Members of the Norwalk Harbor Management Commission spent a large portion of the Nov. 19 meeting discussing a state-level change they said has affected local intervention rights. Commissioners described the enactment (referred to in the meeting as "Public Act 2584") as requiring petitioners to submit 25 signatures and to explicitly state how they are impacted in order to have intervenor status in state-level hearings.

Commissioners said that requirement blindsided some local bodies and impacted pending matters such as 80 Water Street and an East Norwalk Boat Club application. Dr. Pinto and others said prior commission comments about navigation, anchorage setbacks and repair rights appeared to be disregarded when state staff allowed the applicant to proceed.

The commission agreed to prepare a formal letter describing how the harbor management commission is affected and to involve corporation counsel Darren Callahan. Commissioners also said they would coordinate with other local commissions and legal counsel (including counsel representing Save the Sound and neighboring municipalities) to determine whether to seek intervenor status or otherwise participate in the Dec. 11 public hearing. The commission noted a comment deadline cited in the notice as Dec. 23 (as read in the meeting).

Next steps
Commissioners assigned follow-up to Dr. Pinto to contact the corporation counsel and to monitor how Greenwich and other towns are proceeding so Norwalk can consider joint or parallel actions. The commission discussed convening a special meeting if necessary to finalize any state-level filings.