Eric Thunem

Town Council Committee Discusses Next Steps Regarding Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers

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Town officials say they need time to evaluate the merits of a citizen-led campaign to reduce the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in New Canaan. After receiving dozens of letters themselves and seeing similar ones in local news—calling for a reduction for reasons of noise, public health and environmental issues—members of New Canaan’s legislative body are calling for a comprehensive analysis before recommending any change to local ordinances. During a meeting last week of the Town Council’s Bylaws and Ordinance Committee, member Eric Thunem said: “I think we need to hear from a lot more people before we vote on an ordinance that could impact so many more things than just the noise in my backyard. There are a lot of implications that would restrict and change the economics of landscaping.”

Committee members during a June 4 meeting spent nearly one hour discussing the issue. One Committee member, Kimberly Norton, said she was “on board with moving ahead with [restrictions].”

“I think we’ve had an outpouring of letters from the public…there’s lots of interest in the issue, and I think it behooves us to take it forward,” Norton said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Country Club of New Canaan

Country Club Seeks P&Z Approval To Alter Parts of Golf Course

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The Country Club of New Canaan is seeking permission from the town to overhaul parts of its golf course. According to a letter submitted to Planning & Zoning on behalf of CCNC, the club is seeking to alter the course’s “18th hole tee and green locations and reconfiguration of the cart paths”—areas interior to the site that can’t be seen from the road. “The driving range will be enlarged, regraded and new netting will be installed,” according to a letter that forms part of an application to the Planning & Zoning Commission, authorized by attorney Stephen A. Finn, a partner at Stamford-based Wofsey Rosen. “A new chipping practice area will be constructed in the place of the greenskeeper house.”

The project “will significantly increase the safety of other golfers from users of the driving range and chipping area,” Finn’s letter said. “The current net protection for the range is inadequate and results in practice shots endangering players on the first and second holes. As a result, it is imperative that CCNC provide additional protection for the current facility.”

It’s also “critical” for the club to start the project in September, Finn said in the letter, because the golf course’s designer and construction firm are both available at that time (and then not until 2027-2028) and also because such a start date would mean wrapping up by December as opposed to an “open construction site” for month.

Government

Town Approves Contracts for Fencing Upgrades at Mead, Saxe

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Town officials last week approved a pair of contracts for sports facility fencing at Mead Park and Saxe Middle School. The Board of Selectmen during its regular meeting June 3 approved about $82,000 in contracts for fencing at the Mead Park pickleball courts and large baseball field, as well as a replacement fence at the Saxe baseball field near the YMCA and South Avenue. A major part of the projects is upgrading the fence gauge from nine millimeter to six millimeter, according to Superintendent of Parks Ryan Restivo. 

“This change provides a thicker, more durable coated material that will enhance longevity and durability of the new fencing installations,” Restivo told the selectmen during their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the contracts with New Canaan-based Gannon Rustic Fence ($14,680) and P&C Fence of Bridgeport ($67,390). The fencing at the Mead pickleball courts is failing, Restivo said, and two baseball fences—the perimeter at Mead Park’s large field and the backstop and dugout at Saxe—both need replacement.

Government

Selectmen Approve Furniture Contract for Waveny House Wedding Rooms

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Furniture will be put into the brides’ and grooms’ rooms at Waveny House as preparations are made for what officials are calling an “off the charts” wedding schedule. On Tuesday, the Board of Selectmen approved a $14,299.10 contract with Raymour & Flanigan to furnish Waveny House’s wedding rooms.

“We’ve done substantial updates on these rooms, including painting them a nice cashmere color,” Parks & Recreation Director John Howe told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “The next step is to get furniture in them.”

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the contract. The project is covered in the bride and groom rooms update section of the town’s budget. Parks & Recreation Office Manager Beatrice Watkins detailed the process of finalizing the contract.

Elliot Siderides

Property Developer Details Proposal for New Hotel on Locust Avenue

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Town officials on Tuesday night heard the pre-application presentation for a proposed new hotel on Locust Avenue, asking questions ranging from room pricing to the potential impact on traffic flow. Founder and president of New Canaan-based Windward Development, Inc. Elliot Siderides presented the plans for the hotel on behalf of Two Corners LLC., which Siderides called the “contract purchaser” of 49-51 and 39 Locust. Siderides presented to members of the Planning & Zoning Commission during their regular meeting alongside his two sons, John Siderides, Windward’s in-house architect, and Andrew Siderides, Windward’s head of development and construction management. Commissioner John Kriz voiced concerns about the potential impact of the hotel on the streetscape. He listed “issues with loom” and problems if a “building dominates the skyline.” Kriz requested “visuals of the as-built structure from various prominent places in town.”

Elliot Siderides responded to a Kriz question about parking by citing the 115 available spaces throughout the complex. 

“The requirement for a hotel is one [parking space] per room, so 40 of the spaces have to be for the hotel,” he said.