Michael Fogliano (U-Endorsed by DTC): Candidate for Old Lyme Zoning Commission
Biography:
Michael Fogliano moved to Old Lyme in 1992 with his wife Susan and their three young children. Michael has retired from a long career as a scientist in the field of biotechnology, which evolved into senior leadership roles in strategic planning and strategic alliances as the field expanded. Since retiring, Michael has served as a founding member and Chairman of the Affordable Housing Exploratory Committee, its successor, the Affordable Housing Commission, and the Lower Connecticut River Valley Regional Housing Committee. He has also served on the Shoreline Gateway Committee, and is currently an alternate on the Zoning Commission.
1. Why are you running for the Zoning Commission, and what skills or experiences make you the right candidate for that role?
As a 33-year resident of Old Lyme, raising a family here with my wife Susan, I am deeply invested in our town. I have seen the town change over the decades, along with the challenges to land use policy and practice that change brings. This has motivated me to accept the Democratic Town Committee’s endorsement to run for the Zoning Commission. My priorities as a Zoning Commission candidate are clear: advocating for sensible regulations and development that protect Old Lyme’s essential qualities – our cultural legacy, our small-town lifestyle, and the fragile ecosystem we share – in balance with individual property rights, and our economic development and housing needs. I’m dedicated to making rational decisions based on thorough preparation and open dialogue with all stakeholders. In addition to the cases that come before the Zoning Commission, the ongoing rewrite of the Old Lyme’s Zoning Regulations will provide an important opportunity to apply these priorities and principles.
Over my career as a scientist and senior leader, I developed a pragmatic, data-driven, results-oriented approach to solving problems and making decisions. Outreach, collaboration, and partnership are central to the way I work. Through my service as Chairman of the Affordable Housing Commission and the Regional Housing Committee, and currently as a Zoning Commission alternate, I have gained an understanding of public policy that affects – and increasingly threatens – our local land use decisions. If elected, I will bring this insight and foresight to the Zoning Commission.
I look forward to a public discourse on the issues before us, and am eager to work together both within town government and with the community to ensure that Old Lyme continues to be a great place to live for generations to come.
2. Despite a decade-long effort to create a vision for Halls Road that the community can support, the goal remains out of sight. What do YOU want the future of Halls Road to look like, and what role should the Zoning Commission have in making it happen?
I would have joined the majority vote to deny the Halls Road Overlay District application had I been seated as a voting Zoning Commission member when that decision was made. Halls Road, in my opinion, faced an uncertain future as an overlay district under the proposed regulations, and I heard the public opposition clearly. That said, I also heard recognition of the need to upgrade the now aging, outmoded commercial district for the benefit of Old Lyme residents, and a willingness to move forward with incremental improvements. I believe that the concepts in the rejected proposal – retail, amenities, and housing designed to serve the needs of our community in an attractive, street-facing, walkable village setting – have merit. However, those concepts must be reduced to practice in a plan that is suitable for our small town. I also believe there is a way forward, but additional diligence will be required before advancing any new proposals. First, a rigorous market analysis considering current economic, demographic, and post-pandemic trends should be performed to boost confidence that the significant private investment dollars required to upgrade the district can be successfully attracted. Second, we need a more definitive housing, water, and waste capacity analysis to support planning and address the important questions raised during the public discourse. My expectation is that these studies will naturally limit the scale of any future plans. Third, we need to reconsider the overlay approach. A principal function of zoning regulation is to provide for predictable development patterns. The overlay approach for Halls Road, in my opinion, had the opposite effect. Most importantly, we need active engagement and a team effort on the part of the Zoning, Planning, and Economic Development Commissions along with other stakeholders to frame new options in a fully transparent process for public consideration. We have gotten to “no.” I’d like to help us get to a “better yes.”
3. Old Lyme, like the other municipalities in the state, is being called upon to increase the availability of affordable housing. Do you think Old Lyme needs more diverse housing options, and what part does the Zoning Commission play in ensuring the appropriate amount of residential development in town?
Yes, Old Lyme needs more housing options. The Town’s current housing stock consists primarily of large, three-plus bedroom, detached, single family homes. Our zoning regulations have historically favored this development pattern. Yet, the majority of households in Old Lyme now consist of one or two persons. Demographic trends have been predicting what we are now observing: an aging population and smaller households. Against that backdrop, home prices have skyrocketed and developers have continued to focus on serving the high-end market. The effect on our residents is real. Seniors cannot downsize and remain in town. Young people and working families cannot find housing they can afford in the town where they grew up, where they work, where they serve. This is not sustainable.
As Chairman of the Affordable Housing Commission, I led the creation and adoption of the Town’s first Housing Plan as required by state statute. That plan, which is available on the Town website, identifies opportunities for thoughtful, balanced increases in housing types that meet the needs of current and future residents without requiring expensive and disruptive infrastructure expansion. Those opportunities include lowering the now extremely high bar for approving accessory apartments, adaptive reuse of existing properties, and modest increases in density through small-scale multiplex and cluster housing. The only option that is not on the table is doing nothing, which would weaken the socioeconomic health of the Town, and encourage the state to continue advancing legislation that would erode local control over zoning decisions. Addressing the need for housing options must be a top priority for the ongoing rewrite of our zoning regulations. From over five years of service on the Affordable Housing Commission and the Regional Housing Committee, I have gained the knowledge and experience to help us get this right.
4. In order of importance, what do you see as the top three challenges facing the commission over the next five years?
Rewrite of our Zoning Regulations. The Town has provided funding for a comprehensive and much-needed rewrite of our Zoning Regulations. The first phase of that work, which is in progress, is a relatively straightforward effort aimed to clean up the current regulations and bring them into conformity with new state and federal regulations. The second phase will be a much broader initiative to revisit all of the regulations with an eye to the future. This will necessarily involve a significant amount of planning, and require engagement with other land use functions within town government, especially the Planning Commission, along with extensive community outreach. Important issues that the Town has struggled with will resurface during this process, giving us the opportunity to set a course together. The Zoning Commission must take full advantage of this opportunity.
Our Relationship with the State. Zoning, particularly as it relates to housing, has become a focal point for legislation aimed to replace local regulations with state regulations. This has been driven in large part by the growing unmet need for housing across the State and the State’s perceived lack of seriousness by the towns in addressing the issue. So far, this has taken the form of top-down mandates that do not adequately consider the challenges faced by small, land-constrained, environmentally sensitive towns like Old Lyme. Fortunately, the governor vetoed the most recent legislation imposing mandates, but there is no doubt that it and others like it will return. The way forward, once again, is outreach and collaboration, not just opposition. We need to engage within town government, regional government, and our elected legislators to work with the State toward recognizing Old Lyme’s efforts, and replacing ineffective mandates with funding and technical support for local solutions.
The Future of our Commercial Corridors. Halls Road, the Shoreline Gateway, and the Post Road all present opportunities to reverse decades of stagnation and decline, promote a more vibrant economy, and create additional housing. Let us take the lessons learned from Halls Road and from neighboring towns and explore the possibilities.