Norwalk wants your input before it finalizes its 2050 climate roadmap

NORWALK, Conn. — The city wants to know what kind of Norwalk residents want to leave behind for future generations, and it’s asking for their input before the plan is locked in.

The City of Norwalk will hold a community workshop Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Maritime Aquarium, giving residents a chance to weigh in on the still-developing Norwalk 2050 Sustainability and Resilience Roadmap before it’s finalized. The plan will serve as a foundation for the city’s next Plan of Conservation and Development, known as the POCD.

Jodi Trendler, the city’s director of sustainability and resilience, said the roadmap is meant to lay out a path for Norwalk to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 while better preparing the city for problems like flooding.

“The critical piece is eliminating fossil fuel usage for our human needs and replacing those with clean sources, renewable sources,” Trendler said.

The draft plan covers nine areas of city life, including clean energy, buildings, transportation, and public health. Trendler said buildings and vehicles cause most of Norwalk’s emissions, largely because many homes burn heating oil or natural gas and many cars still run on gasoline.

One proposed goal is for the city to generate a quarter of its own electricity through community solar projects and battery storage. Some of that power would go to “resilience hubs,” buildings that could stay powered during emergencies so people could charge devices and stay connected.

The city’s control has limits, though. Connecticut sets building codes for the whole state, and Trendler said Norwalk cannot require stricter energy rules than the state allows.

“Our hands are kind of tied,” Trendler said.

On transportation, the roadmap includes more sidewalks, safer bike lanes, and better bus service to cut down on car use. Norwalk’s bus ridership grew by 30% last year after service improvements, Trendler said, and there is long-term interest in building a public transit line along the Norwalk River.

A volunteer community task force has been helping shape the roadmap so far, organized into subcommittees tied to each focus area. Trendler said the plan is intentionally unfinished heading into Tuesday’s workshop because resident input helps determine which ideas move forward and which get prioritized.

Feedback from Tuesday’s workshop, along with an upcoming community survey, will be added to the report, Trendler said. A full draft is due to the mayor by Oct. 15 and will go before the City Council on Dec. 8, meaning Tuesday’s workshop is one of the last chances for broad public input before the plan takes its final shape.

Trendler said the city’s own emissions make up only a small share of the problem, which is part of why community involvement matters so much.

“The city’s emissions role is only like four or five percent,” she said, compared with what comes from buildings, cars and waste across the wider community.

For homeowners looking to cut emissions now, Trendler pointed to the Heat Smart program, a free home energy audit offered through Energize CT that also checks for safety issues like gas leaks. The visit can include up to $1,000 worth of weatherization work, such as sealing drafts, and is paid for through a charge already on residents’ utility bills.

Residents who cannot attend Tuesday’s workshop may still be able to shape the roadmap through the upcoming survey or by reaching out to Trendler’s office directly.