Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Master Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Consultants present scenarios and schedule for Darien Great Island master plan
Summary
Reed Hilderbrand consultants presented access and conservation scenarios, raised questions about building preservation and flood elevations, and announced a March 1 workshop and a digital survey (March 1–23) to inform a July master plan.
Reed Hilderbrand consultants outlined draft scenarios for Great Island at the Feb. 26 meeting of the Town of Darien’s Great Island Advisory Committee, presenting options for circulation, access, conservation and potential uses as the town moves toward a vision plan.
Consultant Beka Sturges said the project team completed two rounds of focus groups and is preparing for a community conversation and Workshop #3 on Saturday; a digital survey will launch March 1 and close March 23. Feedback from those events will be refined into a vision plan and inform later workshops, including a tentatively scheduled May session.
Sturges walked committee members through a scenario components matrix that covered ecology and conservation, circulation and access (pedestrian, vehicular, coastal and water access), architecture and partnerships, governance and revenue, and coastal experiences. She said the team is considering varying levels of investment and phasing and asked the committee to indicate which infrastructure options it would prioritize for potential future investment.
On structures, consultants raised the possibility of removing the White House, saying it "did not have a lot of historic significance," and recommended further study of the Boathouse’s finished-floor elevation to determine whether it falls inside or outside FEMA requirements. Committee members urged caution: Jim Palen and others said they wanted to keep options open for buildings such as the Carriage House, and Mike Burke cautioned that maintaining structures costs money and that alternative funding sources have not been determined.
Ms. McNally encouraged committee members to reach out to their organizations to boost attendance at the workshops. The consultants will provide in-person workshop activities (presentation in the auditorium, station boards in the gym) and a suggestion box; they said all feedback will be synthesized for the master plan process, currently expected to culminate in July.
A brief merchandise update and a follow-up clarification on prior meeting minutes also appeared on the agenda; the committee approved corrected minutes and adjourned at 10:07 p.m.
