Beth Jones

New Canaan Talks Housing: The ‘Three E’s’

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Please join us for the second New Canaan Talks Housing conversation to learn about the “Three E’s of Housing: Equity, Economy, Environment.” On Thursday, April 15th at 7pm, a fact-based panel discussion will feature experts from each of the three E’s to talk about housing’s impact on New Canaan. Proposed zoning changes were submitted for consideration in Hartford this session. They have now been significantly revised and are out of committee pending a vote. Why are they important? Home is complex and interconnected.

Business

‘Club Pilates’ Fitness Studio Planned for Main Street

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A franchisee of Club Pilates has submitted a site plan application to the town to install a fitness studio in a prominent commercial space on Main Street. According to an application filed with Planning & Zoning, Club Pilates would occupy about 2,000 square feet at 70 Main St., opposite Town Hall. 

It would offer group and individual Pilates classes as well as “barre, reformer, spring board, TRX and the sale of related apparel, equipment and retail products,” the application said. Under the New Canaan Zoning Regulations, service establishments are permitted in the Retail A zone with site plan approval as long as a retail component faces the street and occupies a certain amount of the commercial space (see page 74 here). Plans filed with P&Z show a new front window with retail displays and a desk in the front area, with a 12-mat studio in the rear. 

The applicant is listed as Scott Ackerman of Darien. He opened a Club Pilates in that town about one year ago, according to Darienite, and has planned to open several more in the area, the Darien Daily Voice said.

Government

Facing Fines, Parade Hill Road Homeowner To Move Big Shed Off Property Line

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Addressing a zoning violation that dates back to the fall, the owner of a Parade Hill Road property has vowed to move this spring a large freestanding shed located at the end of his driveway away a property line, enforcement officials say. According to a Zoning Fine Warning Notice obtained by NewCanaanite.com following a Freedom of Information Act request, a zoning enforcement officer on Oct. 20 notified the owner of the .17-acre property at 37 Parade Hill Road that the large shed set against a side yard property line to the south is in violation of the New Canaan Zoning Regulations. Specifically, an accessory structure in the B Residential zone must allow for an 8-foot setback (see page 58 here). The property includes a 1,147-square-foot ranch-style house, and the shed as seen from the public roadway appears to sit along its edge, up against a fence that separates 37 Parade Hill Road from its neighbor.

Business

YMCA Applies for Building Permit; Project Scope Reduced from Original

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The New Canaan YMCA has applied for a building permit application that, if approved, will allow the South Avenue facility to start work on a widely anticipated renovation and expansion. The project will see demolition of an existing family pool and pool building, interior renovations of the existing building locker rooms, a new café and office spaces, as a new pool building and family/recreation pools are built, according to an application filed Sept. 22 with the town. In all, 14,350 square feet of new construction is planned, the application said. The figure is down more than 40 percent from the 24,617 net increase in square footage that the Y had been seeking when the Planning & Zoning Commission approved its project (on 33 conditions) 18 months ago.