaign Southern New England Planning Conference Joseph Calabrese, CEO Greater Cleveland Transit, will outline the success of Healthline. Volume 4, Issue 10 SWRPA Reports on Housing The South Western Regional Planning Association recently released its first Housing Report. The South West Region Housing Report, 2009 compiles housing figures for eight municipalities: Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Weston, Westport and Wilton. It presents an overview of the sales and rental market. Among its noteworthy Facts: housing stock in 2000. The region added single- Farming Rocks: Agriculture Past, Present and Future Wilton Historical Society Museum October 14th, 7 to 9 PM 224 Danbury Road 203/762-7257 or info@wiltonhistorical.org family detached, 3 to 4 family attached, and 5+ family attached units. It lost two-family attached units. The median gross rent in The Road to Copenhagen Yale World Fellows Discussion Burke Auditorium, Kroon Hall, 195 Prospect, New Haven October 28th, 5 PM 230/432-5967 or ysella.edyvean@yale.edu the region is $514/month higher than the state median. The region issued an average of 844 building permits per year. In the future, the report will be revised biThe region represented 10 annually. percent of the state’s 1OOO FRIENDS of Connecticut BOARD of Trustees Susan Merrow, Co-Chair — Environmental Lobbyist Richard Maine, Co-Chair — Former Managing Partner, Madison Harbor Capital Mark Boughton — Mayor, City of Danbury Leo Canty — Vice President, American Federation of Teachers William Cibes — Chancellor Emeritus, CT State University System Jefferson B. Davis — Principal, J.B. Davis Associates John DeStefano, Jr. — Mayor, City of Haven New James J. Finley, Jr.— Executive Director, CT Conference of Municipalities Norman Garrick — Director, UCONN Center for Transportation and Urban Planning Michelle Halloran Gilman— Chief of Staff, Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz Toni Gold — Principal, UrbanEdge Associates Eunice S. Groark — Former Lieutenant Governor Dara Kovel — Mill River Housing, Inc. Matthew Nemerson — President & CEO, Connecticut Technology Council Robert Orr — Principal, Robert Orr Associates Althea Marshall Richardson— Chief Executive Officer, Empower New Haven Howard G. Rifkin—Deputy Treasurer, State of Connecticut Peter Rosazza — Bishop, Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford Patricia Wallace — Director of Elderly Services, City of New Haven Cornell Wright — Principal, Parker Wright Group Page 5 Smart Growth ENews From the Blogs Read the entire entry by David Owen on http://us.penguingroup.com/static/html/ blogs/reducing-automobile-congestion-good -environment-david-owen “Traffic jams are actually beneficial, environmentally, if they reduce the willingness of drivers to drive and, in doing so, turn car pools, buses, trains, bicycles, walking, and urban apartments into attractive options. Treating congestion, rather than driving, as an environmental issue often leads to transportation policies that, from an environmental point of view, are flawed.” Don’t miss www.1000friends-ct.blogspot.com. Lower Farmington River/Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic Study Help gather evidence for a wild and scenic designation study at anyone of three open houses between 5 and 8:30 PM. October 15th * Canton Community Center October 29th * East Granby Community Center November 5th * Farmington Public Library www.lowerfarmingtonriver.org Www.Salmonbrookwildandscenic.org Page 6 Volume 4, Issue 10 Smart growth policies allow us to invest in the growth of the Connecticut we want. vibrant, diverse business sector • mixed land uses • vital city and town centers • brownfield redevelopment • transitoriented development • compact, walkable communities • green buildings Smart growth policies include predictable, fair & cost-effective rules. balanced, transparent and progressive taxation • effective deployment of resources • intergovernmental cooperation • simplified permitting • revised codes • accountable implementation • improved land use planning & regulation affordable housing • quality jobs • transportation alternatives • meaningful citizen participation • transparency and accountability • integrated communities • energy alternatives • environmental justice • educational equity Smart growth policies protect and preserve the Connecticut we value. historic and cultural resources • traditional town and village centers • uniqueness of place • agricultural economy • scenic beauty • open space, greenways and biodiversity e h t n g n i i a o p J m a C I support 1000 FRIENDS’ efforts to align Connecticut’s policies and practices behind smart growth principles. Sign me on to the Campaign to Grow Connecticut Smart. Name and Address: ___________________________________________ Email and Phone: ___________________________________________ SMART GROWTH PARTIES WE’RE BUILDING THE GRASS ROOTS ONE HOUSE PARTY AT A TIME HELP US MAKE FRIENDS. CALL 860/523-0003 or EMAIL JOIN US ON FACEBOOK WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/HOME.PHP?#/ GROUP.PHP GID=9017389959&REF=TS KGriebel@1000friendsct.org. Page 7 PO Box 1988 484 Farmington Avenue Hartford, CT 06144-1988 Phone: 860 523 0003 E-mail: info@1000friends-ct..org Dear Friends: How many empty storefronts did Columbus Day parades pass? How many McMansions stand in the apple orchards and corn mazes of yesteryear? How many parking lots were previously pumpkin patches? Please, do your part to guarantee that it is recognizably autumn in Connecticut for future generations to come. Give generously to 1000 FRIENDS of Connecticut today. Thank you! Heidi Green, President We need your help to continue our work at this critical time. 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