​​Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) Workshop 
Thursday 10/4/18, 7pm in the Greenwich High School Student Center

"Our next meeting will be focused primarily on East and West Putnam Avenue (the Post Road corridor) and secondarily on the downtown. Our consultants will be presenting rendering of what the corridor could look like if it were built-out to its maximum building potential under the current zoning regulations. It is critical to get input on whether or not you like what you see, and if not, how you would change it. 

Also important to note is; due to changes in the multi-family moderate income housing regulations in the business zones, many new projects have tripled in prior allowable size. This is changing the character along the post road corridor for better or worse. These regulations will create more moderate income housing units at a much higher density although they do not fulfill the Town's obligation to reach the 10% goal of "Affordable units" under state Statute 8-30g. Regardless of changes to the Moderate income housing regulations the possibility of even larger projects at higher  density may replace the Moderate units because we have not addressed affordable housing.” Greenwich Director of Planning and Zoning Katie DeLuca on the Plan of Conservation & Development

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​​​Reclaiming Our Attics and Basements 1/10/17 The Greenwich Planning & Zoning commission held its second and final of two public hearings on a proposal from Theresa Hatton, whose application benefited from the support form the Greenwich Association of Realtors, Chamber of Commerce and Greenwich Property Owners Association.

Denying us the use of attics has not achieved the stated goal of reducing

bulk. In fact, forcing homeowners and builders to use light-weight framing

trusses has created a potential safety hazard for our first

responders due to premature failure in the event of a fire.

​PLEASE GIVE US BACK OUR ATTICS…
AND STOP COUNTING OUR BASEMENTS!
Click here for more info http://greenwichlanduse.com ​

​​​R-6 Zone: Promoting Housing Opportunities, Removing Costs & Restrictions.

Providing housing opportunities to keep service providers, young people and seniors in our community is critical. Too many people who work in Greenwich and help to provide our necessary service cannot afford to live here. Our young people cannot afford to start families or careers here, our seniors are often forced to cash out and move elsewhere. How do we retain our quality ​of life without these vital members of the community?

Revaluation of Greenwich real estate

• The Town of Greenwich's Assessor Lauren Elliott spoke on 12/9/15, about the ongoing revaluation of properties in Greenwich at a joint meeting by GPOA and the Greenwich Board of Realtors which was attended by over 100 people.
• Ms. Elliott explained that for the first time, preliminary assessment notices were sent out the week of November 9,  to approx. 22,000 property owners. If property owners feel that their assessments are incorrect, they will be have the opportunity to make an appointment to speak informally with the company that was hired to do the revaluation at Town Hall.
  
• The Assessor’s office will mail out final Assessments in February 2016 based on information gathered from the meetings the re-evaluation company.  Property Owners will again have the opportunity to apply to the Board of Assessment Appeals prior to March 20, 2016 to appeal their final assessments. The Board of Assessment Appeals will be conducting hearings in April 2016.
  
• There were a lot of questions of the Assessor from the attendees that ranged in how values were achieved, values on different areas within Greenwich, access to records and forms, FOI, assessment and appeals schedules and how the mill rate is set. We thank Lauren Elliott for her time on behalf of the GPOA and the Greenwich BOR.
  

• Click here for the schedule from the Assessor’s office regarding when the assessments will be finalized and dates for appeals. We will also be posting information regarding how to file an appeal.

• Original Post: The Town of Greenwich is finishing the process of mandatory periodic revaluation of Greenwich real estate. Notices mailed out November 9. There will be informal meetings to discuss your revaluation up until March 20 which is the deadline for filing a formal appeal of your assessment, GPOA is providing you with a schedule of dates that relate to the revaluation. Beware of scammers who try to represent you exclusively for your appeal in exchange for a portion of the tax savings. Seek competent legal advice before signing on for representation. Click for Town of Greenwich Revaluation IMPORTANT DATES

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Moderate Income Housing  

• 6/2/15, Planning and Zoning Commission passed an admittedly "Imperfect" regulation to replace the current 6-110 Residential uses in all business zones. 
• The GPOA was able to delay a quick decision and work with the Commission and the Applicant’s original proposal of 8 months ago. The mandatory requirement to provide moderate income units for Property Owners not taking advantage of the "Incentives" was removed from the regulation. Based on economic and physical modeling it is unlikely that this regulation will result in a significant increase in moderate income housing.
• The GPOA looks forward to working with the Commission to monitor the results of the new regulations with the hope that further revisions will provide greater incentives for the development of more diversity in our housing stock.

Town Drainage Manual The 2012 town drainage manual has presented serious compliance challenges and contains conflicts with other town departments. It represents a costly and marginally effective solution to the avoidance of dealing with town-wide drainage infrastructure.

Grade Plane, FAR, Height, Setbacks, ans Green Space Requirements We recognize the need to control over-development, but Greenwich is the only town that has multiple redundant controls that have led to extensive use of fill and retaining walls in order to meet the requirements that do not adequately address the rolling character of the land in our town. These controls have added significant cost while diminishing the utility and value of our properties.

Parking Requirements Effect Local Businesses A series of required parking regulations over a 5 year period has eliminated the possibility of opening or expanding businesses in town. New hair salons, children's educational and sports classes and almost all other types of fitness and personal service businesses cannot meet the new parking requirements. This has limited prospective tenants, hurt businesses and limited competition.

Discretionary Zoning Impacts Businesses And Residents The current zoning regulations are extremely discretionary. Property rights may only be determined through a lengthy and costly approval process. This is causing potential businesses and residents to relocate to other communities rather than face the expense and uncertainty of fulfilling their dreams in Greenwich.

Planning in Greenwich, Manage For Positive Change The last Plan of Conservation and Development Focused on Drainage and led to new Drainage regulations and Green area restrictions (see above). The POCD of the previous decade gave us Grade Plane, FAR and the all too familiar "house on a platform". We need to get away from reactive zoning and move toward managing change and responsible planning for the future.

Compare Greenwich Staffing & Service with Similar Communities. The GPOA is supporting a collaboration between the Greenwich Association of Realtors and the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce to study staffing and processes in similar communities through a grant by the National Association of Realtors. This study should guide the BET with regard to departmental staffing as well as introducing constructive changes to the land use process and rules.​