By Gretchen Webster
WESTPORT–First Selectman Kevin Christie has made a change in the chairmanship of the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee (DPIC), a committee that has been the target of criticism from some residents, and especially from downtown merchants who say their needs have been ignored.
Randy Herbertson, DPIC chairman, has been removed and a new chairman will be appointed, Christie confirmed on Tuesday. “It is something that I decided. It’s an opportunity to bring in new leadership to the committee,” he said. “I certainly appreciate Randy’s service on the committee in general and as a chair. This is an opportunity for new leadership and new engagement.”
Jennifer Johnson, an RTM member from District 9, which includes downtown, called Christie’s decision, “a good opportunity for a new beginning.” More merchants – “people who make their living on Main Street” should be incorporated into the planning process for downtown, she said.
Patrick Jean, a partner in Nömade Restaurant on Main Street, said he hoped that the new chairman will work with the merchants before making big decisions on revamping parking lots and other plans the committee makes that affect downtown commerce.
“We need more parking for customers. I’m getting complaints every day that nobody can get a space. … They need to actually add parking before removing parking,” he said. “They need to work with the merchants, not against the merchants.”
The DPIC has been working on a plan to remodel the Parker Harding parking lot behind Main Street. Currently, Parker Harding does not comply with federal parking lot design guidelines. Any changes to the lot would entail a net removal of 40 parking spaces to allow for larger parking spaces and adding some spaces that are ADA accessible for the handicapped.
The plan, which has been opposed by some merchants, was also turned down by the Planning and Zoning Commission, which told the DPIC they needed to find 40 additional parking spaces elsewhere in downtown before the P&Z would approve the Parker Harding plan.
A reduction from a three-hour parking limit to two hours in many spaces in the downtown area was recommended by a consultant hired by the town to increase circulation in parking lots. But that change also angered some merchants.
“When they moved to 2 hours, it didn’t do anything except give tickets to people who were dining and shopping,” Jean said.
Some downtown residents, including Sal Liccione, a former RTM member, were also among those complaining about the plans formulated by the DPIC and its consultants. “It’s time for clear leadership on the committee,” Liccione said. “I praise [Christie and selectwoman Amy Wistreich] for doing this. The DPIC needs to work collaboratively with merchants and residents.”
Another problem is the lack of recordings of the DPIC meetings, he added, which he hoped would be rectified by the new town administration.
Christie said that he and the other selectmen are reviewing the town’s boards and commissions to fill vacancies and to examine the roles of some committees.
“Our town runs on volunteers in many regards. We have many appointed boards and commissions. It’s important to make sure we have our committees appropriately and fully staffed,” he said. “We’re in the process of evaluating.”
Gretchen Webster
Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, has reported for the daily Greenwich Time and Norwalk Hour, the weekly Westport News, Fairfield Citizen and Weston Forum. She was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman for ten years. She has won numerous journalism awards over the years, and taught journalism at New York University and Southern Connecticut State University.
Why not invest in a unique, art defining garage deck that compliments the river and the landscape? Although it would be more costly to design & install, our town has already shown the ability to incorporate a more attractive parking deck on Wilton Rd (across from Bar Taco) vs. a stale, ugly concrete block.
Randy thank you so much for your leadership and contribution to help make our downtown better, and addressing the parking of our downtown area.
Speaking of the parking, the first thing that should be done is the ELIMINATION of all the wasted EV-designated parking spaces in the Baldwin lot. There is no reason any parking space, besides handicap spaces should be given privilege over others. 1 EV station should suffice the Baldwin lot.
A parking garage is NOT NEEDED. We have been down this road, have had consultants evaluate our parking areas, and the answer continues to be the same, we do not need a parking garage. Doing this dance again is a waste of time, as we have already explored this!!!
Yes, talk to the merchants, property owners and public again. Do another start at zero with new leadership if this the avenue First Selectman Christie wants to explore. I hope we work from a point positive strides made already, and data collected rather than a blank page.
The 3 hour versus 2 hour parking. Pick one, and let’s go with it after talking to merchants, landlords and public. This would be the very first item, as it seems to be debated all the time.
Forget all the holistic crap, it’s all about MANAGING OUR PARKING. Figure out employees, paid parking in some areas, utilization of signage to guide guests to open parking areas.
We need to stop the “rock star parking” attitude. If you go to our neighboring towns you park where you can and walk. We are not exempt from weekend and holiday parking demand increases, every town deals with it.
To me there is no parking problem, just a need for us to manage it better, and agree on something that makes us all a little bit disappointed, but okay with it. Democracy 🙂
Jimmy Izzo
RTM 3
The DPIC relevance has been way overblown in recent years. They have no authority to plan or make changes, they are volunteer appointees set to discuss possibilities and concepts for downtown.
Floating trial balloons with the understood possibility of political cover being severed. Rarely in the committee history do the pawns make it to the other side of the board unscathed.
The recent effort to mobilize true renovation through the committee has been a complete failure as the structural composition is designed for contemplation—not serious planning activities—because of its political nature.
When you look at the history of all the proposals and personalities that have intersected with Westports downtown you see clearly that it is the business owners who make the most relevant change, think Jesup or Friedman or Waldman.
So to set a committee of this scope to go about rebranding Westport was ridiculous.
It really is about bucks, if you want to change the function of downtown one must buy it.
Every idea under the sun has been proposed, the garage at Baldwin goes back to my discussions as a child with Sigrid Schultz who owned it at the time. However, the new liner buildings have no set backs and have only served to make claustrophobic what was once open vibed, the density there is overbearing.
The pieces of the puzzle are almost all filled in. The unwinding of the pretzel logic downtown takes a kind of muskian plastic brain matter I don’t see hanging around down there. The moving of the police station is the last hope. Maybe it can go in the last open space in town so they can cram something else downtown and make traffic worse. Where are you gonna park a hundred cars and fire trucks and ambulances? They could move the Westport police to Norwalk where the rent is cheaper.
Personally, I would dredge the river and put a tall ship museum downtown, at the green.
I have only been able to identify the problem. The moved town hall, they moved the post office, they moved the library, they moved the YMCA, they moved the movie theater, they moved Kleins— no wonder they are trying to rebrand — you rip the heart and soul out all you are left with is a parking lot