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Planning director asks to reclassify Reserve phase 10 for future Danbury fire station; commission issues positive referral
Summary
Planning director Waleed Alakat Al Bakari asked the Planning Commission to amend the Reserve master plan addendum to designate phase 10 (about 18.2 acres of a roughly 545-acre project) for a future ~10,000 sq ft fire station; the commission voted to forward a positive referral to the zoning commission for a public hearing on May 12, 2026.
The Danbury Planning Commission on May 6 voted to forward a positive referral to the zoning commission for an amendment to the Reserve master plan addendum that would redesignate phase 10 for a future fire station.
Planning director Waleed Alakat Al Bakari presented background on the Reserve master plan, explaining the plan’s evolution since 2002 and the 2016 addendum revisions. Waleed said the Reserve complex totals about 545 acres and that phase 10 measures roughly 18.2 acres but contains wetlands, a wildlife corridor and steep slopes that limit buildable area. "In reality what could be built on it would not exceed about 10,000 square feet or so," he said, adding that city engineering studies indicate a 10,000-square-foot fire station could be accommodated on parts of the parcel.
Waleed said the city planning department is the applicant on the petition and that the city is in discussions to acquire the land; he said the application proposes updating master-plan tables (current addendum figures) to reflect actual units built and to allow administrative updates of those tables without returning to the planning commission for every change. Commissioners asked whether the city would purchase the property or lease it and whether other uses would be allowed once a fire station is built; Waleed replied the city is pursuing acquisition and that the site is likely to contain only the fire station due to environmental and slope constraints.
Commissioner Helen moved a positive referral, stating the amendment is consistent with the city’s Plan of Conservation and Development and addresses a public-safety deficit on the city’s west side; the motion was seconded and the commission voted in favor. The zoning commission public hearing on the 83a referral is scheduled for May 12, 2026. The planning director and staff will provide the one-page report to the zoning commission that summarizes the planning commission’s discussion and reasons for the recommendation.
The referral does not itself change zoning; it is a recommendation to the zoning commission, which will hold the public hearing and take the final zoning action.
