At its Oct. 8 special meeting the Zoning Regulation Update Subcommittee set its next subcommittee meeting for Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. to follow the Oct. 23 public workshop and to debrief the results. Chair Dan Radman and acting chair Krista Nielsen confirmed Dec. 10 after discussion of room availability and calendar conflicts.

Consultants from BFJ and subcommittee staff also agreed to convene practitioner focus groups in early November, before Thanksgiving, to obtain technical input from people who frequently file applications with the Planning and Zoning Commission (PNZ) or the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). Staff compiled an initial list of 27 potential invitees: 17 practitioners submitted at least two applications to PNZ or ZBA in the last five years, and eight contractors had constructed new homes in town in the last three years. Of the 27, staff reported that 14 either own land in New Canaan or live in town. Among that subset the staff count included 3 attorneys, 8 builders/real-estate professionals, 1 engineer, 1 architect and 1 landscape architect.

BFJ recommended limiting each Zoom focus group to about four or five participants for a substantive technical conversation; the subcommittee agreed that two separate Zoom calls would be acceptable (for example, one with attorneys and their developer clients and a second for architects, builders and others). Emily Tolbert said the consultants would issue an interest survey to the identified practitioners and then select participants to balance viewpoints and specialties. The focus groups are intended to be short (about one hour) and to occur in the first two weeks of November, with a second round of practitioner meetings planned in spring once draft text is prepared.

Why it matters: Practitioners who regularly work with the town’s zoning regulations can identify unintended consequences, application pain points and code provisions that most frequently trigger administrative review. The subcommittee and consultants view practitioner input as technical advice to inform the draft zoning text issued for public review in the spring.

Ending: BFJ and staff will send an interest survey to the 27 identified practitioners, finalize two early-November Zoom sessions, and report back to the subcommittee at the Dec. 10 meeting.