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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 22m

Quick, someone tell Tony Scott that one development is getting Monroe to their "astronomical" 326 unit total from Fair Share.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Code for "more than single-family"

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

What's the German word for when all of the republican candidate lawn signs are on the most derelict properties in town?

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

My friend, we’re two months into a public hearing for turning a defunct power plant into a park and people are complaining about environmental impacts and property values…

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Crickets though on when a single family sells for more than 3x the purchase price…that’s not gentrification…

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Mass downzonings in the late 60s and 70s seem to be common in Connecticut. What a coincidence that it was done shortly after the Fair Housing Act was passed…

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Tbf ours was like 60/40 against/for 😂

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Compare to Austin, who added 30% of their housing stock in a decade….we’ll see that in 50 years at this rate…

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

2300 homes is the same rate at which Norwalk has added housing for the last 30 years and it’s the slowest rate since that data began being collected. Literally hovering around a 0.6% growth rate per year.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Just giving the CT haters more ammo for us as a pass through state

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

So somewhere along the way we said there’s a nexus between adding more housing making housing more expensive but there’s no nexus between the most expensive housing making housing more expensive…

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

And what’s even sillier is inclusionary zoning is rarely applied to single family housing, which is the most expensive type of housing.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

So when applied to inclusionary zoning, we’re essentially saying “by adding more housing, you’re making housing more expensive and therefore affordable housing needs to be included,” which already doesn’t make sense.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

The silly thing about inclusionary zoning is that on its face, zoning regulations and conditions of approval need to pass the Nollan/Dolan test meaning that the conditions need to have a rational nexus to the application and be roughly proportional.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

And a block from the train station 😂

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Honestly, we’re at the point where Hearst just looks at Facebook comments from town groups and then writes articles about them, here’s another one: www.thehour.com/news/article...

thehour.com

A plan to fit 6 units on a small Norwalk lot is sparking backlash

About 30 people commented on the plan on the social media page "East Norwalk Neighborhood Association" over the past two days.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Hopefully they just mean getting them CO'd

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

I appreciated the testimony that this bill will trample folks rights while directly providing folks with more rights. My hope is that the committee can separate good faith arguments from bad faith arguments which @peteharrison860.bsky.social spoke about.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Almost all testimony opposed to SB-151 is because of "mandates being imposed on municipalities" and not based on whether or not it will create more starter homes...which is the purpose of the bill...

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Fair share moved from the state establishing numbers to regional council of governments and minimum parking requirements eliminated for 16 units or less instead of 24 units or less, essentially.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Sounds like something a king would say!

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

I liked the part when the first republican got up and said the bill removes too much red tape and then the second republican got up and said the bill added too much red tape.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

How does Lamont support a huge part of his re-election campaign on being able to stand up against Trump when he can’t even stand up against a local NIMBY group?

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

Two recently approved developments coming to downtown Norwalk. Over 90 units of housing, 100,000sf of office, ground floor retail, and waterfront park and boardwalk! www.thehour.com/news/article...

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

DTC endorsed candidate here in Stratford sending mailers on protecting against “overdevelopment,” whatever that means…

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

magically create more off-street parking. Anyone who says they are pro-business and advocates for minimum parking requirements is a hypocrite.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

The single most convincing experience for why parking minimums are complete hogwash is standing face to face with a potential business owner that wants to open their retail store in a building with no off-street parking, formerly occupied by an office, and telling them they can’t unless they

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Putting parking minimums in historic and village districts just encourages those buildings to be demolished. It completely contradicts the goal of preserving those buildings…

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Agreed. The State eliminating parking minimums would go a long way!

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

a slog. Eliminating parking requirements via 5002 would certainly help move the area along.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

and other properties being redeveloped. Zoning was redone in 2022 allowing for up to 53 units/acre, up to 13 units over-the-counter, up to 29 via site plan. Frontage buildout is 60% min not max, and 3.5 stories was a battle to get passed. A very vocal neighborhood association makes zoning changes

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

Unfortunately all of those gas stations have been there for decades but the use isn't allowed in the zone anymore. East Ave was also pretty decimated during the mass downzonings of the 70s. But it's getting better - 200 units at 230 East Ave (next to the train station), 77 units at 1 Cemetery St,

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Everyone needs to trust the process and if something doesn’t comply with one of those codes, that the person responsible for administering that code will not approve the application, and presto, no building permit!

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

If an application that complies with absolutely zero building, fire or health codes, but complies with all zoning codes comes across my desk, it gets approved, because I am not a building official, fire marshal, or health inspector.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Using “protect health and safety” of the future tenants of the building as a reason for denial is absolutely wild and a good reminder for everyone to stay in their lane.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

We have folks literally gaslighting others that the reason for tax increases is due to new multifamily developments, despite them being some of the only commercial properties that increased in value.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Agreed! It’s a state rule that each town has their own coastal resource map so it’ll vary but it’s pretty much a line that’s 1,000ft from the water. I’d also be interested in why anyone would vote no…would they prefer more impervious surface near Long Island Sound?

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Meaning that complaining about parking in this case is irrelevant to the application.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Coastal site plan reviews are required for any development that’s in the CAM zone (+/- 1000ft of a coastal resource) and that isn’t listed as “exempt” under CGS 22a-109. Hearings, however, are discretionary and any relevant testimony would have to be in relation to beneficial/adverse coastal impacts

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

8-30g is the antithesis of communism...

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

It’s also unfortunate that most policy responses to these types of informal housing has been to evict and cause homelessness rather than provide a path to legalization and safety.

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

All of our historic and quintessentially New England downtowns were built before zoning!

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

I’ve been working there for 7 years now, I’m pretty sure that lot was supposed to be redeveloped as part of the Head of the Harbor project just to the south but for whatever reason wasn’t…but definitely on the radar for the city!

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Yeah! The courthouse probably isn’t being reopened so another opportunity there, the High St/Main St parking lot, and then hopefully making its way down to connect with everything going around Waypointe. Super exciting!

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Bryan Baker, AICP @sixtyacre.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

I was confounded by Dubitzky’s inability to understand how bills like WLR are environmentally sustainable and would preserve farmland that he says he is trying to protect. Complete head in the sand-edness.

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