Ridgefield Panel Backs Sugar Hollow Plan Update, Weighs Town-Led Route 7 Safety Push

RIDGEFIELD, CT — The Ridgefield Economic and Community Development Commission voted Nov. 2 to update a 2011 regional study for the Sugar Hollow district, as members continued work on traffic safety and development issues along Route 7. The commission also unanimously approved a draft annual budget during its meeting at Town Hall.

The meeting began at 6:35 p.m. in the small conference room at Town Hall, 400 Main St., according to the minutes. Commissioners also announced their next meeting will be Dec. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall’s large conference room.

In his chairman’s report, Bob Knight reviewed a broader effort tied to Sugar Hollow. According to the minutes, Knight sent a letter on Oct. 5 to the Western Connecticut Council of Governments requesting $300,000 for development of a comprehensive Sugar Hollow master plan. The proposed plan would cover economic development in the area of Route 35 north of Dogwood Drive and Route 7 north of Haviland Road to the Danbury line, while also supporting work by the Ridgefield Local Traffic Authority on safety concerns along Route 7.

The minutes say businesses in the area have raised concerns to the commission about traffic safety and difficult ingress and egress that affect access to their properties. Informal feedback from WestCOG was that funding was not available for the study and that a developer should fund it. The commission determined it would need to find funding and drive local action.

Knight also told the commission that the opening of the Archive of Contemporary Music at 650 Danbury Road, slated for 2028, is expected to add traffic and pedestrian activity in the district. The minutes also state that a preliminary report Knight reviewed cited speed, distracted driving and impaired driving as major causes of crashes and recommended more speed enforcement measures.

Later in the meeting, the commission unanimously approved a motion to update the 2011 SWRPA plan for the Sugar Hollow district by adding the new traffic study to help illustrate concerns in the Sugar Hollow master plan. The discussion followed a suggestion from guest Bob Jewell to update the earlier study with the forthcoming CTDOT and Local Traffic Authority traffic study and conceptual renderings.

The commission also approved its draft annual budget by unanimous vote. According to the minutes, commissioners discussed the need to quantify work completed this year, including a part-time consultant role, the fifth annual Tiger Shark Tank event, support for Ridgefield’s Cultural District, three Ridgefield Connect events, renewed membership in CT Main Street and work on Sugar Hollow.

In other business, Commissioner David Perlmutter reported commercial vacancy figures from CoStar showing Ridgefield at 20.7 percent, compared with 32.8 in Fairfield County and 49.9 percent across Connecticut. The commission also discussed complaints from some downtown businesses about substantial rent increases. The minutes say part of that discussion was held in executive session because of confidentiality matters.

The commission entered executive session at 8:34 p.m. to discuss confidential real estate matters and returned to regular session at 8:59 p.m., when the meeting was asjourned.