Government

Plan to Build Two-Family Home on East Avenue Stalls at ZBA

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An application for a variance that would allow a two-family residence on East Avenue to replace a 1900-built single family home there was continued Monday night after town officials expressed concerns over the proposed driveway and pedestrian access way included in the project. On its face, property owner William Panella’s request for a variance for 72 East Ave. is straightforward: The applicant is requesting relief from the residential Zone B requirement for a minimum 100 feet of street frontage, as the property only allows for about 93 feet of frontage, and to allow the driveway from East Avenue to connect with another driveway and parking lot for an adjacent commercial property on Vitti Street. Panella plans to tear down the existing 1,400-square-foot home, where his late mother Mary had lived, as well as the detached garage in the rear and construct a new, residential style, two-family dwelling measuring about 4,000 square feet. Before the Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday, attorney David Rucci of Lampert Williams & Toohey LLC explained that he is, in fact, representing two clients on the project, William Panella, son of the late Mary Panella, whose property is the subject of the application, and Panella’s development partner, Art Collins, who is developing an adjacent property on Vitti Street, directly behind the property on East Avenue and in the town’s Business B zone (see map below).

Government

Republican Candidates for Town Council Face Off in Second Debate

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Republican candidates for Town Council offered their views on on some of the town’s most controversial planning and zoning applications during the Republican Town Committee’s second candidates’ debate held at Town Hall Wednesday. Currently there are six Republican candidates for Town Council: Roy Abramowitz, Tom Butterworth, Mike Mauro, Rich Townsend and incumbents Penny Young and John Engel. They are jockeying for seats opening up on the Town Council this fall and thus are seeking party backing. When asked for his opinion on the Planning & Zoning Commission’s recent approval of the Merritt Village redevelopment downtown, Engel, who missed the first RTC debate in June, said, “Real estate is what I do—and I have a deep understanding of the Merritt Village project.”

“Number one, I respect the process,” he said of the recent approval. “We heard earlier that the Town Council doesn’t get involved in what P&Z should do—just like the first selectmen doesn’t tell them what to do—and I don’t think we should have a thumb on the scale with P&Z.

Government

Election 2017: At Selectman Debate, Kenin and Williams Say They Won’t Force A Primary

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Republican candidates for selectman Christa Kenin and Nick Williams said during a debate on Wednesday they would not force a primary in the fall municipal election should they fail to win the nomination during the Republican caucus on July 18. This is in contrast to two of the three Republican candidates for first selectman, Cristina Ross and Kevin Moynihan, who earlier in the evening indicated that it is possible they will choose to primary, should they fail to get on the party ticket. Both said it would depend on the outcome of the vote in the caucus. When asked if he would support his opponent in the fall election if he is not endorsed, Williams, a three-term incumbent, said during the Republican Town Committee debate, “Yes, I support Republicans.” “And although it’s not my race, I’m a little shocked to hear that at least two of the candidates running for first selectman saying they won’t respect this process and that they’ll primary,” he said during the debate, held at Town Hall and moderated by Michael Dinan of NewCanaanite.com and Greg Reilly of the New Canaan Advertiser.

Government

Republican Candidates for First Selectman: A Primary Is ‘Likely’ [CORRECTED]

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[Editor’s Note: A direct quote attributed to Cristina Ross regarding her position on a possible future primary has been updated for accuracy.]

Republican candidates for first selectman Cristina Ross and Kevin Moynihan said during a debate this week that that it is “likely” that there will be a primary in the coming fall election should they fail to win party backing at the July 18 caucus. “I think it’s very likely that it might come to a primary,” Ross, currently a member of the Town Council and also a member of the RTC, said during the organization’s second candidates’ debate, held Wednesday at Town Hall. “I will assess the number of [RTC] votes [following the caucus] and see where things stand [before making a decision].”

Moynihan, also a member of the Town Council and the RTC, said it would “really depend on what the vote [count] is.” He pointed out that while primaries for first selectman seats in neighboring towns including Darien and Greenwich “are quite common,” still “we’ve never had a primary in New Canaan.”

But this time around, “with three people in the race” for first selectman, “it increases the likelihood of a primary,” Moynihan said during the debate, co-moderated by Michael Dinan of NewCanaanite.com and Greg Reilly of the New Canaan Advertiser. “I think it’s very likely [that there will be a primary],” he added. Ross and Moynihan are challenging three-term incumbent First Selectman Rob Mallozzi.

Government

GOP Candidates For Town Council Spar Over Cell Service, Transparency During Debate

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Five of six Republican candidates seeking seats on the Town Council in the upcoming November municipal elections debated a range of topics—from cell towers to land acquisition to transparency in local government—during a lively and well-attended debate hosted by the Republican Town Committee at Town Hall last week. Four Republican seats on the Town Council are up for grabs in the upcoming fall election. The six candidates seeking nomination from town Republicans in the upcoming caucus, to be held July 18, include incumbents John Engel and Penny Young, as well as Roy Abramowitz, Tom Butterworth, Mike Mauro and Richard Townsend. Engel was unable to attend the debate. Recently, the town Utilities Commission, which is searching for ways to improve cell service in town, issued a report proposing that cell towers be erected in Irwin Park and near West School.