P&Z Chair Rick Tomasetti Resigns, Capping a Transformative — and Somewhat Controversial — Era in Wilton Planning

The Monday, Nov. 17 meeting of Wilton’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) ended with a surprise announcement: Chair Rick Tomasetti resigned both as chair and from the commission, closing a five-year ambitious — and at times debated — period in Wilton’s land-use history. It was a chapter that saw some of the most sweeping changes to Wilton’s zoning landscape in decades.

“Tonight marks my… final meeting as chairman and a member of this commission,” he said, reading from a prepared statement. “As a Wilton native and local architect, my involvement here has always been both personal and professional.”

Tomasetti had two more years left on his elected second term. His departure comes just weeks before P&Z’s December meeting, when four newly elected commissioners will be seated and new officers chosen, following an election that saw major gains by Democrats on every contested municipal board and commission. The results effectively handed Wilton’s land-use policy to a new Democratic majority, almost guaranteeing Tomasetti would no longer lead P&Z. 

Major Zoning Reforms and Rapid Development

During his five years as chair, Tomasetti presided over some of the biggest planning and zoning shifts Wilton has seen in decades.

Under his leadership, P&Z:

• approved nearly 1,000 new rental apartments across eight large-scale multifamily developments in Wilton Center and along Danbury Rd.
• established multiple zoning overlay districts to encourage high density, mixed-use development, including a form-based code for Wilton Center and a Transit-Oriented Development overlay by the train station
• created the multi-year Greater Wilton Center Master Plan
• passed new, more leniant regulations for accessory dwelling units
• oversaw implementation of the 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD), a document he had been deeply involved in shaping before becoming chair

These actions reshaped development expectations downtown and along Danbury Rd., aiming to reposition Wilton from a town often seen as “anti-development” to one that was more open to new projects.

That’s how Vice Chair Melissa-Jean Rotini described it Monday night.

“You tried to change it from a town of ‘No,’ which we heard a lot when I first came on the commission, to … let’s create opportunities — and say yes to what works.”

In his own remarks, Tomasetti said he joined the commission after “seeing years of inaction … simply saying ‘no’ did not serve our community well. It made us reactive instead of actively shaping our future.”

He emphasized that “throughout my tenure here, I’ve prioritized protecting property owners’ property rights,” adding that “Wilton’s character depends not on just good plans, but respect for the individuals’ property rights and liberty.”

Under his leadership, Wilton approached planning and zoning in a way that will continue to reverberate for years. P&Z increasingly relied on pre-application review while also curtailing public participation in the approval process. And the zoning changes he championed — height increases, higher density allowances, mixed-use incentives — will shape the future of Wilton in the decades to come.

The 2019 POCD, Rezoning and a New Housing Reality

Much of the development activity during Tomasetti’s tenure traces back to the 2019 Plan of Conservation and Development, which he played an active role in shaping before becoming chair that same year. He called it “a robust” document “shaped by a lot of community involvement and careful analysis.”

Soon after its adoption, however, real estate conditions that drove much of the POCD’s vision fundamentally changed. Wilton home prices surged in 2020 with the onset of the pandemic and a tighter housing market intensified both the push for multifamily development and concerns about traffic, scale and infrastructure.

Today’s ambivalence around large-scale apartment development was apparent even in 2019, when slightly more POCD survey respondents opposed rental unit development than supported it, yet nearly 60% favored creating more deed-restricted affordable housing. 

As GOOD Morning Wilton reported in June 2025, P&Z’s efforts to increase affordability have not gone smoothly. Towns must complete POCDs every 10 years, which means work on the 2029 plan should kick off in 2027. 

From the POCD came the Greater Wilton Center Master Plan, setting the stage for new zoning overlays and the form-based code downtown. Tomasetti described the plan Monday night as “a strategic blueprint for redevelopment,” noting that the commission “undertook and accomplished” the work with support from consultants and volunteers.

In many ways it was Tomasetti’s brainchild. He led the effort to design the scope and select consultants, handpicking the other six committee members, and chairing the 22 meetings held between December 2021 and October 2023. 

The Master Plan process also reflected the narrower public role that developed during Tomasetti’s tenure. The public was allowed to speak at just two of those 22 meetings; a third public engagement session was eliminated without explanation, even as the project ran a year behind schedule. 

It was during this prolonged timeline that the developer of 12 Godfrey Pl., citing delays and uncertainty around the emerging zoning framework, abandoned an earlier four-story concept and moved forward with a larger, less aesthetic five-story application under state statute 8-30g.

When the master plan zoning changes were eventually completed, they raised allowable building heights across much of in Wilton Center and Danbury Rd. to five stories, with a promise that developers would be required to generate more affordable housing and better public amenities.

It wasn’t long before concerns emerged about whether the zoning changes, nearly two years in the works, had delivered on these goals. The first project out of the gate under the new zoning Wilton Center overlay was Kimco’s redevelopment of its 19-21 River Rd. property. The company initially offered to set aside 10% of the units for affordable housing during early discussions in 2021. But by fall 2024, Kimco pointed out to Tomasetti that the newly passed zoning overlay didn’t require the higher, 12% rate of affordability for five-story buildings that the subcommittee had talked about — in fact it neglected to require any affordable housing at all. The commission acknowledged the error when it was forced to approve the 168-unit project with just three affordable units and later closed the loophole for future projects.

As the state now requires municipalities to update their Affordable Housing Plans, the next commission will face renewed pressure to align local zoning with affordability goals. Tomasetti underscored those responsibilities Monday night, saying commissioners have “significant work” ahead, including “the state-mandated affordability planning.”

Reframing Public Participation and Boosting Pre-Application Review

From his first meeting as chair in December 2019, Tomasetti signaled interest in reshaping how and when the public engages P&Z, something he addressed in his first remarks. 

“There’s also planning and zoning rules and procedures that were adopted by prior commissions a long time ago. I don’t think it would be a bad thing to look at again,” he said at that first meeting as chair. “One that comes to mind when we get into larger applications, and they do become time consuming, and trying to be more efficient with staff time and our time, I think we need to look at limiting public comment.” 

The rationale at the time was efficiency: meetings stretching past 11 p.m., heavy staff workloads, and concerns that repetitive testimony slowed the process without changing outcomes. However, lengthy meetings running close to and beyond 11 p.m. remained fairly commonplace for the commission, even in meetings when no public comment was permitted.

During Tomasetti’s tenure, P&Z increasingly relied on the pre-application process — non-binding discussions for developers to present concepts and get feedback before filing formal applications. It also limited public input.

This meant that by the time projects opened for public comment, the applicants had often gone through multiple rounds of redesign with the commission over months or, for some notable proposals, even years. When a project is finally submitted and subject to formal public review for the first time, it appears as if the developer has already secured the tacit approval of the commission. 

Public comment during formal hearings also became more tightly structured. Where once public comment was permitted during any meeting when a public hearing on a project was held, after 2020, the window for public comment was restricted to a public hearing’s final moments. For 64 Danbury Rd., for instance, the public hearing opened Mar. 25, 2024 and extended through three meetings over two months. Members of the public couldn’t speak on the application until the May 28, 2024 continuation — that evening, public comment was permitted from 7:21 p.m. to 7:26 p.m.

Public engagement, transparency and meeting structure became central issues in the 2025 P&Z election — themes Democratic candidates repeatedly highlighted, and factors that likely contributed to the election outcome. 

His Own Assessment: Collaboration, Property Rights, and the Opportunity to Serve

Tomasetti did not directly address the public involvement debate Monday night, but he emphasized collaboration within the commission. “I think we have worked well together in a bipartisan way,” he said. “With the exception of one or two times, I really don’t remember … any real contention amongst the group of us.”

He framed the past five years as a period of constructive collaboration and substantive achievement.

“I think I went back and looked at the times that I voted no on something, and it was pretty rare,” he said, noting that regulatory changes were “always pretty near unanimous.”

He listed accomplishments he believes the commission should share credit for: codifying the Architectural Review Board, adopting the form-based code, reforming accessory dwelling unit rules, advancing the master plan, and completing the POCD.

Tomasetti also urged future commissions to balance community goals with individual liberty — a theme he often returned to during his tenure. He said his priority as a commissioner was the protection of private property rights.

“As you all know, my libertarianism comes out in this,” he said, quoting economist Thomas Sowell: “Property rights are not about property. They are about the owner’s rights to decide how to use what he or she owns.”

“I think that’s really important for us to remember,” Tomasetti explained, “Because it’s really the foundational principle of all of our planning and zoning decisions. We have to respect the liberty of the owners to make their choices on their property, right? It’s just, it’s the best way that we can sustain a healthy and just and dynamic community.” 

Tomasetti said his resignation was ultimately personal. “I really believe it’s the right time for me to step away. I really need to devote more attention to my architectural practice and my family,” he said, thanking his wife and son for “their patience and support all these years.”

“Serving Wilton’s really been an honor,” he said. “I really thank everybody for the opportunity to serve. It’s been a pleasure serving with all of you.”

Just one week before, Tomasetti himself paid tribute to departing Board of Finance Chair Matt Raimondi during the open public comment period at the end of the Board of Finance meeting last week. But since open public comment is not permitted in P&Z meetings, residents who might have wished to bid farewell or thank Tomasetti for the hours he gave volunteering on the commission and his contribution to Wilton would not have had an opportunity to do so.

Vice Chair Rotini was the only P&Z commissioner to comment, expressing her appreciation for Tomasetti’s tenure and lamenting the loss of his expertise — noting the commission will now have no architects.

“Anyone who understands what’s going on will share in my utter dismay at this news,” she said. “If there ever were a phrase that… where brain drain applied, this is it.”

“I have really honestly loved working with you,” she said. “This is a huge loss for the town… but I totally understand the decision.”