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Participate in planning Norwalk’s future! Go to the Get Involved page to sign up for email notices on Citywide Plan activities and the News & Events to find out about events. As the plan gets underway, you can find maps, analysis, reports, and documents for comment on the Resources page.
The City of Norwalk created this Norwalk Tomorrow website as a long-term platform to provide information and encourage public participation in the City’s planning initiatives.
An enterprise zone is a designated geography in which taxes are abated as of right for a period of 7 years to encourage new development and business growth in underutilized areas. Urban enterprise zone policies generally offer tax concessions, infrastructure incentives, and reduced regulations to attract investments and private companies into the zones. Urban enterprise zones are intended to encourage development in deprived neighborhoods through tax and regulatory relief to entrepreneurs and investors who launch businesses or develop in the area.
The census tracts within an EZ must be zoned to allow commercial or industrial activity and meet at least one of the following criteria:
Within the Enterprise Zone, taxes on improvements to any property within the geography are deferred for a period of 7 years: 100% for the first two years, 50% for the third year, 40% for the 4th year, 30% for the 5th year, 20% for the 6th year, and 10% for the 7th year. After the 7 year term, taxes will be at the true rate. If used for housing development, units must be affordable to 200% of the area median income or abatement will be revoked.
The implementation process for extending the EZ is as follows:
A TIF is a public financing method and value capture strategy that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects or programs in a defined geography. Through the use of TIF, municipalities typically divert future property tax revenue increases from a defined area toward an economic development project or public improvement project or program in the designated geography. TIF subsidies are not appropriated directly from a city's budget but the city incurs loss through foregone tax revenue as tax revenue for that geography is lock-boxed for that geography and TIF financial plan. Different approaches to making improvements are possible through a TIF as they allow more local government control rather than only what state statutes allow. TIFs are mainly used to make needed investment in neighborhoods through tax relief in areas that require additional and focused improvements than may occur naturally.
A portion of the real property within a tax increment district shall meet at least one of the following criteria:
Additionally, the original assessed value of a proposed tax increment district plus the original assessed value of all existing tax increment districts within the municipality may not exceed ten per cent of the total value of taxable property within the municipality.
As businesses locate in a TIF district and the area redevelops, the property values rise. Rather than simply collecting the increased taxes from TIF district properties, the city splits the property tax revenues into two streams. The first stream is set at the original amount of the property value before redevelopment, known as the “base rate.” This stream continues to go to the general fund.
The second stream contains the additional tax money generated by the higher property value, or the “tax increment.” This stream does not go to the city or schools, but is kept separate and used to pay for items identified in the TIF financial plan. TIF revenues can be used to fund construction, improvements, repairs, and rehabilitations within the district as well as economic development programs, economic development revolving loan funds, investment funds, services and equipment necessary for employment training, and specific uses associated with the district.
The implementation process for a TIF District is as follows:
There are a huge number of people and organizations working on policy and action to protect the Sound. Over 9 million people live in the 16,800 +/- square mile watershed that contributes to the Sound, so it is a colossal and complex effort.
One big concern is water quality. If you live anywhere within Norwalk, when it rains...that rainwater eventually makes its way to Long Island Sound. That rainwater unfortunately carries pollutants, trash, and excess nutrients down to the Sound. As a coastal community, Norwalk has an outsized impact on the water quality of the Sound.
Environmental planners approach water quality issues with watershed-based plans. These plans look at how rain and stormwater runoff travel across the land before getting to Long Island Sound. Policies and action items that reduce or retain pollution are spelled on in these watershed-based plans and these plans are referenced in Norwalk’s Plan of Conservation & Development. Except for those living closest to the coast – your runoff has a direct line to the Sound! – all other portions of Norwalk are part of either the Norwalk River watershed, the File Mile River watershed or the Saugatuck River watershed. Each of these plans can be found at the Norwalk Conservation Commission’s webpage. Some watershed areas have active groups working on getting protective action items done, others are looking for community leaders to advocate on behalf of the watershed.
Sustainability is about approaching our daily activities in a way that provides the best for people and the environment - both now and in the future. There are many small steps every homeowner or business owner can do. You may feel your space is small and inconsequential, but cumulatively there are over 22,000 individual parcels in Norwalk and those small actions can really add up to make significant positive change! Consider:
Norwalk has ample opportunities to connect you with other local people who share your concern and passion. From stewardship of open space to supporting vegetable gardens at our schools, from joining the ‘Osprey Nation’ to ensuring ‘pollinator pathways’, from getting pedestrian trails connected to monitoring water quality, or reducing waste to planting trees – Norwalk has a place for you to be involved! Contact the Conservation Office for help finding a group that shares your cause.
Within the last 5 years there has been an interest in researching and implementing vegetation buffers to the coast of Norwalk. Since the coast of Norwalk is a vital community asset, protecting it is imperative to the city’s future. Some pros to implementing a vegetation buffer are, it can lower erosion and control sedimentation, protect the coastline, and prevent more built structures within the coast. However, there are many hurdles to overcome in order to efficiently enact this regulation. The following concerns for this project:
See Chapter 9 of the Citywide Plan. Based on the scenarios outlined in the Citywide Plan, Norwalk intends to prepare a coastal resiliency plan that addresses these issues and provides a roadmap for the City to handle these issues going forward.
You can park daily at:
Yes, when you have two or more outstanding parking tickets.
The posted time limits are typically 2 hours. Except long-term meters on Monroe, Madison and Henry Streets around the South Norwalk Railroad Station, and 30 minute parking on Mott Avenue adjacent to the Main Library and in front of the Post Office on Belden Avenue. Please check posted signs upon parking.
Yes, you still have to pay for parking.
No, we do not assign parking spaces. A monthly permit offers parking at a discounted rate on a first-come, first-served basis.
No, there are no residency requirements.
The hours of operation are between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in posted locations.
Additionally, there is no on-street enforcement on Sundays and holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day.
All off-street parking garages and lots are 24/7 including holidays.
Click here for more information.
You can:
Overnight parking is allowed in all facilities. During snow emergencies, overnight parking is not allowed in all the open surface lots and on-street parking spaces.
Storage of a vehicle is allowed only at the Yankee Doodle Garage. Vehicles are not allowed to be stored in any other facilities. Storage is defined as a vehicle parked for 5 consecutive days without being moved. There is an additional fee for stored vehicles
There are secured bike racks at a number of facilities. They are at the following locations:
The State of Connecticut Office of the State Traffic Administration sets the speed limits on all public streets in consultation with the Norwalk Traffic Authority. If a speed limit is not specifically identified for a street, the speed limit is 30 mph. Read more HERE
No. The City of Norwalk, in consultation with the State of Connecticut Office of the State Traffic Administration has set the posted speed limit based on an engineering study that takes several factors in mind including road characteristics, traffic mix, collision history, and road function. Additional information regarding speed limits can be found HERE.
Stop signs are considered traffic control devices and not traffic calming measures. They are intended to control the flow of traffic at an intersection and assign right-of-way. Traffic noise and speeds may increase with the introduction of a stop sign. Standard engineering thresholds are applied to determine if a stop sign is “warranted.” Numerous studies have found that unwarranted stop signs are more likely to be ignored by motorists and have been found to lead to increased collisions and speeding.
There is no single solution for speeding on residential streets. Speeding vehicles, especially in neighborhoods can be frustrating, dangerous, and make residents feel unsafe. Please do your part to drive at or below the speed limit. Especially take special care near schools, daycares, playgrounds, parks and areas with decreased visibility.
Most vehicles are travelling at or below the posted speed limit. Unfortunately, occasionally there are speed limit violations. Many times, these speeders are people from your neighborhood. So do your part and spread awareness about speeding. This can be an effective measure against it. Speak with your neighbors, host block parties and set a good example by following established speed limits.
One of the most important factors in determining speed is the driver's perception of the road environment and of what speed is safe to drive. These factors are often used in setting speed limits. Artificially low speed limits are difficult to enforce.
Report recurring, excessive speeding in your neighborhood to Norwalk Customer Service at 203-854-3200.
The City does not permit the use or installation of mirrors within the City road Right-of-Way. Mirrors can be a distraction to motorists and cause problems with night-time driving due to headlight reflectivity.
The Department, through its regulations, is required to use the Federal publication of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) on roads open to public travel. The Federal signing guidelines provided in the MUTCD do not include "Blind Driveway". There is also potential concern that the sign may provide a false sense of security to those specific individuals.
If there is a sight line restriction from a roadway or driveway, the responsibility of achieving adequate sight lines lies with the owner of the intersecting road or drive.
The City has developed a software application that identifies and describes traffic calming devices that may be appropriate for a street. Additional information is available on request. General information on the general Norwalk Traffic Calming plan can be found HERE
