A New Strategy to Shield Areas of Greenwich from Overdevelopment?

 

Screenshot (patch.com)

Recently two members of the Representative Town Meeting submitted an application to the town Planning Department for a special designation for Palmer Hill Road located in the Riverside area of town that stretches to the Stamford border. Abigail McCarthy (D) and Francia Alverez (D) both representing District 12 submitted the application which would essentially designate Palmer Hill Road as “scenic” and add another layer of public comment with regards to any nearby public works projects. Additionally, any new road work would have to be approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

This is the same Francia Alverez who proposed an amendment to an ordinance establishing a Fair Rent Commission. According to a Greenwich Time article published on March 12, 2024, there was just one amendment to the ordinance, introduced by Francia Alvarez of District 12. 

The original ordinance required a super majority (at least five of seven members) to block proposed rent hikes, but Alvarez’s amendment changed that to a simple majority, or four of the seven voting in favor. Alverez said, “The fair rent committee set the bar too high to be fair and effective by asking for a higher threshold for action,” she said. “As we said earlier in the evening, it is the residents who are experiencing food and rent insecurity that need these kinds of changes the most.” Alvarez’s amendment passed with 101 votes in favor, 77 opposed and two abstentions.

According to a July 9, 2024, Greenwich Time article, one of few local media outlets that covered this story, The application states that dozens of local homeowners on the road have endorsed the designation, which only applies to public land and does not put restrictions on private property. McCarthy and Alvarez say there is "keen enthusiasm" for the designation among members of District 12 of the RTM.

In a Patch.com article, dated July 8, 2024, McCarthy and Alverez said, "Because of these many features, we are strongly in favor of a scenic road designation for Palmer Hill Road, and we will work to help further our community's knowledge and appreciation of our natural and neighborhood's history."

The Town of Greenwich is rich in history with scenic views and to preserve these for future generations should be something we all can agree on. However, we do question this designation and a few that have come before it.

With affordable housing and 8-30g on most residents’ mind, we wonder if this is a first step or a barrier to any potential future building in that area of town. With any new structure, especially multi-level buildings, there are many concerns that need to be worked through, especially with traffic and the impact on the neighborhood. We see this as a way to shelter themselves form future building in that part of town. Realistically, most of the building occurs in the western part of town such as the Glenville and Pemberwick areas with a recent structure slated for downtown Greenwich. The eastern part of town such as Riverside, Old Greenwich and the back country has been busy attempting to create a “bubble” so that overbuilding is less likely to occur. For example, Old Greenwich has attempted to have itself designated as a “Village District” that would appear to give additional layers of “protection,” which would include scenic designations.

In a February 6, 2024, Greenwich Free Press article, Candace Garthwaite spoke about how a coalition of residents were preparing to submit a “Village District” proposal to the P&Z commission.

She said a Village District was consistent with both Greenwich’s 2009 and 2019 Plans of Conservation and Development, and the goal was to preserve and maintain the distinctive look of the village as it relates to the use, scale and facades of existing buildings.

“Any new construction or major renovations would be reviewed as to maintain a continuity of scale and proportion of what is already in the village,” Garthwaite said.

While we like the idea of keeping neighborhoods to “scale and proportion,” this notion should be applied to all areas of town. After all, we should all be on an equal footing, right?

Perhaps all areas of town should apply for “Village District” status.

Palmer Hill Road Scenic Road Designation Read

The History of Palmer Hill Road Presentation for Scenic Road Designation March 7, 2024 Read