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Affordable Housing: Court Denies 8-30g Appeal in Proposed ‘Red Cross Building’ Project

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A state Superior Court judge last week ruled in the town’s favor in one of three closely followed affordable housing appeals. According to a 49-page decision issued by Judge Ted O’Hanlan, the Planning & Zoning Commission did not run afoul of state law or New Canaan’s own regulations when it denied a proposed 20-unit redevelopment of the so-called “Red Cross building” at 51 Main St. two years ago. The application had been filed on behalf of property owner Arnold Karp under a state law known by its statute number, 8-30g (six of the 20 units in the proposed development would have been set aside to rent at affordable rates). P&Z “met its burden under 8-30g to show that the reason cited by the commission for its denial, the protection of the public interest in the historic value of the property and the Red Cross building in the Church Hill Historic District itself, was supported by sufficient evidence in the record,” O’Hanlan wrote in the Feb.

Government

Town Pushes Start of Outdoor Dining Downtown to May 1

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Saying April isn’t a great weather month and that retailers favor the change, town officials voted Tuesday to push the opening of the outdoor dining season downtown back one month this spring while tacking on two final days in the fall. Currently, the outdoor dining schedule for “sidewalk cafes” is April 1 to Oct. 31, according to Town Planner Sarah Carey. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 Tuesday to allow outdoor dining from May 1 through Nov. 2.

Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Approve $19,000 Purchase of ‘New Canaan Brick’ for Elm Street Bumpouts

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After approving the purchase of $20,000 in granite curbing for soon-to-come sidewalk “bumpouts” on Elm Street, officials this month authorized the purchase of about $19,000 in bricks for the project. The low bidder, the Bridgeport-based Homer C. Godfrey Co. ($18,404.75), came in with a far lower price than the town’s accustomed provider, Stamford-based Paramount Stone ($31,500), according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “I was shocked at Paramount’s price,” Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their Feb. 11 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Affordable Housing Committee

Affordable Housing: More Units Needed for ‘Moratorium’ in 2032

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Though New Canaan has qualified for a four-year exemption from a widely discussed affordable housing law—and is also expected to earn another “moratorium” from the state law known by its statute number, 8-30g, in 2028—more units likely must be built or acquired in order to get four more years of relief in 2032, according to a municipal committee that’s studying the issue. Under the state law, in towns where less than 10% of all housing stock qualifies as affordable, developers who propose projects where a certain number of units are set aside to rent at affordable rates may appeal to the state after a local Planning & Zoning Commission denies their applications. New Canaan since its last moratorium lapsed in July 2021 has received three such applications, at Weed and Elm Streets (120 units), Main Street (20 units) and Hill Street (93 units). P&Z denied all of them. Those applications are now under appeal in state Superior Court.

Government

Town Mulls Demolition of ‘Irwin House’

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Municipal officials say the town must decide whether to invest in the upkeep of Irwin House—needed exterior work is estimated at more than $1.3 million—or knock it down. Located in the Weed Street park of the same name, the brick Irwin House was built between 1961 and 1963 after the original 1920’s shingle-style house—once owned by IBM founder Thomas Watson, Sr.—burned down in a fire. Town officials are looking at the cost of tearing it down, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. In addressing a joint subcommittee of the Town Council and Board of Finance on Feb. 13, Mann said associated costs include an environmental review, environmental costs and the cost of demolition itself.