From: Carmen Garcia Irizarry Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2026 3:26 PM To: Jessica Michaud Subject: Fwd: Planning Commission Hi Jessica, Please add this email thread to the correspondence list in the agenda. I will also forward you an email from Elizabeth Burdick so it can be added to the agenda too. Thanks, Carmen N. Garcia-Irizarry Ledyard Town Council Administration Committee Chair Begin forwarded message: From: Waleed Albakry Date: August 11, 2026 at 9:29:16?AM EDT To: Carmen Garcia Irizarry Subject: Re: Planning Commission Good morning Councilwoman Garcia-Irizarry, Please accept my apologies for the error in my previous message. Both Norwalk and Brookfield successfully combined their Planning and Zoning bodies to streamline approvals, centralize reviews, and accelerate the land-use application process. I understand your point about appointed bodies, but appointed bodies can still be subject to political pressures. Best, Waleed Albakry, AICP, MCIP, CMFO Planning Director City of Danbury, CT 155 Deer Hill Avenue City Hall - 1st Floor Danbury, CT 06810 Email: w.albakry@danbury-ct.gov PH: 203-797-4525 City Hall is closed on Fridays On Mon, Aug 10, 2026 at 6:29?PM Carmen Garcia Irizarry wrote: Hi Mr. Albakry, Thank you very much for sharing your perspective with us. I truly appreciate it. I have a few follow up questions. Why would you prefer a combined commission? Is it due to administrative costs, financial considerations, the timeline for approving applications, decision making processes, or other factors? In Ledyard, the members of the Planning and Zoning commission are appointed by the Town Council, which might reduce the influence of politics on their decisions since they are not elected. Again, thank you very much for taking some time to answer my emails. Looking forward to hearing back from you. Best, Carmen N. Garcia-Irizarry Ledyard Town Council Administration Committee Chair On Aug 10, 2026, at 9:22?AM, Waleed Albakry wrote: Dear Councilman Garcia-Irizarry, Operating two completely separate commissions is indeed not very common in Connecticut, and from a professional land use perspective, I would personally prefer to have only a single, combined Planning and Zoning Commission. To provide some historical context, the City of Danbury decided to split into two separate commissions back at the end of the 1960s. The underlying driver for this structure appears to have been largely political. In Danbury, our Zoning Commission members are elected, whereas our Planning Commission members are appointed by the city. The system was not disliked by the majority party over the decades, it simply continued without change. Best, Waleed Albakry, AICP, MCIP, CMFO Planning Director City of Danbury, CT 155 Deer Hill Avenue City Hall - 1st Floor Danbury, CT 06810 Email: w.albakry@danbury-ct.gov PH: 203-797-4525 City Hall is closed on Fridays On Thu, Aug 6, 2026 at 9:05?PM Carmen Garcia Irizarry wrote: Hi, My name is Carmen N. Garcia-Irizarry. I serve as a Town Councilor for Ledyard and I am the Chair of an ad-hoc committee evaluating the potential separation of our Planning & Zoning Commission into two distinct commissions. While most towns in Connecticut operate under a combined commission model, Danbury is one of the few that has maintained the two commission structure. I would greatly appreciate your insights, particularly from the perspective of the land use department, into the reasons behind Danbury’s decision to keep its commissions separate. If you can’t answer my question, could you please refer me to someone who could answer my question? Any information, including the pros and cons of having two separate commissions, would be invaluable and greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for help! Regards, Carmen N. Garcia-Irizarry Sent from my iPad Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been automatically archived by Mimecast, a leader in email security and cyber resilience. Mimecast integrates email defenses with brand protection, security awareness training, web security, compliance and other essential capabilities. Mimecast helps protect large and small organizations from malicious activity, human error and technology failure; and to lead the movement toward building a more resilient world. To find out more, visit our website. Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been automatically archived by Mimecast, a leader in email security and cyber resilience. Mimecast integrates email defenses with brand protection, security awareness training, web security, compliance and other essential capabilities. 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