Coastal Area Management Report Norwalk, Connecticut

CITY OF NORWALK Norwalk Harbor Management Commission 125 East Avenue Norwalk, CT 06856 May 1, 2018 Coastal Area Management Report Norwalk, Connecticut Prepared for: Plan of Conservation and Development Oversight Committee Norwalk is a coastal community—one of the oldest and most historic communities on Long Island Sound. In 1614, the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block sailed by the Norwalk Islands and, in perhaps the first written description of this area, called them the Archipelagoes. The community began in 1640 when English settlers purchased Native lands between the Norwalk and Five Mile rivers, extending from Long Island Sound inland for a distance “as far up in the country as an Indian can go in a day, from sun rising to sun setting.”1 Since the first settlement, Norwalk’s character and quality of life have been tied intrinsically to the water and shoreline resources of Long Island Sound and the Norwalk Harbor. Today, the City’s connection to its harbor and Long Island Sound is as vital as ever. It is fair to say in 2018 that the coastal area is Norwalk’s most important natural resource area, providing a variety of environmental, economic, and cultural benefits and opportunities. Accordingly, the coastal area requires significant attention in not only the Norwalk Harbor Management Plan—the City’s master plan of water-use and conservation—but also the Norwalk Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD)—the City’s master plan of land-use and conservation. As part of the process of updating the POCD in 2018, the Norwalk Harbor Management Commission (NHMC) has prepared this background report on coastal management for consideration by the Planning Commission and POCD Oversight Committee. Connecticut Coastal Management Act Recognizing that Connecticut’s coast on Long Island Sound and along the Sound’s tidal rivers is deserving of special consideration to protect sensitive coastal resources and guide beneficial use and economic development, the Connecticut General Assembly in 1979 passed the Connecticut Coastal Management Act (CCMA; Sections 22a-90 through 22a-112 of the Connecticut General Statutes). The CCMA, administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental 1 See Norwalk—being an historical account of that Connecticut town by Deborah Wing Ray and Gloria P. Stewart, Norwalk Historical Society, 1979. 2 Protection (DEEP), establishes the state’s goals and policies for both use and conservation of coastal resources and is implemented in large part through municipal planning and zoning authorities, specifically local plans of conservation and development and zoning regulations. Among the legislative findings that provide the foundation for the CCMA, the Connecticut General Assembly determined that: 1) the coastal area represents an asset of great present and potential value to the economic well- being of the state, and there is a state interest in the effective management, beneficial use, protection, and development of the coastal area; and 2) the key to improved public management of Connecticut's coastal area is coordination at all levels of government and consideration by municipalities of the impact of development on both coastal resources and future water-dependent development opportunities when preparing plans and regulations and reviewing municipal and private development proposals. (See Sec. 22a-91 of the General Statutes) Norwalk, Connecticut on the Norwalk River and Long Island Sound Coastal Boundary, CAM Area, and Norwalk Harbor In addition to defining coastal resources (see below) and establishing legislative goals and policies for use and conservation of those resources, the Connecticut Coastal Management Act sets the coastal boundary line marking the area within which the provisions of the CCMA apply, including the requirements for coastal site plan review (CSPR). CSPR is the process through which proposed development projects within the designated coastal boundary area must be reviewed by municipal planning and zoning agencies to ensure that the potential adverse impacts of the proposed activity on both coastal resources and future water-dependent development activities are acceptable. 3 State-wide, the coastal management boundary is a continuous line delineated by a 1,000-foot cur- vilinear setback from the mean high water (MHW) line, a 1,000-foot setback from the inland boundary of state-regulated tidal wetlands, or the inland boundary of the “100-year” floodplain, whichever is farthest inland. As authorized by the CCMA, Norwalk modified the state-designated coastal boundary within the City’s jurisdiction to follow a more identifiable rectilinear path along either the nearest street, lot line, or other boundary, but always encompassing the area within the state-delineated boundary. This is Norwalk’s coastal boundary line officially shown on the city’s Building Zone Map. This line delineates the inland extent of the land and water area often referred to as the Norwalk Coastal Area Management (CAM) Area. (See the CAM Area map prepared by the NHMC.) The Norwalk Building Zone Regulations define the Norwalk “Coastal Zone” as the area within the coastal boundary and landward of the MHW line. The MHW line marks the dividing line between the City’s planning and zoning authorities (landward of the line) and the City’s harbor management authority (waterward of the line). There is, of course, a significant overlap of these authorities on the shoreline, insofar as waterfront land-use and development have a significant influence on the use and condition of Norwalk Harbor and the city’s coastal waterways. Con- versely, use and condition of the harbor and Norwalk’s coastal waterways influence waterfront conditions. This relationship between upland areas and coastal waters requires that Norwalk’s Harbor Management Plan and POCD be implemented as consistent and complementary documents For the purpose of this report, the Norwalk CAM Area is considered to include not only the Coastal Zone defined in the Building Zone Regulations but also the navigable and intertidal waters of Norwalk Harbor. The CAM Area therefore encompasses the jurisdiction of the Norwalk Harbor Management Commission (and an area within the jurisdiction of the Five Mile River Commission) as well as land areas within the jurisdiction of the Norwalk planning and zoning commissions. (See the following section on the Harbor Management Area.) Within the CAM Area, Norwalk’s irregular shoreline on Long Island Sound and Norwalk Harbor measures about 22 miles (excluding island shorelines). The CAM Area includes large parts of the Rowayton, South Norwalk, Norwalk Center, and East Norwalk sections of the City. Within these larger areas are a number of distinct, long-standing coastal neighborhoods, including the Farm Creek, Belle Island, Wilson Point, Village Creek, Harborview, Shorefront Park, and Marvin Beach neighborhoods. Harbor Management The 1984 Connecticut Harbor Management Act (Sections 22a-113k through 22a-113t of the Gen- eral Statutes) authorizes coastal municipalities to establish harbor management commissions and plan for the most desirable use of their harbors for recreational, commercial, industrial, and other purposes. In 1986, the Norwalk Common Council established the Norwalk Harbor Management Commission by ordinance (Chapter 69, Article III of the Norwalk Code of Ordinances). The area of jurisdiction of the NHMC and Norwalk Harbor Management Plan is known as the Norwalk Harbor Management Area. (See the CAM Area map prepared by the NHMC.) 4 While the Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) prepared by the Planning Commission focuses on land-use, the Harbor Management Plan, prepared by the NHMC, establishes City goals and policies for the most desirable use of Norwalk’s coastal and navigable waterways in the Harbor Management Area, including most of Norwalk Harbor as defined in the City Charter.2 Three basic principles of the Harbor Management Plan are to: 1) maintain public safety; 2) protect coastal resources and environmental quality; and 3) support appropriate beneficial uses of the Harbor Management Area and waterfront, including water-dependent uses and public access to the harbor. The Harbor Management Plan, approved by the State of Connecticut, was adopted by the Common Council in 1990 and most recently amended in 2009. The two plans—the POCD and Harbor Management Plan—are the city’s principal guides for land and water use in the CAM Area and are to be implemented as complementary and consistent documents. Norwalk coastal area on Long Island Sound and the Norwalk River and Harbor (Google Earth) 2 Defined in Sec. 1-205 of the City Charter, Norwalk Harbor includes the Five Mile River Harbor, so much as lies within the City’s territorial limits. However, the Five Mile River Harbor, located at the municipal boundary between Norwalk and the Town of Darien, is not subject to the jurisdiction of the NHMC and Harbor Management Plan but instead is subject to the jurisdiction of the Five Mile River Commission—a joint commission (established by Special Act of the Connect- icut Legislature) of the City of Norwalk and Town of Darien. In other words, the Five Mile River Harbor within Norwalk’s territorial limits is part of the Norwalk CAM Area but not part of the Harbor Management Area. 5 The inter-relation between land- and water-uses and among land-use planning and zoning and harbor management is recognized in the General Statutes and Norwalk Code of Ordinances. In accordance with Sec. 22a-113p of the General Statutes and Sec.

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