Greenwich Free Press (https://greenwichfreepress.com/tag/margarita-alban/)
The project was originally proposed in Feb 2025 as a Queen Anne style building, which the commission thought was beautiful but inconsistent with the streetscape. Continue Reading →
Several buildings on the north side of Railroad Ave (99, 95, 91, 89-87 and 85 Railroad Ave) include some restaurant uses that are grandfathered. 91 Railroad Ave, previously home to a cigar store, has operated as a retail use. A restaurant with 20 seats would typically require 9 parking spaces, including for staff. Continue Reading →
The applicant referred to on Oxer Place as a “de facto cul-de-sac,” but neighbors described it as a dead end with maxed out on-street parking at night, a history of flooding and pedestrian traffic via path to Henry Street. Continue Reading →
P&Z chair Margarita Alban noted a new state law that became effective in 2024 allows conversion of nursing homes to residential with a quick review, and suggested the applicant consider that route. Continue Reading →
When only 43% of the towns in Fairfield County responded to the Center for Housing Opportunity survey, the “Housing Collective staff filled in survey data gaps…Resources utilized included municipal webpages and town charters, CT Secretary of State website, voter records, municipal property records, LinkedIn, Facebook, board and commission meeting recordings, and name searches.”…That’s how my gender and ethnicity were changed overnight. – Margarita Alban Continue Reading →
In a statement RPA wrote that the veto was “an affirmation of the status quo and a capitulation to bad faith, fearmongering, or perhaps innocent confusion.” Continue Reading →
“Greenwich. Often depicted by housing advocates as a prime example of exclusionary zoning and lack of diversity. Is that image accurate? No. It isn’t.” – Margarita Alban Continue Reading →
The recently enacted CGS Section 8-2r enables the adaptive reuse of vacant nursing homes as multi-family housing. Greenwich P&Z said the former RegalCare building on King Street met the criteria to become a 17-unit rental apartment facility. Continue Reading →
After rejecting a 70-unit proposal with 12 affordable units in 2017, the Greenwich Planning & Zoning commission approved Joe Tranfo’s 120-unit 6-story building in May 2024. The development will feature two structures separated by a driveway, a total of 120 units and 180 parking spaces. Submitted under the state’s 8-30g statute, a whopping 40% of the units will be affordable, far more than required in an 8-30g. Continue Reading →
“If you’re successful, there may be a lot of stress in these areas. You may find that you are parking deficient and you may find that you have brought in a lot of traffic…What troubled me the most about this process is everything is based on your operating assumptions.” – Margarita Alban, P&Z chair Continue Reading →