Government

Independent Consultant: P&Z Should Consider Limiting Events at Grace Farms, Ensure Ties to Approved ‘Religious Institution’ Use

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In considering the latest bid from Grace Farms to secure after-the-fact approval for wide-ranging and intense activities on its campus, town officials should consider limiting the number, size and frequency of events there far more strictly than the organization has proposed, according to an independent, third-party consultant. The Planning & Zoning Commission also may address the size and focus of the food service establishment operating at Grace Farms, as well as an outdoor music-playing “sound sculpture” in a pond, according to Simsbury-based consulting firm Planimetrics. Further, any Special Permit granted by P&Z where Grace Farms is seeking to expand beyond its approved principal use as a religious institution “should tie the additional use requests to the ‘religious institution’ so that they are part and parcel of the overall operation,” Planimetrics President Glenn Chalder said in a May 23 report to the commission. “Since the Special Permit requests are being requested for all of the parcels, it might not be prudent to have a situation in the future where a parcel is sold off or transferred in a way that would allow another club/organization/institutional use to be established on another parcel without commission review. Also, by tying the additional uses to the religious institution, this can help the commission avoid or manage a situation where the religious use is no longer active and the club/organization/institutional use is different than described or envisioned today.”

The recommendations come as Grace Farms prepares to appear Tuesday night before P&Z with its third application to amend a zoning permit approved four years ago, having withdrawn its first two.

Government

Town to Grace Farms: Supply a List of Scheduled Events and, For Now, Stop Booking New Ones

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Town officials on Monday instructed Grace Farms to stop booking new events on its campus and provide details of all activities planned for the next six months, pending a final decision of a yet-to-be-filed application to amend its operating permit. Citing “outstanding violations” of Grace Farms’ existing permit, the town planner in a letter obtained by NewCanaanite.com specified that the organization’s list of activities “shall include the date of the event, the event or group name, the location of the property, start and end times, and the number of attendees expected.”

Town Planner Steve Palmer also instructed Grace Farms to file its new application within 45 days—rather than 60, as the organization had proposed—and called for stronger measures to prevent visitors from wandering toward neighbors’ properties. “These additional measures are integral to this process and compliance with them will be a consideration of the [Planning & Zoning] Commission’s review of the future Special Permit application,” Palmer said. The measures come one week after Grace Farms withdrew an application to amend its zoning permit—a decision prompted by the findings of a third-party consultant that found the application lacking. According to Simsbury-based consulting firm Planimetrics, Grace Farms instead of seeking to add new principal uses to its approved use as a religious institution, should put in for an entirely new special permit.