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Danbury Planning Commission adopts six-year capital plan, flags duplicate $5,000 retaining-wall entry
Summary
The Danbury Planning Commission approved the six-year Capital Improvement Plan for FY 2627—3132 and will forward it to the mayor's office and city council; commissioners asked staff to remove a duplicated $5,000 retaining-wall entry before submission. Two public-hearing items were continued to Feb. 18.
The Danbury Planning Commission voted Feb. 4 to adopt the city's six-year Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal years 2627 through 3132 and will send the document to the mayor's office and the city council for consideration.
Waleed El Balid, planning staff, told commissioners the CIP is required by state law and "guides annual budgets and helps departments seek funding outside the city," and that Danbury compiles the plan over six years to inform budgeting and grant applications. He said the six-year total requested this cycle is about $699 million, down from roughly $795 million last year, while the ask for the coming financial year is $136,000,517.
Commissioners discussed major entries in the plan, including large engineering and water/sewer projects: Waleed cited a roughly $54 million highway-related request, water distribution improvements near $11.8 million, a West Side sewer upgrade around $20 million, and a Millcane sewer extension whose full cost was not specified. He also highlighted planning requests including a $600,000 contingency for downtown projects, $200,000 in funds to respond to a new state housing mandate, and funds to update watershed regulations that are more than 20 years old.
Commissioner Bob Kyocchio raised questions about how projects would be prioritized and whether individual items are eligible for non-city funding such as FEMA or state programs. Waleed said some projects can be submitted for external funding but success is not guaranteed and that the current entries assume city funding so departments can pursue grants.
Before adopting the plan, staff and commissioners identified a duplicate $5,000,000 entry for a retaining wall at the magnet school that had been entered under two categories (public buildings and construction). Waleed asked the commission to delete one of the duplicate entries when adopting the CIP. Commissioner Kyocchio moved to approve the CIP "as presented, subject to deletion of the duplicate items"; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.
The chair confirmed the commission's adoption will be transmitted to the mayor's office and the city council, where final budget allocations and any further changes will be decided by the mayor and finance department and later by the council.
Two items scheduled as continuations of public hearings were not heard at the meeting after applicants requested continuances. The commission agreed by voice vote to continue the BRT Skonset application (special exception #589) and the Danbury Mill Plain Realty LLC application (special exception #805) to the next meeting on Feb. 18. The meeting adjourned after those motions.
What happens next: the adopted CIP will be used by the mayor's office and finance during the city's budget process and may be reduced or reallocated before council approval; the commission's action does not itself appropriate funds.
