Dick Rose

Commission Approves ‘Certificate of Appropriateness’ for Planned Terrace at God’s Acre 

By |

The volunteer body that oversees God’s Acre at its most recent meeting voted unanimously to approve a proposed flagstone terrace that is to be installed at the top of the parcel on Park Street, opposite the entrance to the Congregational Church of New Canaan. The Historic District Commission voted 5-0 at its Nov. 21 meeting to approve a required “Certificate of Appropriateness” for what those in charge of the privately funded project have dubbed the “Founders Terrace.”

Conceived as a permanent space where the Town Band can set up for Christmas Eve caroling, the terrace is to include a 24-inch wide sitting walls and is designed to serve as a gathering space for locals year-round, according to the group behind the project. One member of that group, local landscape architect Keith Simpson, noted while presenting to the Commission that New Canaan in marking the 200th anniversary of its 1801 incorporation held a ceremony in just that spot, with local, state and federal officials, and a makeshift set-up of chairs and speakers. With the terrace in place, “if you had something going on here—and we don’t intend to have any tables or chairs there on a regular basis—but if you ever you wanted to have 200 people here, you just would close off a section of Park Street and extend out,” Simpson said during the Commission’s meeting, held at Town Hall.

Government

Tense Meeting Yields New Officer on Key Municipal Group

By |

The volunteer municipal body that oversees the preservation of New Canaan’s historic district—God’s Acre and the buildings around it—had a new officer appointed to its commission during an odd, tense meeting Thursday. The former secretary of the Historic District Commission, Terry Spring, who had served on the five-member group since 2005, wasn’t reappointed by town officials earlier in the week. Instead, the Board of Selectmen appointed alternate Carl Rothbart as a regular member. Spring’s ousting meant that a new secretary had to be elected. Yet she attended the commission’s Jan.