Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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One of the men brought up on misdemeanor charges by New York City police for climbing the Brooklyn Bridge in order to get a nice photo of Manhattan at sunrise Saturday was a 24-year-old New Canaanite, the New York Post reports. ***

Some of the New Canaan High School students who attended the boys varsity lacrosse game Saturday versus rival Darien misbehaved to the point where the principal of NCHS sent a letter that went to the wider school community to address the problem. The letter references “a number of incidents at the game” including alcohol consumption and profanity. It continues: “Consuming or possessing alcohol, threatening or harassing others, acting disrespectfully, and/or any behaviors that would not be tolerated in school will not be permitted at these contests. If it is witnessed, students will be removed from the game and may face significant disciplinary action in school, up to and including suspension.

Around Town

Despite Court’s Decisions, Lawsuits Tie Up Restoration of Ponus Ridge Chapel

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Though a judge this month found that town zoning officials acted properly in granting a variance designed to allow for the restoration of a long-neglected chapel on Ponus Ridge, the historic structure’s fate is unclear, as it remains tied up in multiple lawsuits brought by a New Canaan woman. In a decision issued April 11, Superior Court Judge Charles Lee affirmed the New Canaan Zoning Board of Appeals’ unanimous vote three years ago to allow for the rehabilitation of the legally nonconforming, 1911-built Ponus Ridge Chapel (see Lee’s full decision at the end of this article). Plans call for the conversion of the dilapidating structure into a guesthouse by its neighbors to the south, the Hayeses, with an easement to the chapel property at 424 Ponus Ridge for a parking space and septic system (at .14 acres, the chapel’s lot is itself too small). The president of the association that owns the building, now deceased, in 2012 had entered into an agreement with the Hayeses whereby the property would be transferred to them, in a complicated arrangement also involving New Canaan Library, following the organization’s dissolution. However, another member of the Ponus Ridge Chapel and Community Association—a group that hasn’t met in decades (the chapel itself hasn’t been used in 40-plus years)—neighbor Elizabeth Weed of 434 Ponus Ridge, filed two lawsuits designed to halt the proposed transaction.

Around Town

Ponus Ridge Woman Files Lawsuit Appealing Neighbor’s Expansion Plans

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Saying a neighbor’s plan to expand an antique home—coupled with plans to acquire the adjacent, long-disused Ponus Ridge Chapel and convert it into a private dwelling—would diminish home values in the area, a town woman is appealing a recent decision by the New Canaan Zoning Board of Appeals. Elizabeth Weed in a new lawsuit is seeking to nullify a variance granted Nov. 3 to her next-door neighbors on Ponus Ridge, the Hayeses. The variance would allow them to build an addition to the rear of their home within what technically is the front yard setback—in fact, the entire ca. 1840 house is located within that setback (many 18th and 19th Century homes are situated very close to the road).