Wilton
Economic Development Commissioner and State Representative candidate
Keith Rodgerson released his long-awaited Economic Development Campaign
Platform today. Rodgerson, who is running in the 143rd district (Wilton,
Westport, and Norwalk), is the proprietor of a consultancy that
provides technical and planning assistance to small business clusters
and manufacturers. He is a former board member of the Community Capital
Fund and has been active in many local, state and national
organizations, including Congress for the New Urbanism, Coastal
Fairfield County Consortium, and various environmental and land use
planning consortiums. Rodgerson is also a certified Economic Development
Finance Professional.
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The
143rd district is in rapid transition. Development outcomes in the next
two years will define our property tax rates, the level of public and
private investment, our historic and physical character, and our quality
of life for a generation. Westport is growing rapidly and struggling to
keep its historic assets and neighborhood businesses like Sally’s Place
and Max’s Art Supply solvent. Norwalk is seeing substantial private
investment amidst a divided public, continued big box interest, and a
strong need for historical preservation. Wilton is crumbling at its
gateways, has substantial redevelopment and historic preservation needs,
and faces an uncertain future for its car-dependent office parks
sprawled outward from Danbury branch line terminals across an
increasingly obsolescent Route 7. Wilton Center’s vacancy rate is
particularly high and impacting both property tax rates and new
investment. Route 7 and the Danbury line itself face an uncertain
future. This uncertainty is anathema to investment.
Our
towns and cities are struggling with antiquated zoning codes
manipulated by developers. We require plans of conservation and
development but do not provide the resources to towns and cities alike
to codify community desires in the law and take advantage of advances in
zoning theory such as form-based codes. We need to make a down payment
on our future in CT by funding zoning codes that embrace Transit
Oriented Development (TOD) overlays around transit hubs to help towns
and cities provide a maximally productive and risk-averse regulatory
structure for private investment. State investment in train stations
needs to be correlated with a community’s commitment to maximize overall
economic production. We also need to expand new rail service into
Georgetown and Wall Street, Norwalk.
The
future of Danbury line service needs to go beyond Norwalk-Danbury and
suburban NYC commutation to servicing future intra-village transit
between village buildouts stabilizing historic assets at Wilton Center,
Cannondale, Branchville and a new proposed Georgetown Station at
Gilbert-Bennett mill. We
need to cultivate an environment that provides opportunity for the type
of private investment that will create good jobs and make great places.
We need to control development outcomes through regulatory measures and
by training our elected and appointed representatives in modern land
use planning and economic development finance. Our state needs to evolve
forward into a tight pattern of vibrant villages, towns, neighborhood
centers, and cities alongside robust rural agricultural production. We
need walkable, beautiful places with mixed use retail and historic
preservation. Electing an experienced representative that can build
broad coalitions around the complexities of economic development policy
will be critical in helping to secure a vibrant future for Wilton,
Westport, and Norwalk.
We
need to think beyond transit. It is difficult to move goods, services
and information in Connecticut. This creates a huge “tax” on our
businesses. We need not just a safe, reliable and economical commuter
rail system but also freight rail and a competitive data
infrastructure. I propose the following:
-Create a statewide IT plan so that we can expand the financial sector and house large property-tax paying data centers.
-Establish
regionalized brownfield, housing and economic development revolving
loan funds and economic development corporations and authorities through
funding, regulatory incentives, capacity, and capital markets so that
towns and small cities can assemble development sites, maximize private
investment, attract and retain companies, and redevelop.
-Allow
small geographies to focus their tax revenue on market failure in order
to create opportunities for private investment. We must simplify TIF
and SSD regulations and provide programmatic economic analysis and
community development assistance to potential SSDs and TIFs to help
business communities make these decisions.
-Modify
8-30g to treble credits within 1500 feet of transit and orient around
TODs. Remove disincentives on tax-positive studio plus development and
senior housing. Add incentives for artist housing. Allow towns to meet
new 8-30g regulations by adopting new zoning codes that address housing
concerns under modified guidelines with build-out analyses and
set-asides.
-Support
continued investment in creative placemaking programs. Every dollar
invested in culture and tourism generates 2-3 dollars in direct tax
revenue.
-Curb
the influence of special interest groups catering to large,
out-of-state corporations like ALEC and NFIB and support the agendas of
credible small business and manufacturer organizations like the
Connecticut Small Brands Council.
-Cut
regulations in targeted new economy manufacturing and high-tax yield
developments. There is marked interest in Connecticut in the fields of
data centers, whiskey and beer production, mid-scale artisanal
manufacturing. Let’s get the state out of the way of key sector growth
and competitiveness without harming consumer protections.
Housing
finance is critical to village-building, neighborhood stabilization and
economic growth. 10% of Connecticut jobs are currently filled by New
York residents, which costs the state over $870 million in lost revenue.
We must place-make, village and hamlet-build, and provide lifecycle
housing if we are to succeed in lowering property taxes, build
opportunities for private investment, and function as a sustainable
society.
The
physical shape and character of our towns and city will undergo great
change in the next two years. The ability of our residents to digest
ever-increasing property taxes tied in to basic infrastructure
improvements is in question. Wilton has dozens of acres of property in
town whose futures are uncertain, especially around the Branchville,
Wilton and Cannondale train stations. Many historic assets are at risk.
The 44 Westport Road debacle is a key example of our legislators
inability to influence 8-30g. We have to allow the market to meet our
demand for historic preservation, tax positive growth, commercial tax
base expansion and allow housing for our seniors, young professionals
and artists that respects our rural character. We must do this through
focused public investment, careful regulatory reform, respect for plans
of conservation and development, and the reconfiguration of programs,
resources and regulations so that capacity-short towns can help grow the
economy with like tools as our largest cities.
|
Example of traditional neighborhood
development, Salzburg, Austria
|
Here's a photo of Salzburg, Austria, where their local government has taken
steps to protect their heritage while welcoming economic growth around
pedestrian orientation. By doing this, they have even softened the
inevitable incursion by a well known fast food chain (can you see the
“golden arches”?).
8-30g
will take a broad coalition to modify and modernize. We must elect
representatives capable of building coalitions around legislation and
that have the experience necessary to secure a bright future for our
history, economy, residents and businesses alike.