Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Acting First Selectman David Bayne addresses the Representative Town Meeting.
Monday evening, the Representative Town Meeting heard Acting First Selectman David Bayne address the state of the town in the wake Saturday's storm—the lasting devastation, and the steps towards recovery. First Selectman Dave Campbell handed over the reins Sunday morning. He has since left town, said Bayne, and is due to return "later on this week.""There's nothing more important to the town, the Board of Selectmen, than the health and safety of our residents," said Bayne. "We still have trees falling. Do not think that it is safe out there. Drive with caution. If you see a down wire, assume it's live."On Power Restoration: Where Connecticut Light & Power anticipate a significant number of residences to see power restored by Wednesday …
The latest answers to your pressing questions. Stay tuned for updates.
Acting First Selectman David Bayne and Connecticut Light & Power Spokesman Mitch Gross held a press conference held at the Darien Refuse Station Tuesday morning, to address the heart felt affects of an "unprecedented" Nor'easter that ripped through Darien during the Saturday overnight. The following concerns were addressed: When will I see power restored? Where the the majority of Darien residence will see power restored by the evening of Wednesday, March 17, Gross said the town may not see 100 percent restoration until the end of the week. "Clean up will continue into the weekend and there will be scattered outages throughout lower Fairfield County—the ends of streets and circuits," said Gross.The good news, said Gross, is that Darien has…
Friday, March 12, 2010
The Health Department proposes modifications to outdated health regulations.
With the Representative Town Meeting's vote this coming Monday, an update to some forty-year old health regulations and ordinances may well come to pass. Health Director David Knauf presented those proposed changes to the Public Health & Safety Committee last Monday. Knauf began combing through the town's health ordinances and regulations when he joined the town's Health Department back in 2008."Many of these have been on the books since 1969," said Knauf.The health ordinances and regulations under scrutiny were first published in Town Code in 1963; some were amended in 1972, and a few more in 2005. Knauf said where the proposed amendments do not represent any significant changes in the way the town operates, certain policies—as …
Planning & Zoning approves a special permit for a fast-food drive-thru restaurant at the corner of Richmond Drive and the Post Road.
A recent decision of Darien Planning & Zoning will bring a new drive-thru to the Post Road and the possibility for a much-feared increase in traffic to Richmond Drive. The commission announced Tuesday evening the approval with conditions and stipulations of a special permit request to modify the existing property and parking lot at 205 Post Road (formerly a drycleaners), and establish a healthy fast-food drive-thru restaurant. It's a business model that owners Thomas Toepke and Gertrude Allen Wood say will help end the obesity epidemic and neighbors fear will end in nothing but a big fat traffic disaster."We don't want to have the business fail; we just want it to peacefully coexist in the neighborhood, and we don't think it can," said …
41.088767
-73.458244
/articles/neighbors-peeved-at-new-drive-thru-approval
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Thursday, March 11, 2010
Town's spring pick-up of junk starts March 15 north of railroad tracks.
Forget robins. Darien's sign that spring has arrived is the annual ritual of hauling our junk to the curb for pick-up by the town. Pick-ups start March 15 north of the railroad tracks and March 22 on south side of town. "We'll probably collect 150 tons this year," says Department of Public Works Director Bob Steeger. According to Steeger, the cost averages out to 73.5 man-days and involves a loader and five trucks. The town then pays almost $75 a ton to have the trash removed from the transfer station (fondly called "the dump.") Do the math and you'll realize this spring ritual doesn't come cheap. What You Can Junk at the Curb Cast-offs include bulky appliances, heavy furniture and metal (which should be piled separately). But people also …
First Selectman Dave Campbell hands over his latest senior affordable housing plan to a three man group.
First Selectman Dave Campbell has handed over his recent proposal for senior affordable housing at Edgerton Street to three Darien residents. The project will ultimately run a a nonprofit, a move that severs Campbell's ties from the project, and all but removes town government from the equation. "That's how it should be," said Campbell. "Government just shouldn't be involved in these things. This is no longer my thing."Born of the proposed Senior Center shuffle that involves knocking down the building and moving the program to the Town Hall or 35 Leroy Ave., is Campbell's late idea for an affordable housing development at Edgerton Street. The plan, still subject to debate and alteration, calls for 20 units of senior affordable housing on …
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-73.493705
Darien Senior Activities Center
30 Edgerton St
/articles/new-affordable-housing-proposal-new-task-force
14768
/locations/306146
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Members of the Planning Zoning & Housing committee are in disagreement over the decision to shelve the 35 Leroy Study Group's final report.
Members of the Planning Zoning & Housing Committee have decided to shelve, in draft form, the recently completed report of the 35 Leroy Study Group—at least some of them.While the majority considers the document a resource of value, opinions over how best to use the report remain divided. Where some feel the responsibility to present the report to the Representative Town Meeting en masse, others feel it ineffectual—even inappropriate—to deliberate over alternate uses that counter administration's direction with regards to the property. "This document is to be a resource, and when we are called upon to either assess or offer our point of view, we are ready to assess the options," said PZ&H Chair John Van Der Kieft.The document comes at the …
41.06587
-73.484163
Darien Town Hall
2 Renshaw Rd
Room 213
/articles/no-show-and-tell-for-35-leroy-study-group
35676
/locations/304762
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Selectmen share thoughts on plans to cancel the replacement of the Option to Lease at 35 Leroy Ave. with a Ground Lease.
THE ISSUE: The story of "35 Leroy" dates back to 2007, when the Representative Town Meeting approved the purchase of the $4.2 million former library property, and the then Board of Selectmen decided to use the land for affordable housing.Affordable housing, said the former board, is the best use of the property as the only physically, legally and financially permissible option. Moreover, they said, such a development would help Darien attain points towards a first and second four-year moratorium from 8-30g, a state mandate that allows developers to put up denser-than-usual projects, in towns where less than 10 percent of the housing stock is affordable.Last August saw the board approve the Option to Lease at 35 Leroy Ave., a roughly two-…
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
A three to two vote of the Board of Selectmen cancels long debated plans for an affordable housing development at 35 Leroy Ave.
In an arguably historic three to two vote Monday evening, the Board of Selectmen moved to cancel the replacement for the Option to Lease at 35 Leroy Ave. with a Ground Lease, ending a near three-year debate over the property's fate as an affordable housing development. Cued by the Facilities Study Task Force to resolve the issue once and for all, First Selectman Dave Campbell motioned to pull the plug; the decision met mixed reviews."We've been kicking this horse around for a few years," said Campbell. "It was never a popular affordable housing plan; that's why there was the Option."The History of the OptionThe story of the Option dates back to 2007, when the Representative Town Meeting approved the purchase of the $4.2 million former …
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-73.474395
/articles/board-pulls-plug-on-35-leroy-to-mixed-review
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Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Committee Chair Selectman Jayme Stevenson presents the final recommendation of the Facilities Study Task Force to the Board of Selectmen; urges board to act 'now.'
Facilities Study Task Force Chair and Selectman Jayme Stevenson presented the committee's final, phase-one report on the proposed Senior Center shuffle to the Board of Selectmen Monday evening. The presentation marked the final step in eight weeks of concentrated and considered study, marked by an influential recommendation urging the resolution of the disposition of 35 Leroy Ave. with regards to affordable housing. "We hope our analysis will serve as the basis for an action plan supported by the entire Board of Selectmen and not become yet another study on the shelf," said Stevenson.The study has already moved the board to action. Just moments after Stevenson's presentation, the Board of Selectmen cancelled the Option to Lease at 35 Leroy…
41.06587
-73.484163
Darien Town Hall
2 Renshaw Rd
/articles/task-force-finale-brings-influential-recommendation
35676
/locations/299706
41.074869
-73.474395
/articles/task-force-finale-brings-influential-recommendation
/locations/299707
Where is First Selectman David Campbell. Why did he leave town in the middle of a crisis? more ›