Norwalk Invites Public Input For Citywide Plan

The City of Norwalk invites Norwalk residents, visitors and other stakeholders to share their vision for the city’s future at a public forum on Saturday morning, November 18. The forum will guide the Citywide Plan, the state-required 10-year plan, also known as the Plan of Conservation & Development. The Vision Forum will be held on Saturday, November 18, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Center for Global Studies at Brien McMahon High School, 300 Highland Avenue.  The City is looking for input from everyone who has a stake in Norwalk’s future, whether you’ve lived in Norwalk all your life or set down roots here in recent years.

All residents and their families are invited to attend the November 18th event where they will have the opportunity to talk to each other about their city—what they want to preserve, what should change, and what kind of city they want to be in the coming decades. Participants will be seated in small groups and activities will include viewing maps and exhibits about Norwalk today, sharing individual visions for the city, and discussions to identify the most important priorities for the future.  Participants will also be able to comment on several other plans currently being prepared for the city, including neighborhood plans for West Avenue and Wall Street, and a citywide parking study.  Refreshments will be served and there will be raffle prizes by local restaurants and retail stores. More details are available on Facebook.

During 2017-2018, Norwalk will be updating its citywide 10-year plan under the sponsorship of the Planning Commission. This plan integrates priorities for everything from housing and economic development to transportation, land use, and sustainability, and includes an action-oriented implementation plan.  

Several other plans are also underway in Norwalk and will be coordinated with the Citywide Plan in an overall planning initiative called Norwalk Tomorrow. The Redevelopment Agency is preparing neighborhood plans for West Avenue and Wall Street, and the Norwalk Parking Authority is conducting a citywide parking study. Key to the City’s planning process is this coordination of efforts between multiple departments and agencies to allow for plans to be integrated, improving efficiencies and resulting in more effective plans. The public forum is a critical element, providing a single place for citizens to gather, and learn about and provide input into these plans.

“As we develop this 10-year plan, we are expanding ways to reach a larger group of stakeholders than ever before,” says Norwalk mayor Harry Rilling. “The Vision Forum on the 18th is one of the many ways we are gathering input from people that live, work and visit the city on their hopes and ideas for its future.”

In addition to the Vision Forum, the City has an online survey and is launching a new website tomorrow.norwalkct.org. At the website, the public can find out more about the various planning efforts, sign up for updates, as well as share their ideas and ask questions via surveys and comment sections.  A variety of other opportunities for the public to get involved such as smaller, more focused meetings and forums, surveys and other digital events will be available in the winter and spring of 2018.